ThermoElectric Cooling vs Liquid Cooling

[crazysniper22]

http://www.extremecooling.co.uk/site/product.do?productId=601830

SubZero4G

http://www.thermaltake.com/products/subzero/subzero4g.htm#p4

Thanks in Advance!

[Kauza]

Honestly I think both of them are pretty good. To decide what is better....I think the thermoelectric is probably easier, but I'm not sure if it would cool as well as water cooling. And I couldn't find a price so I'm not sure how that stacks up, so you may want to consider cost before you make a purchase.

[minibubba]

I don't know about the water cooling rig, but the thermo-electric hasn't seen favorable reviews. apparently it only does a decent job of cooling at stock cpu speeds...at a high OC you can get better cooling from air cooling...IMO, as a thermo-electric solution it fails miserably

[Wiggo]

If ya want some real coolin' action then check out a Prometeia system. ;)

[Dyck15]

Check out the review at TT for the subzero

http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=review&dId=474

[Brian508]

thermileletric coolers R ok 4 nonO/Ced
boards as long as there under a 2 gig cpu system
the new cpu are too hot for them
Go with a good heatsink and fan combo. X-dearm by coolermaster.
Or a liquid cooling system.
got to have air movent in the case
the case makes the differance. Air flow you know , Good air flow Case, good start :group:

[Darthtanion]

Looks like it is time for a quick refresher course...

Thermoelectric cooling (TEC or Peltier are both names that mean this type of cooling) is a far cooler technique when it is employed properly. While the Thermaltake peltier unit isn't very good, this is because it uses a single 73 watt thermoelectric cooling element. This is simply not enough for modern processors. Most of the folks who make their own peltiers use either one or two 126 watt elements. But remember, while the peltier cooler is much better than other methods (with the exception of phase change or LN2), the elements used in this type of cooling setup have a tendency to die out on you all at once with little or no warning. This means that it would be a good idea to have a spare processor sitting around unless you create some sort of electronic protection for this event. Good pelts tend to be rather pricey but are generally safer than home made units.

Water cooling is not designed for extreme conditions. It is made to keep the processor at roughly ambient temperature. But then, this is still more efficient than air cooling so is useful in getting very good overclocks from the processor. It isn't nearly as aggressive and recent models hitting the streets are very safe for use within a system. Just remember that these small self-contained units are not very good because there isn't enough liquid in the radiator to effectively dissipate the heat when it is circulating. The water flows through a water block removing the heat from the processor core area. This heated water is then moved through a series of pipes and plastic tubing to a radiator where the water is cooled and stored for recirculation through the water system again. This cycle, when used properly, will keep the processor at roughly the same temperature as the internal case ambient.

Now, the Prometeia cooling that Wiggo was referring to is a phase change cooling rig. It uses a compressor like that found in a small refrigerator to cool the processor and any other peripherals hooked to the cooling system. This makes for a very silent and very cold system. Common processor temperatures for this type of cooling rig are in the -10 to -30C range, but this type of cooling solution comes in with an extremely hefty price tag. You could probably create your own for less, but you will need to take special precautions to fight off condensation which will kill your processor in nothing flat.

Sorry for being so longl, but hopefully this will be helpful to you. :)

[crazysniper22]

[Kauza]

A good choice I would say! :thumb:

[Diode]

So in short:

If you want something easy, good and cheap: a good hsf (thermalright etc)

If you like to tinker: water cooling

if you want the best of the best: phase cooling

;)