Review

PCApex.com, November 22, 2006
Vigor Monsoon II TEC CPU Cooler

Manufacturer: Vigor Gaming

Sponsor: Vigor Gaming

Author: Dominik "Anonymous" Haas

Editor: Gary "GlitterKill" Mullins | Product info link. | Read similar articles. | Available at FrozenCPU.

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The Monsoon II

On to the good stuff. The cooler itself is quite a beast, weighing in at almost 1 kg with the fan attached. The design is tried-and-true: heat pipes & a lot of stacked fins. The unique feature of the Monsoon II, of course, is the 50W TEC element integrated into the base. The TEC is sandwiched between the nickel-plated copper base plate and a hot plate. Both the base plate and hot plate contain 4 heat pipes (2 to each side) that carry the heat to the fins. The heat pipes attached to the base plate have the same function as in any normal heat sink, but the ones attached to the hot plate remove heat generated at the hot side of the TEC. This way, the TEC assists the passive operation of the base plate heat pipes. Even if the TEC fails, you still have a semi-functional passive heat sink. TEC failure is one of the prime concerns traditionally faced by those who've used them directly on the CPU, since failure of the TEC basically means you're then trying to cool your CPU with a ceramic blanket.

The cooler is dominated by the, what I assume to be, metallic-teal anodized aluminum shroud. It gives the cooler an "all business" look that I find very appealing. The only thing printed on the top is "MACS", which is an abbreviation for Micro Air Conditioning Solutions, the original designers of the cooler, or Monsoon Active Cooling Solution, as printed on the box. The shroud allows for the attachment of two 92mm fans; one on each side. Also, you can see the tips of the eight heat pipes sticking out the top. Altogether the design is sleek and, dare I say, sexy? The pictures speak for themselves.

Removal of the shroud reveals the brains of the operation. The keen eye will notice the fact that the heat sink is actually comprised of two separate sections of fins press-fitted to the heat pipes. One of the sections are connected to the heat pipes that transfer heat from the base plate and the other four from the hot plate on the hot side of the TEC. The beautiful symmetry is interrupted by one of the few faults in the construction: the top fin of each section isn't fully connected to its respective heat pipes. I can't imagine this being done intentionally. The fins that aren't in contact with the heat pipes lose their functionality because no heat transfers from the heat pipes. The performance loss from this is virtually nonexistent, however, it is a potential source of vibration. I had no such problem, it was just something that caught my eye during dissection.

The TEC is attached to the base plate via four spring-loaded pins, which are clearly visible in the first photo. In the event your TEC should fail, these pins are easily removed, provided you have a pair of needle-nose pliers and use a little finesse. After that, you'll either have to contact Vigor about getting a replacement... or use your imagination. A word of caution: this will most likely void any warranty and neither I nor Vigor will be responsible for anyone who thought they knew what they were doing. Also keep in mind heat pipes have a range of operation; so, if you overload them and superheat the fluid inside they will be rendered completely useless. If you have any more questions, ask away in the discussion thread.

The base is flat as far as I can tell, however, there are some scratches. I would say a bit more TLC during handling and a thin, removable plastic film over the base plate is in order.

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