quick and hopefully easy question

[twenty]

what in the heck is a peltier cooling system and how does it work?

[Spawn-Inc]

i've often wondered that myself i found this googling.

http://www.heatsink-guide.com/peltier.htm

http://www.digit-life.com/articles/peltiercoolers/

its how the usb beverage cooler works, i think.

you can buy one for looks like cheap.

[twenty]

thanks I was wondering about that.

[Spawn-Inc]

i think, not sure but think people use it in combination with water cooling too.

[Olen]

Try wiki.

Basicly its something which when you put a current though it one end gets hot and the other gets cold. Chill the hot end WELL (if you don't it can actually lead to your CPU being hotter than without) and the cold end gets very cold. Its a junction of two metals (well kind of) a bit like a thermocouple but backwards.

[sirkillalot617]

Basicly you use the pelter to actually cool the chip (CPU or whatever) and the watercooling cools the hot side of the pelter down at least That what I thought.

[Spawn-Inc]

^^^ thats how i thought it works.

[Crimson Sky]

Basicly you use the pelter to actually cool the chip (CPU or whatever) and the watercooling cools the hot side of the pelter down at least That what I thought.

That is correct!! There is also lots of specially cut and fitted neoprene material surrounding the waterblock and chip to prevent condensation from forming on the metal parts. This neoprene material and the waterblock are usually held in place with a silicone thermal compound, which further adds to preventing condensation. The cold side of the peltier forms a good deal of frost.

The downside to this type of cooling is that the peltier itself draws a tremendous ammount of power, requiring a special, seperate power supply unit that can handle the amperage. A typical PSU can not.