Vigor's Monsoon II TEC CPU Cooler

bgerber

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Overclockers constantly seek the best cooling systems available, but many still hesitate to go the water route. Vigor Gaming's thermoelectric cooler (TEC) at least merits a second look.
 

miahallen

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Nah, plenty of air cooler perform better, for cheaper, and quieter. Like the new Thermalright Ultra 120 @ anandtech.

X6800
Monsoon II Lite
2.93GHz = idle 32C load 39C
3.96GHz = idle 42C load 54C

Thermalright Ultra 120 Plus
2.93GHz = idle 26C load 32C
3.96GHz = idle 36C load 47C

Both at stock speed, and OC'd, the temps are 6 degrees better at idle, and 7 better at load! That's incredible!
Plus, Thermalright is half the price 8O
 

jeremyrailton

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I concur. I seems that the thermalright is the best option for now without going for ridiculous water/phase change/deep freezer/heart of my last girlfriend case stuff.
 

Nidy

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I have a dell xps gen 3 with the 3.6 pent 4 in it. The damn thing sounds like an airplane taking off in the house due the fans working their ass off to keep it cool. Would this Monsoon cooling alternative work in a situation like this?

I am tring to prolong the life of this machine another year at which point I could go to another machine that is Vista ready and not made by dell.

Thanks for the input.

Bill
Computer amatuer.
 

Luscious

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Perhaps I should have asked the boss for a Quad Core.
And what was stopping you??? Perhaps somebody else should have done your work for you as well... :roll:

For many years now, the real choice for TEC cooling has been Swiftech. If you can deal with the work required to professionally install the gear, you will end up with a TEC that not only works, but works damn well.

It's high time Toms Hardware put on the gloves and built themselves a high end Swiftech rig. Their latest TEC offering, the MCW6500-T, would give even a phase change cooler a run for it's money.
 

nicolasb

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If you're going to test something like this it makes no sense at all to compare it only with water cooling or with a stock CPU cooler. It should be up against high-end air-coolers like the Tuniq Tower and Thermalright Ultra-128 - they are the actual price/performance competitors.
 

chewbenator

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Perhaps the threshold at which the TEC engages should be set lower so that it actually can cool under these test conditions. But, I would like to see a follow up article on how it handles a Quad core where the increased heat would have engaged the TEC fully instead of cycling on and off. Because of the narrow temperature range I would expect that at slightly higher temps the TEC, being enabled, would keep the chip under 50C until the limit of the TEC's ability. Finding that limit would be difficult especially under conditions where the chip needs to be preserved. Perhaps throw a Prescott in there.
 

sailer

Splendid
If you're going to test something like this it makes no sense at all to compare it only with water cooling or with a stock CPU cooler. It should be up against high-end air-coolers like the Tuniq Tower and Thermalright Ultra-128 - they are the actual price/performance competitors.

I agree, and they might toss in the new Gemini for testing as well. Sure, more work, but it gives a better result for people to evaluate.
 

RJ

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I have a dell xps gen 3 with the 3.6 pent 4 in it. The damn thing sounds like an airplane taking off in the house due the fans working their ass off to keep it cool. Would this Monsoon cooling alternative work in a situation like this?

I am tring to prolong the life of this machine another year at which point I could go to another machine that is Vista ready and not made by dell.

Thanks for the input.

Bill
Computer amatuer.

Obviously, I have the TEC. My biggest complaint about it, other than price, was that it was louder than the F-16s that are usually flying overhead here. I quickly remedied the problem with this fan. It was an easy mod, I used a jeweler's screwdriver to pop the pins out of the harness for the included fan. I have the new fan plugged directly into the CPU fan port on the mobo and it controls the fan speed. MUUUUUCH BETTER! :D

I see no degradation in performance by taking the fan controller offline.


I went with this cooler because where I live, 115 degrees in the summer is the norm. I wanted to still be able to OC, without cooking my stuff. This keeps the CPU below ambient @ idle. I've also got a 120 mm fan about 2 inches away from the back end of this cooler, so the heat doesn't stay in the case for very long.
 

Crashman

Polypheme
Former Staff
Has anyone considered taking their demands to the top? Each review tests with the equipment he has on hand, so the responsibility for a substandard data set is shared. The more reasonable a complaint is, the more likely it should be emailed directly to the editorial coordinator.
 

darkangelism

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the monsoon 2 is a smaller heatsink then the thermaltake 120.

monsoon is 90X90X160 mm

120: 64X132X161 mm

not that it justifies the price, but in my case my scythe blocks my 4X PCI-e slot and the the 120 would also, so the smaller monsoon would be better then.
 

cb62fcni

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I'd love to, but I don't have his e-mail address. I'm just hoping he reads the forums. It's not that these reviews are horrible, they're just incomplete, and I'm afraid they will mislead people. For instance, they don't bother to mention the increased power consumption caused by a TEC. Now most of us know about this already, but some Joe Schmoe may very well not know, then wonder why his computer keeps crashing, etc. etc. until he's wasted a lot of money.

Then, there's the issue of the VERY limited comparison. It seems like they were either short of money, time, or both. They can do better, and those that frequent the site should demand better.
 

kye3k1

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I cant find the Vigor Monsoon II of the Thermaltake 120 anywhere in UK.

Can you get TEC coolers anywhere in UK?? I want one now! My Quad core idles at 67C with Arctic Cooler Pro 7. Thats a bit high for me. I want under 50C easily.
 

cb62fcni

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If your CPU is idling at 67C, a TEC isn't your solution. You need to properly install your HSF. Do you have it overclocked? What heat transfer compound did you use?
 

kye3k1

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My temperature is rising and rising, now I get 79C on highest temp core (Core Temp measure) when I leave 4x folding at home on all four cores running at once for hours on end.

That might seem fine if the max temp is 100C but really I think it way too high. Now I am worried abot my temperature rise ... load 70->80!!! in two days?

Help! If I have the time I will try re-fitting my fan. Otherwise I need a better cooling solution.

And oh yer, its idiling at 55 now! must be badly fitted cooler. :x

:roll: