Cooling Active Cool AC4G

What do ya think of this

http://images.anandtech.com/reviews/shows/2002/comdex/day1/cooling/activecool1l.jpg

Yeah I know it's a Pelt!

£80 aint bad (no need 4 a dedicated PSU)

Please dont link pictures to sites that you donot own the hosting to - Haddy

 

There is a Bit-tech policy saying that no bandwidth thefting is allowed I think.

As for the cooler, bascially its just the ThermalTake one isn't it? And the TT one is pretty crap... judging by the review(s) I've read.

 

The TEC they use isn't powerful enough. At least i don't think it is.

It is recommended to use a 172W TEC or up with a modern processor.

But the heat evolving from the hot side will be more of the order of 350-400W.

This is why it is also not recommended that you aircool peltiers.

So they've done two things wrong.

Also note that the efficiency of the TEC decreases as the hot side temperature increases, ie if the cooling on the hot side can't cope. This will reduce the temperature difference between the hot and cold side of the pelt, for a given heat load.

Whta annoys me is that they quote this as a silent solution, yet it will be producing roughly 3-4 times as much heat. How can a HSF dissipate 4 times as much heat more quietly than a standard HSF?

TEC'c should never be introduced into mainstream PC cooling. They should be reserved for those that are prepared to learn about how they work, what their limitations are, and how best to use them. Once you've got that figured, most people give up the idea as stupid, not worth the money, and less effective than phase change.

8-ball

 

Yep,

I agree........Still interesting!

What is Bandwidth Thefting?

 

Did you link to that pic on someone else's site, or did you host it on your own site.

If it's on someone else's site and you have posted the pic directly here, that is bandwidth theft.

Link to the page with the image or host it on your own webspace.

8-ball

 

You are correct sir....Bit has a policy of no bandwidth stealing as there are alot of people on the forums and if everyone downloads the picture it could cause a strain on someones bandwidth allotment....Doesnt really matter as much with larger sites but rules are rules...

 

OK, the specs for this thing are a power consummption of 73W.

This worries me, as TEC's almost always draw more power than they heat load they are dissipating, and as a processor can easily match this, well you can see where I'm going with this.

8-ball

 

Might work on a celeron or older p3....It must have had some sort of testing before it was released....I hope....

 

That's what worries me!

 

Looks like that really their only product....Wouldnt be the greatest way to start out a new line let alone a new company to have a crappy untested product...Should be some reviews probably soon, might shead a little light...

 

I've tried googling, but can't find anything.

If anyone knows of any reviews of this or the thermaltake subzero 4g, please let us know.

8-ball

 

Well the links to reviews are on the product page. (now say "d'oh"!!!)

http://www.thermaltake.com/products/subzero/subzero4g.htm

 

Should "Bandwidth Thefting" be added to the Bit-Tech Rules?

Back to the subject....
That diagram of the heatsink made me laugh

Mat

 

lol 47 degrees with a AMD K8...Wonder why it just says dummy board and no realy idle load temps...

Theres a few reviews...Why does everybody compare these to air cooling?? It better beat out a regular heatsink and fan for $150

Checked out the overclockers cafe review and wasnt overally impressed...Will be more impressed when I see a review for the amd version...

Still waiting on the slow 3dgameman review to download...

 

To be honest, both of these reviews look like glorified adverts. The 3D gameman reviews are great for cases and things, particularly if you want to see what it looks like. But for testing a cooling solution, you need to do heaps of testing. Not just stick it on and see what happens. The TIM joint can vary with each mounting and can result in variations of up to 5 degrees.

If anyone has ever read any of BillA's reviews, you'll know what I mean about being thorough.

Very little detail was given in the overclockers cafe review, most of it seemed to be a copy straight from the webpage specs.

I wait for a more thorough review, conducted by someone who knows exactly what they are doing and preferably someone who uses a simulated heat source rather than using motherboard and on-chip diodes.

Incidentally, for anyone who is interested, BillA will no longer be running Thermal management testing. His input into watercooling will be sorely missed, though his new job as engineering manager at Swiftech could yield some interesting BLOO waterblocks in the coming future.

8-ball

 

I really don't get this product. They are claiming it as a low-noise solution but a petier adds heat and therfore noise to an aircooled system. If they had built it as a all-in low end TEC+Water system I would be more interested but as it stands I can't see what it achieves.

 

Finally, someone has done a review which obviously wasn't funded by thermaltake or aquacool.

http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=review&dId=474&dPage=1

To summarise, with a non overclocked XP1800, it comes in 3rd from last at idle, and last in all of the tests which put any load on the cpu. When the cpu is overclocked, it just can't cope.

As I suspected, the 73W peltier just CANNOT cope with modern cpus.

This should be consigned to the same bag as the water-x cooler. Like the water-x, it has been designed with little thought to what would perform well, and lots of thought as to what would be easy to market to noobs, in order to make a quick buck.

That really ****s me off!!!!!

8-ball

 

It does what it says...It cools the cpu, maybe not the best but it does cool it....Its quiet, would love to see a dBa level on those heatsinks compared to the system...Maybe Im missing something but I didnt see where this was marketed to overclockers?

We all know there is a good 4-5c +/- factor with those temps which would make them pretty even....I would love more info and pictures on the actuall test rig/surroundings...

Given that it costs an arm and leg I know I wouldnt buy it, but for those who dont want to mess with water it would be an ok solution if you got the $$....

 

Haddy, I disagree.

It cannot cope with the power output of a modern cpu.

It uses a 73W peltier, and this simply ISN'T enough.

For that prices, you would expect it to cool the cpu better than any of the heatsinks also in the review.

I also doubt it will be any quiter, as the heatsink will now be disspiating the power of the cpu + the power dissipated by the TEC, which would probably be over 100W.

Now considering the TEC can only dissipate a maximum of 73W, and it does this with zero temp difference between hot and cold side, it is going to be highly dependent on how cold you can keep the heatsink. This is the problem with this cooling solution, as the heatsink most probably can't keep the hot side cold enough.

It's just not very well thought out. Heat sinks are struggling as it is to cope with the heat loads of modern processores. Matters aren't helped by adding an additional 100+ Watts to that which needs dissipating.

8-ball

 

I'd have to agree there. How on earth they claim this is a low noise solution when it is adding heat to the system is very strange.

Whilst their Aquarius w/c is low-end low-price and fine for what it is, I can't see who this product is aimed at.