Monsoon II Lite: Thermal Electric Cooling Tower
by Wesley Fink on February 6, 2007 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Noise
For some users the goal is maximum stable overclock, and they will live with the inconvenience of a louder system. For others silence is the most important factor, and these users will forgo maximum overclocking if this increases system noise levels. In general you might expect a solid-state cooling device to be very quiet, but the results with the Monsoon II Lite were mixed.
The 92mm cooling fan on the Monsoon II is extremely quiet at low speeds, below the noise floor of the test system. It is also relatively quiet at higher speeds, and comparable to other high-end units at maximum speed. However, both the TEC operation and the fan speed of the Monsoon II Lite are controlled by the PCI controller card. With this in mind, test conditions had to be changed a bit to realistically measure noise on the Monsoon II.
Noise was finally measured at low speed idle, and also measured under high overclock stress to get a range of noise that might be expected when running a Monsoon Lite II. Other noise measurement conditions were the same as used in previous cooling noise tests. This means noise levels below the noise floor of our test system with a quiet 520W power supply are ignored.
There are virtually no power supplies that do not have a fan. While Zalman and a few others do make a few expensive fanless power supplies, we have not seen a fanless unit larger than 500W, or one that would be used for seriously overclocking a system. With that in mind the noise level of the system with all fans turned off except the power supply was measured. The power supply used for the cooling test bed was the OCZ PowerStream 520, which is one of the quieter of the high performance power supplies. The noise level of the power supply was 38.3dB from 24" (61cm) and 47dB from 6" (152mm). The measured noise level of the test room is 36.4dB, which would be considered a relatively quiet room with a noise floor slightly below the OCZ PowerStream 520 PSU.
Measured noise levels in this chart should be considered worst case. Measurements were taken with an open side of a mid tower case 6" and 24" from the HSF. Real world would be a completely closed case with a further reduction in noise.
Despite the fact that the fan itself is capable of running quietly, the noise measurements for the Monsoon II Lite were very mixed. Under idle conditions the noise level is average among quiet tower units. However, stress condition noise measurements were among the worst measured so far in our cooler tests. The reason for this is the way the fan is controlled by the PCI card. During idle at normal speeds the TEC is not even active and the Monsoon II is quiet. However, during operations where the TEC is turning on, half power, and off, the fan is also starting, stopping, and running at reduced speed - in conjunction with the TEC. This does not seriously impact performance, but it causes a huge amount of clicking and buzzing which dramatically increases noise.
This was brought to the attention of Vigor Gaming who stated they are aware of the problem. Vigor told us they are working on a fix to separately control the fan and TEC with the controller card which should effectively address this issue. When asked for a timetable we were told the revised until should be available in 3 to 4 months.
As already stated, this starting, stopping, and slowing of the fan does not appear to seriously impact performance. It is also interesting that this increased noise only happens in "in-between" states. At normal idle with the TEC off or at high stress with the TEC mostly on the problem is minimal. Under in-between conditions, however, the clicking and buzzing can be very annoying.
For some users the goal is maximum stable overclock, and they will live with the inconvenience of a louder system. For others silence is the most important factor, and these users will forgo maximum overclocking if this increases system noise levels. In general you might expect a solid-state cooling device to be very quiet, but the results with the Monsoon II Lite were mixed.
The 92mm cooling fan on the Monsoon II is extremely quiet at low speeds, below the noise floor of the test system. It is also relatively quiet at higher speeds, and comparable to other high-end units at maximum speed. However, both the TEC operation and the fan speed of the Monsoon II Lite are controlled by the PCI controller card. With this in mind, test conditions had to be changed a bit to realistically measure noise on the Monsoon II.
Noise was finally measured at low speed idle, and also measured under high overclock stress to get a range of noise that might be expected when running a Monsoon Lite II. Other noise measurement conditions were the same as used in previous cooling noise tests. This means noise levels below the noise floor of our test system with a quiet 520W power supply are ignored.
There are virtually no power supplies that do not have a fan. While Zalman and a few others do make a few expensive fanless power supplies, we have not seen a fanless unit larger than 500W, or one that would be used for seriously overclocking a system. With that in mind the noise level of the system with all fans turned off except the power supply was measured. The power supply used for the cooling test bed was the OCZ PowerStream 520, which is one of the quieter of the high performance power supplies. The noise level of the power supply was 38.3dB from 24" (61cm) and 47dB from 6" (152mm). The measured noise level of the test room is 36.4dB, which would be considered a relatively quiet room with a noise floor slightly below the OCZ PowerStream 520 PSU.
Measured noise levels in this chart should be considered worst case. Measurements were taken with an open side of a mid tower case 6" and 24" from the HSF. Real world would be a completely closed case with a further reduction in noise.
Despite the fact that the fan itself is capable of running quietly, the noise measurements for the Monsoon II Lite were very mixed. Under idle conditions the noise level is average among quiet tower units. However, stress condition noise measurements were among the worst measured so far in our cooler tests. The reason for this is the way the fan is controlled by the PCI card. During idle at normal speeds the TEC is not even active and the Monsoon II is quiet. However, during operations where the TEC is turning on, half power, and off, the fan is also starting, stopping, and running at reduced speed - in conjunction with the TEC. This does not seriously impact performance, but it causes a huge amount of clicking and buzzing which dramatically increases noise.
This was brought to the attention of Vigor Gaming who stated they are aware of the problem. Vigor told us they are working on a fix to separately control the fan and TEC with the controller card which should effectively address this issue. When asked for a timetable we were told the revised until should be available in 3 to 4 months.
As already stated, this starting, stopping, and slowing of the fan does not appear to seriously impact performance. It is also interesting that this increased noise only happens in "in-between" states. At normal idle with the TEC off or at high stress with the TEC mostly on the problem is minimal. Under in-between conditions, however, the clicking and buzzing can be very annoying.
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hox - Friday, February 23, 2007 - link
Looking at your evaluation of this cooler, the screen shot you provide of the Nvidia monitoring software shows a Cpu temp of 49C and a system temp of 35C. Since you state you used this software to monitor temps during your evaluation could you please explain how the worst heat sink (intel stock cooler) started at 41C at idle. What heat sink was in place during your screen shot of the nvidia software? Also more information is needed to evaluate the product, in particular what is the fan arrangement in the mid tower case? Fan Number, CFM, size etc. The performance of each heatsink is highly dependent on the supplied flow of air, and there is considerable variability in how each heat sink works with the available flow. Knowing more about your standard set up would be helpful. Finally many users of the Qx6700 cpu have reported a higher initial tempearture value for this cpu. It would be nice to see in your evaluations an assessment of this processor as it typically runs 10 degrees C hotter than the dual core extremes.customcoms - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
For more information, and real world tests by some of the top overclockers out there, check out this thread: http://www.diy-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6...">http://www.diy-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6...There are real world temperatures AND comparisons with other top cooling, including water. In essence, the results you see here are VERY typical. For instance, processors that would top out at 2.9ghz under HIGH END, CUSTOM WATERCOOLING (TDX block etc.) would then push on to hit 3ghz+ with the TEC. Personally, I'd rather spend the $90 on a the monsoon to reach higher clocks than $300+ watercooling setups, and not have to worry about leakage.
Avalon - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
The Coolit Eliminator sells for about $200, and is similar to the Freezone. I'd definitely like to see a comparison of either. Good review.nickfd - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
For my next rig, I want to use peltier/TEC, but I dont want a 2 pound block on my CPU. I want to use a 1/2" tube liquid loop with reservoir, radiator, and pump. Does anyone have, or can recommend a combination liquid/peltier block, or could point me in direction to look?Thanks much!
Wesley Fink - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
The Coolit Freezone is a liquid/TEC combo. See comments above for more Freezone info.Tiamat - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
Since the peltier "runs" at about 77 F, and it hits about 90 - 110 F in the summer depending on where you live, I wonder if condensation will become a problem for this circumstance.mpc7488 - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
If it's 110 degrees in your house, I feel for you and suggest you sink the $89 towards Central A/C.In all honesty though, condensation is a concern, my brother smoked 2 machines when experimenting with Peltier cooling, water dripped from the heatsink down into the socket.
ViperV990 - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
Shouldn't the target temperature on the cold side of the TEC be the case ambient temperature around the processor to avoid condensation altogether?cheetah2k - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
I think that the comparison with the other coolers is very primitive. You should compare this to the likes of the Coolit Freezone or Eliminator as they too are TEC related coolers. I have the Freezone myself, and i enjoy the overclocking boost it gives my AMD FX-60 sitting stable at 3.15Ghz at 1.52vWesley Fink - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
We wanted to get a wider variety of coolers in our database before tackling the Frezzone review. It should also be pointed out that the self contained six-TEC liquid cooled Freezone has a retail price of $400 and a street price of around $300. This is considerably more expensive than the $89 street price of the Monsoon II Lite. We have heard great things about the Freezone, and we do have one in the lab for testing. However, it is certainly in a different price category than the Monsoon II Lite, which is closer in price to heatpipe tower air coolers.