ThermalElectric cooling for computers.

[xellos88330]

What are your takes on it? I am thinking about installing one on the LGA1366 board that I am getting in a couple weeks for my gaming computer that I will be building. Just wondering what everyones opinions on it was.

[Libri]

I still don't know much about them but I am currently doing the research so I can build one for my next project. Have you decided what CPU you will be installing?

For my current project I am going to build a Linux system, so I think I am going to go with a dual core, AMD Athlon 64X2 2.7GHz.

[sabar]

Honestly, outside of aircooling and heatsinks, it's all very gimmicky. I have yet to see a real use outside overclocking as a pure hobby, especially when fins are so efficient at removing heat for little cost. People get suckered into buying fans that spin at a billion RPMs and sound like vacuum cleaners that give them 5% better heat removal over a noiseless low-rpm fan. Same deal with massive piping projects that give a 5-10 celsius improvement. But I digress.

If you need help, best to go to a community devoted to such things as very few people here have hard-core cooling set-ups that aren't attached to their A/C or car.

A good source for questions and general guidance:
http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/forumdisplay.php?f=182

They have pretty good info on all methods of cooling and stuff, but there's a lot of nuts that will tell you to get much more than you need.

[xellos88330]

I still don't know much about them but I am currently doing the research so I can build one for my next project. Have you decided what CPU you will be installing?

For my current project I am going to build a Linux system, so I think I am going to go with a dual core, AMD Athlon 64X2 2.7GHz.

Core i7 is what i am going to be using.

[jacobdrj]

Do you mean peltier cooling? It works great from those I have asked, but there is the very real catch that because it is SO cold you can get condensation, and that could wreck the chip. If you are in a dry climate, and don't plan on using the computer near your shower room/kitchen, it should allow for good overclocking and long part life.

But a good air-cooled system, like Arctic Cooler 7, with some good thermal paste, can do the trick just fine.

[Cry Havoc]

Depending on what you're planning to run, a well designed airflow system is going to be as (or nearly as) effective as just about anything else. You're trading one kind of maintenance for another, usually. Keep in mind that high powered CPUs and GPUs are designed by manufacturer to run on stock cooling systems. If you aren't overclocking, you probably don't need to upgrade, and if you do, you most likely do not need to go all out.

My aftermarket cooling system (Xigmatek) is more than enough for my overclocked CPU, and it uses a simple fin/fan/heatpipe design with an arctic silver compound to attach it.

If I was going dual SLI vid card with a hyperclocked CPU, I might think about something more extensive.