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General discussion

Cool Ideas

Apr 1, 2004 11:46PM PST

Hi everyone,
I am planing for a new system with AMD Athlon64 3200+ as the CPU.My system will be mostly used for video and audio editing,and 3D rendering.It will be running 24x7.I live in tropical climate and the atmosphere temp has already crossed 42C(summer peak temp 55C).I was thinking to go for Peltier cooling.It would be helpful if someone illustrated the pros and cons of this cooling.Looking forward to some supercool suggestions.Thanks

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Re:Cool Ideas
Apr 2, 2004 4:24AM PST

Unless you are working outside, I don't think any extra special computer precautions are necessary. However Air flow is a big factor in cooling and longevity. Fans, Fans, Fans.

I have used off the shelf PC components all over the world and as long as the environment is reasonable, the design specifications are usually pretty tolerant of outside temperature variation. However if you anticipate outtages of your power or A/C, or the internal room humidity is high, consider automated shutdown based on temperature or humidity change and a good UPS. You might want a de-humidifier in the room with your computer.

My problems have always been poor power, dust/sand or salt (offshore work).

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Re:Cool Ideas
Apr 2, 2004 6:14AM PST

That's a problem Russel.

With ambient air temps ranging from 42 to 55C (I'll not mention global warming caused by PC's running 24/7 either! lol) which although a bit warm, is within a CPU's operating range.

Using a very good air cooled heatsink can often get to within a couple of degrees of ambient air temps, but under full load in a hot climate, it's difficult. So air cooling is out as you'd need a lot of high speed fans to shift air rapidly and create a wind chill, which is why you're asking about Peltiers of course.

For those who haven't heard of Peltier coolers, what it basically is an electric heat exchanger. Two surfaces are connected by a third material which when powered thermally reacts, and one surface cools down as the other heats up. The cool side is clamped to the CPU which can get very cool, but the other side gets pretty hot, and the peltier itself also heats up, as there is current moving through it.

So the CPU's kept cold.....but what about the hot side?

So while the CPU's cooled down you still have to get rid of the heat from the hot side of the peltier. So big heatsinks, water cooling, or loads of scremaing fans for wind chill, are still required. Considering the complexity, and difficulty it might just be best to go for a good effective water cooler first. At least you can check reviews on how quickly they'll pump heat away, and if that isn't up to the task in your hot climate you can upgrade by inserting a bigger radiator, or increasing fan speeds / sizes. It's not an easy fix is it? 8