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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Peripherals

The 5.25" Management Unit controls the fan speed and TEC amperage. It also serves another purpose: a prison to a crazy little man who keeps trying to dig his way out (means the TEC is working). The display shows the total cumulated operating time, operating time since the computer has been turned on, and the temperature of the TEC. The two buttons on the front of the unit controls whether you see temperatures in fahrenheit or celsius, and which color to make the background of the LCD display. I chose green because I'm 1/12th part leprechaun. The inside of the unit is pretty bare; which is ideal for us modders who are always looking for a little bit of extra space to hide cables or munitions. It also blinks red and sounds an alarm if the TEC temperature goes above a set threshold or if the TEC is broken or unplugged.

The thermocouple used to measure the operating temperature of the TEC is located at the edge of the base plate. Judging from the last picture it isn't too representative of the lowest temperature. In that picture, the top temperature on my thermometer is from the center of the integrated heat spreader and the lower one is ambient. Condensation can occur any time a component is at a lower temperature than the air around it, because it lowers the dew point of the air in contact with it. The good news is I checked for condensation every time I mounted and never found any sign of it, even at 100% humidity.

The stock temperature-controlled 92mm fan boasts 4 blue LEDs and comes with plastic grommets to help prevent vibration transfer to the shroud. The fan's speed variance brings me to one of my biggest gripes about this cooler: it is annoying. Not loud, just annoying. The fan speed is also controlled by the TEC operating temperature. 26 ¢XC on the management unit turns the fan up to the next highest speed and 24 ¢XC lowers it. The problem is this entire cycle repeats itself about every 30 seconds as the temperature pivots around the target of 25 ¢XC when my computer is idling. The constant change in noise level is much more distracting than a constant-speed fan because there's just no tuning it out. Allow me to demonstrate:

WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRR

(wait 10 seconds)

whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrr

(wait 10 seconds)

WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIRR

(wait 10 seconds)

whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirrr

...and so forth. You see? It has literally driven me insane. I was dying to resolder this thing after the stock fan testing.

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