Peltier Reliability?

[F4_Hunter]

I've been OCing for a little while now and I think I'm ready to go to the next level and try a peltier. But (as usual) I have a few questions first. How reliable are peltiers? I’m the kind of guy who likes to leave his systems on 24/7 will a peltier stand for this? Also I’m a little worried about condensation. With proper steps taken can I breathe easily and not worry to much about it? And finally I’ve been looking at a 72 watt Leufken's kit that is meant to work with my Alpha PAL6035 do you think this would be good for a starter such as myself?

This concludes my questionnairy bombardment. Thanks http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[DanU]

Peltiers are very durable. Since they are solid-state devices, they should last for years. Just don't subject them to too much physical abuse since the semiconductors themselves are brittle and can crack.

The problem with peltiers is that they are tricky to properly set up. A 300W power supply is an absolute minimum because the peltier itself consumes lots of power. Then theres all the extra heat generation. You're going to need a good heatsink and lots of case ventilation. And then there's the condensation problem. The CPU has to be insulated so water won't condense on it and short out any pins.

IMO, peltiers aren't practical, but they make for great projects. I've never used one to cool a CPU, but I did make nifty mini-fridge that was powered from a cigarette lighter.