adequate support hardware for pelt?

thaduke · 10-22-2004, 11:13 PM

Hey everyone. I'm looking into pelts and I've been reading and doing alot of research on them. I have a Hydor pump with 320 gph and about 6.5 feet of head or so, and a Via Aqua with 370gph and 6 feet of head. I have a Black Ice Extreme 2 radiator with 2 ports for 120mm fans (and I have 2 fans mounted on the front of the rad, 2 more mounted on the back, for 4 total fans). The entire setup is 1/2" OD. So...... the question is, if I get a pelt, do you think I have an adequate pump and radiator combo? Of course, the big question is how powerful of a pelt can my cooling handle (wattage-wise).

My second question is, with a 600 watt psu (and a power-hungry, high end system), is it possible to run a low-end pelt straight from the computer's psu successfully with reasonably lower cpu temps? I know computer psu's aren't designed to work with pelts and its always a much better idea to use a seperate psu made specially for the pelt (meanwell, etc.), but is it possible? I'm trying to avoid buying a second power supply at all costs.

Any advice is wonderful. Thanks in advance!

bigben2k · 10-23-2004, 01:00 PM

You'd benefit from having one more radiator.

The PSU can be shared, but you really have to check the individual load that you're effectively putting on each voltage rail, to make sure that you don't exceed the PSU capacity. Just add the amps, and compare it with the PSU specs.

The problem of course, is that you never really know what load your PC is putting, unless you measure it, which isn't obvious to everyone.

Otherwise a pelt (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) does not constitute a "bad" load on a PSU, to where it would interfere with the PC. i.e. it's not an inductive load (like a motor), nor a capacitive load (like a PC), so it's not going to cause any kind of spikes that might cause a PC to crash.

thaduke · 10-24-2004, 03:37 AM

Thanks for the response. I was suspecting that I'd need a second radiator for better efficiency. I think the hardest part is choosing a pelt that will work with reasonable efficiency on my system, and not cause any problems. And so my search continues...

rgathright · 12-17-2004, 02:01 PM

ThaDuke, give us an update on your project.

I have two points to bring up.
1) You are trying to save $$$, so do not purchase another Black ICE radiator, instead purchase an automotive heater core. Radiator Heat Dissipation Article

2) If you put your 600Watt PSU under a full load, you may increase the heat output to dangerous levels. For example, I run Folding@Home on my machines at work in the past 3 months I have had to replace the PSU on all my machines with < 300 Watt PSU's because Folding's new WU's put such a load on them. My point is that the PSU's may be rated for 600W but not a continous load.
The solution is mounting a second PSU in a tower style case (to keep it hidden) you can trick the second PSU to come on by splicing the green wire on the MOBO connector to the first PSU green/Mobo connector. Then splice any of the negative wires in as well. This is something I have been doing for awhile now with my higher end machines and I have had no problems.

Good luck.

DrMemory · 12-17-2004, 07:15 PM

Hard drives will pull about twice as much current on the 12V rail when they "spin up" after power is applied or after they have been "spun down" by power saving software. You need to take this into account when calculating the amount of current being used.

10-22-2004, 11:13 PM	#1
thaduke Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: United States Posts: 2	adequate support hardware for pelt? Hey everyone. I'm looking into pelts and I've been reading and doing alot of research on them. I have a Hydor pump with 320 gph and about 6.5 feet of head or so, and a Via Aqua with 370gph and 6 feet of head. I have a Black Ice Extreme 2 radiator with 2 ports for 120mm fans (and I have 2 fans mounted on the front of the rad, 2 more mounted on the back, for 4 total fans). The entire setup is 1/2" OD. So...... the question is, if I get a pelt, do you think I have an adequate pump and radiator combo? Of course, the big question is how powerful of a pelt can my cooling handle (wattage-wise). My second question is, with a 600 watt psu (and a power-hungry, high end system), is it possible to run a low-end pelt straight from the computer's psu successfully with reasonably lower cpu temps? I know computer psu's aren't designed to work with pelts and its always a much better idea to use a seperate psu made specially for the pelt (meanwell, etc.), but is it possible? I'm trying to avoid buying a second power supply at all costs. Any advice is wonderful. Thanks in advance!

10-23-2004, 01:00 PM	#2
bigben2k Responsible for 2% of all the posts here. Join Date: May 2002 Location: Texas, U.S.A. Posts: 8,302	You'd benefit from having one more radiator. The PSU can be shared, but you really have to check the individual load that you're effectively putting on each voltage rail, to make sure that you don't exceed the PSU capacity. Just add the amps, and compare it with the PSU specs. The problem of course, is that you never really know what load your PC is putting, unless you measure it, which isn't obvious to everyone. Otherwise a pelt (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) does not constitute a "bad" load on a PSU, to where it would interfere with the PC. i.e. it's not an inductive load (like a motor), nor a capacitive load (like a PC), so it's not going to cause any kind of spikes that might cause a PC to crash. __________________ WBTA (Water Block Testing Alliance) Nordic Hardware WC 101

10-24-2004, 03:37 AM	#3
thaduke Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: United States Posts: 2	Thanks for the response. I was suspecting that I'd need a second radiator for better efficiency. I think the hardest part is choosing a pelt that will work with reasonable efficiency on my system, and not cause any problems. And so my search continues...

12-17-2004, 02:01 PM	#4
rgathright Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: la Posts: 10	ThaDuke, give us an update on your project. I have two points to bring up. 1) You are trying to save $$$, so do not purchase another Black ICE radiator, instead purchase an automotive heater core. Radiator Heat Dissipation Article 2) If you put your 600Watt PSU under a full load, you may increase the heat output to dangerous levels. For example, I run Folding@Home on my machines at work in the past 3 months I have had to replace the PSU on all my machines with < 300 Watt PSU's because Folding's new WU's put such a load on them. My point is that the PSU's may be rated for 600W but not a continous load. The solution is mounting a second PSU in a tower style case (to keep it hidden) you can trick the second PSU to come on by splicing the green wire on the MOBO connector to the first PSU green/Mobo connector. Then splice any of the negative wires in as well. This is something I have been doing for awhile now with my higher end machines and I have had no problems. Good luck.

12-17-2004, 07:15 PM	#5
DrMemory Cooling Savant Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 101	Hard drives will pull about twice as much current on the 12V rail when they "spin up" after power is applied or after they have been "spun down" by power saving software. You need to take this into account when calculating the amount of current being used.

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