Review

Vigor Monsoon II Review
by Thomas Gribble

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Installation

Having built quite a few computers ourselves, we think it's safe to say that installing aftermarket heatsinks is always one of the hardest things to do. Most of the time you have to disconnect all of your components, take out your motherboard, install a mounting bracket and studs, get the heatsink on there using whatever newfangled mounting system the manufacturers decided to implement, put the motherboard back in, plug all of your components back in, press the power button, and hope and pray that you didn¡¦t mess something up. It really becomes a pain in the neck, and results in re-building your computer time and time again. The Monsoon II is no exception. In fact, we don¡¦t think it's too far of a stretch to say that the Monsoon II is one of the most tricky-to-install coolers we've ever worked with.

The Monsoon II cooler is available for AMD and Intel systems on the 939, 940, AM2, and LGA 775 sockets. The only difference between the AMD and Intel versions is the mounting brackets, which correspond to the different placement of the motherboard holes. You will not be able to use the AMD cooler on an Intel system unless you have the Intel mounting bracket, so if you are interested in buying one, make sure you know which one you are getting.

The first step in installing the Monsoon II is removing the motherboard. Of course this can require quite a lot of work, as mentioned above. Once you've got it out, you have to remove any stock or other aftermarket heatsink mounting brackets that might be previously installed. Once that part is done, it is time to orchestrate a frustratingly complex balancing act between the motherboard and heatsink. After having installed the cooler a few times, you start to get the hang of it. For first-timers, however, it is tremendously difficult. The way we find most convenient is the following:

First, lock the processor into the motherboard and prep it with thermal paste. Second, find an elevated, solid surface to rest the cooler on. Set the cooler upside down on this surface, and make sure it is well lighted.

Then, flip the motherboard/processor over and hold it over the upside-down cooler. Align the mounting bracket holes with the motherboard holes. Get one of the mounting screws ready by inserting it through the mounting bracket and motherboard so that it is sticking out underneath.

Then, slowly lower the motherboard down on top of the cooler while visually lining up the protruding screw with the corresponding hole on the cooler. Make sure you drop the motherboard down evenly so as to provide for decent dispersion of the thermal paste. Once you've got one of the screws in, aligning the other three should be relatively easy.

It sounds like a pain, and it is. While not necessarily as hard as installing certain other coolers, the fact that humans only have two hands makes getting this cooler securely in place quite a task. However, after installing a few times, it really is not too terribly difficult. After getting the cooler on, installing and plugging in the management unit is a piece of cake and is just like installing a normal optical drive.

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