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White 350z · 06-17-2005, 12:27 AM

TECs (peltiers) are based on the Peltier effect - the creation of a heat difference from an electric voltage. Peltier coolers work by passing a current through two dissimilar metals. The current makes heat transfer from one side to the other. In other words, one side cools off while the other heats up.

Peltiers require a lot of amps to run, and they dissipate a lot of heat. I ran a peltier that required 20A and dissipated 226W of heat! Peltiers are generally used in conjunction with water cooling in order to expel all of the heat.

A peltier would be totally impractical in a carPC because of the setup needed to run one. I burnt out many a PSU because my peltier drew too much from the power supply in conjunction with the rest of the system. Most people nowadays run a separate power supply just for the peltier. I also ran 2 radiators on my watercooling setup and a bunch of big fans. Not to mention a cold plate, because without one the CPU would be toast before the peltier reached full effect. Yea, I can overclock the f$%k out of my CPU, but it is too impractical for everyday use. It would be like trying to drive an NHRA dragster to work every morning.

And as to the ideas about tapping into the car's water system, bad idea. The water would be WAY too hot. You would simply be passing friggin-hot water over the CPU. Most engines run between 160 and 220 degrees fahrenheit.

BUT if someone is crazy enough to run a peltier, I can help you do it. It's not terribly hard to do as far as the work goes, but you have to know what you are doing or else you will ruin your chip (and maybe the board as well). And it is time consuming as well.

06-17-2005, 12:27 AM	#14
White 350z Newbie Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Arkansas Posts: 50 My Photos: ()	TECs (peltiers) are based on the Peltier effect - the creation of a heat difference from an electric voltage. Peltier coolers work by passing a current through two dissimilar metals. The current makes heat transfer from one side to the other. In other words, one side cools off while the other heats up. Peltiers require a lot of amps to run, and they dissipate a lot of heat. I ran a peltier that required 20A and dissipated 226W of heat! Peltiers are generally used in conjunction with water cooling in order to expel all of the heat. A peltier would be totally impractical in a carPC because of the setup needed to run one. I burnt out many a PSU because my peltier drew too much from the power supply in conjunction with the rest of the system. Most people nowadays run a separate power supply just for the peltier. I also ran 2 radiators on my watercooling setup and a bunch of big fans. Not to mention a cold plate, because without one the CPU would be toast before the peltier reached full effect. Yea, I can overclock the f$%k out of my CPU, but it is too impractical for everyday use. It would be like trying to drive an NHRA dragster to work every morning. And as to the ideas about tapping into the car's water system, bad idea. The water would be WAY too hot. You would simply be passing friggin-hot water over the CPU. Most engines run between 160 and 220 degrees fahrenheit. BUT if someone is crazy enough to run a peltier, I can help you do it. It's not terribly hard to do as far as the work goes, but you have to know what you are doing or else you will ruin your chip (and maybe the board as well). And it is time consuming as well. __________________ CarPC Status [\|---------] 10% Complete Home Rig - Athlon 64 (939) 3200+ (Watercooled) DFI NF4 SLI-D Mobo Gigabyte 6600 128MB PCI-E Video Card (4) 9GB U160 SCSI HDDs in 36GB Raid 0 Array 160GB Seagate S-ATA Drive w/NCQ Dell 20.1" Widescreen LCD Last edited by White 350z; 06-17-2005 at 12:30 AM.