[jaydee]

Originally Posted by superart

Why do you say that? Wouldn't TEC blocks be simpler since theres more surface area?

Simpler? No. You need to design it to accomidate the TEC your using. If you got a 226W TEC you need a damn good design if you want it to work well. A standard Rotor block as tested by pH is OK but I wouldn't expect high performance (which if your TEC cooling your expecting). You need 300ish PSI of clamping pressure on the TEC. You need to figure out the proper base thickness AND more importantly the proper cold plate thickness. You need to make it insulatable, you need to figure out a way to insualt the bolts holing it together, ect... All that goes into the initial design. By the time you find the best combination you just bought 6 pre-made blocks worth of material, tools, and time.

If your the DIY type and have usable tools and the knowledge to use them you don't care about money and you will do it yourself. If you want a good quality end results, don't have tools, and don't know the first thing about block design then buy premade and save yourself a shit load of time and money.

I am in the middle of designing a TEC block and it is not nearly as easy as a regular water block. Lot's more stuff to consider. I am trying to design it to hold a 50mm TEC but the AMD mounting holes are not in a good spot. After the O-ring groove is milled it doesn't leave much room for a proper bolt pattern to clamp the cold plate/tec/block together.

What I got so far in attached pic. It is a Rotor variant. The holes will be connected through the middle. Just have to figure out the hole pattern for the coldplate. Being I know nothing about the math of figuring out proper thicknesses to use I will have to make 4 different sized cold plates and try a few different base thicknesses before I have something I would be happy with. If I am going to go through all the BS involved in TEC cooling then I am going to do it right and to the best of my abilities or it isn't worth it.

After years of designing and building regular blocks this is much moreof a challenge to do right If your goingto do it yourself at least to it better than if you buy a pre-made. It will not be cheaper if done right.