Monsoon II Lite: Thermal Electric Cooling Tower
by Wesley Fink on February 6, 2007 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Overclocking & Power Requirements
As cooling solutions do a better job of keeping the CPU at a lower temperature, then it is reasonable to expect the overclocking capabilities of the CPU will increase. In each test of a cooler we measure the highest stable overclock of a standard X6800 processor under the following conditions:
CPU Multiplier: 14x (Stock 11x)
CPU voltage: 1.5875V
FSB Voltage: 1.30V
Memory Voltage: 2.20V
nForce SPP Voltage: 1.5V
nForce MCP Voltage: 1.7V
HT nForce SPP <-> MCP: Auto
Memory is set to Auto timings on the 680i and memory speed is linked to the FSB for the overclocking tests. This removes memory as any kind of impediment to the maximum stable overclock. Linked settings on the 680i are a 1066 FSB to a DDR2 memory speed of DDR2-800. As FSB is raised the linked memory speed increases in proportion. The same processor is used in all cooling tests to ensure comparable results.
The Monsoon II Lite reached the highest stable overclock yet seen with this CPU at 3.96 GHz. While the CPU, cooled with the Monsoon II, would boot at speeds of 4.0Ghz, the system was not completely stable. The highest stable speed was 3.96 GHz and voltage needed to be increased to 1.6125V at that speed for complete stability. However, the Monsoon II maintained a comfortable 54C even at 1.6125V.
It is very interesting that the Tuniq actually tested a couple of degrees cooler than the Monsoon II at 3.90 GHz, but that the CPU could not be pushed to even higher speeds with Tuniq cooling. It is not clear why the Tuniq couldn't handle the higher voltages for stable operation above 3.90 GHz, but the Monsoon II Lite hybrid TEC certainly gave an overclocking edge at the top. The Intel retail cooler, at a top 3.73 GHz overclock, is now some 230 MHz behind the overclocking leader.
Power Consumption
A normal HSF, whether a retail Intel cooler or a huge heatpipe tower, is similarly restricted by the amount of power that can be delivered to a fan header. While there are accessory fans that draw more power and require Molex to fan header adapters, in general the power requirement for a cooler is of little concern. A Peltier or TEC cooler is quite different, and the power requirements of a TEC should be a concern when buying a TEC cooler. Vigor specifies the power requirement at 50W at 100% load, which is a relatively low power requirement. To confirm this specification power usage in watts for the entire system was measured with a Kill-A-Watt meter at the wall socket. Measurements were then compared to power requirements for the same system running a Retail Intel HSF.
Power measurements confirm Vigor's specification of a maximum 50W power requirement for the Monsoon II TEC. At both stock speed and overclocked to 3.73 Ghz, the power delta between the Intel retail cooler and the Monsoon II Lite was around 50W. This also was true at both idle and stress conditions.
One very interesting number is the power consumption of the system at a 3.96 GHz overclock. Idle under these conditions it consumed 285W, but the stress of continuous gaming raised the power requirement to 415W. Our test system used an NVIDIA 7900GTX video card. If we had tested the same system with the Peltier and an NVIDIA 8800 the power requirement may well have exceeded our 520W power supply.
Whatever is now required for proper operation of your system, you will need to add 50W for the Monsoon II Lite. In most case this requirement will be negligible, but in some configurations the extra 50W requirement could make a difference.
As cooling solutions do a better job of keeping the CPU at a lower temperature, then it is reasonable to expect the overclocking capabilities of the CPU will increase. In each test of a cooler we measure the highest stable overclock of a standard X6800 processor under the following conditions:
CPU Multiplier: 14x (Stock 11x)
CPU voltage: 1.5875V
FSB Voltage: 1.30V
Memory Voltage: 2.20V
nForce SPP Voltage: 1.5V
nForce MCP Voltage: 1.7V
HT nForce SPP <-> MCP: Auto
Memory is set to Auto timings on the 680i and memory speed is linked to the FSB for the overclocking tests. This removes memory as any kind of impediment to the maximum stable overclock. Linked settings on the 680i are a 1066 FSB to a DDR2 memory speed of DDR2-800. As FSB is raised the linked memory speed increases in proportion. The same processor is used in all cooling tests to ensure comparable results.
The Monsoon II Lite reached the highest stable overclock yet seen with this CPU at 3.96 GHz. While the CPU, cooled with the Monsoon II, would boot at speeds of 4.0Ghz, the system was not completely stable. The highest stable speed was 3.96 GHz and voltage needed to be increased to 1.6125V at that speed for complete stability. However, the Monsoon II maintained a comfortable 54C even at 1.6125V.
It is very interesting that the Tuniq actually tested a couple of degrees cooler than the Monsoon II at 3.90 GHz, but that the CPU could not be pushed to even higher speeds with Tuniq cooling. It is not clear why the Tuniq couldn't handle the higher voltages for stable operation above 3.90 GHz, but the Monsoon II Lite hybrid TEC certainly gave an overclocking edge at the top. The Intel retail cooler, at a top 3.73 GHz overclock, is now some 230 MHz behind the overclocking leader.
Power Consumption
A normal HSF, whether a retail Intel cooler or a huge heatpipe tower, is similarly restricted by the amount of power that can be delivered to a fan header. While there are accessory fans that draw more power and require Molex to fan header adapters, in general the power requirement for a cooler is of little concern. A Peltier or TEC cooler is quite different, and the power requirements of a TEC should be a concern when buying a TEC cooler. Vigor specifies the power requirement at 50W at 100% load, which is a relatively low power requirement. To confirm this specification power usage in watts for the entire system was measured with a Kill-A-Watt meter at the wall socket. Measurements were then compared to power requirements for the same system running a Retail Intel HSF.
Power measurements confirm Vigor's specification of a maximum 50W power requirement for the Monsoon II TEC. At both stock speed and overclocked to 3.73 Ghz, the power delta between the Intel retail cooler and the Monsoon II Lite was around 50W. This also was true at both idle and stress conditions.
One very interesting number is the power consumption of the system at a 3.96 GHz overclock. Idle under these conditions it consumed 285W, but the stress of continuous gaming raised the power requirement to 415W. Our test system used an NVIDIA 7900GTX video card. If we had tested the same system with the Peltier and an NVIDIA 8800 the power requirement may well have exceeded our 520W power supply.
Whatever is now required for proper operation of your system, you will need to add 50W for the Monsoon II Lite. In most case this requirement will be negligible, but in some configurations the extra 50W requirement could make a difference.
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19 Comments
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nickfd - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
Can you post a review/link to review for this cooler?Wesley Fink - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
The Freezone is in our testing calendar and it will definitely be compared to the Monsoon II Lite.jvuser - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
It is not recommended to run TEC/peltiers by thermostatic switching. This leads to excessive stresses and preliminary failure. See datasheets at www.marlow.com.DrMrLordX - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
Reviews I've seen of the original Vigor Monsoon II seem to reflect your findings, except:1). The Monsoon II works much better when modded to work with a better 92mm fan (not easy to do)
2). The Monsoon II works better in cases with good airflow
You didn't mention the case or case fans used, and you barely showed a picture of the test system. Could you please elabourate on the airflow situation in which you tested the Monsoon II? Also, are you able to include a Titan Amanda in your test as well?
It is good that the Monsoon II will now be available at a lower price.
RobFDB - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
From your results the only advantage the Monsoon II Lite seems to give the EU is maybe 60 more mhz. Aside from that it costs more than the Tuniq 120, it doesn't cool as well, it adds 50w of power to your overall consumption and it's noisier. Sure it's an innovative idea, but it doesn't actually help out the EU.Jodiuh - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
Exactly what I wanted to say. I'm one of those "will give up OC for a nice quiet room" guys. And I actually replaced the Tuniq fan w/ a Scythe SFLEX. :DSurJector - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
I totally agree as well. Additionally the sentenceis incorrect: the air cooler has to cool 49 more W. If the processor consumes 150W and the Peltier element 49W (leaving 1W for the fan), then the radiator has 199W to cool down instead of 150W. It is very tricky to cool down a Peltier element without noise. In that case, I would say that they did not succeed: the processor is warmer and the fan noisier. The additional 60MHz (i.e. 1.5%) look insignificant, at least to me.
Wesley Fink - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
The noise level with the TEC and fan running at full speed is still much lower than the stress sound levels we measured. Most of the added noise is the buzzing, pops, and clicks from the fan being controlled simultaneously with the TEC. As we said in the review the fan running continously is much quieter.Vigor says they are aware of the issues and they are working to separately control the fan and TEC with the controller. This will definitely reduce noise levels.
DigitalFreak - Tuesday, February 6, 2007 - link
I totally agree. While it's a novel idea, the only plus it has over the Tuniq 120 is an extra 60Mhz overclock. When I get my C2D or C2Q system, I'm going with the Tuniq.