Will Phase Change Finally Compete With Water Cooling Prices?

[si-skyline]

Keeping in mind that the phase change cools CPU only and my W/C rig has CPU and GPU.

easy fix get 2 phasers xD

[DarthBeavis]

My experience with phase change is horrible. There are soooo many maintenance issues. I don't think it's worth it no matter the price. Although I did OC my 3.2 Pentium to 4.7GHz

always trade offs. . .

[AMD Killa]

true, to a point. you will never get below ambient temps on your cpu no matter how many rads. and you will for sure never hit the below zero mark.

Your processor wont work below zero. Most electronics arent designed to work below 5 degrees celsius. It would have to be an awesome cooling system to get to 0c. The only thing I can thing of would be liquid nitrogen.

[crenn]

Your processor wont work below zero. Most electronics arent designed to work below 5 degrees celsius. It would have to be an awesome cooling system to get to 0c. The only thing I can thing of would be liquid nitrogen.

Processors will work below zero, unless you're talking about Kelvin.

[Luke122]

Your processor wont work below zero. Most electronics arent designed to work below 5 degrees celsius. It would have to be an awesome cooling system to get to 0c. The only thing I can thing of would be liquid nitrogen.

I've seen phase coolers running at -40'C. The only reason that most electronics have an "operating temperature range" is because of the risk of condensation from it running hot in a cold environment. The beautiful thing about phase change is that the only part that is cold is the plate touching the cpu.. this means almost no risk of condensation.

Liquid nitrogen on the other hand is not only expensive (you are constantly adding more, as it evaporates), but it's difficult to store/handle, and can be potentially dangerous. Also, after seeing liquid nitrogen cooling setups, the amount of condensation (and ice formation!) can destroy hardware VERY quickly, and has happened more than a few times. Those systems always have huge amounts of isolation and shielding to stop the moisture from hitting the surrounding electrics.

The maintenance issues that TGS was talking about include the risk of compressor failure and refrigerant leaks. (Did I miss anything else?)

[The boy 4rm oz]

Yeah I have seen a triple cascade phase change unit cool a CPU to -140*c. Some CPUs don't like to cold boot and the sudden surge of heat from the CPU starting up can crack the die but meh it happens. If you have a triple cascade phase change you can afford to buy another CPU.

[AMD Killa]

If you have a triple cascade phase change you can afford to buy another CPU.

Not always. You just spent the money on the triple cascade, so you wouldent have it to buy a new processor I see what you mean though.