Vigor Gaming Thermal Electric CPU Cooler

[JdPower]

An expensive Air cooling, but ppl seem to think its better then some watercooling products? Anybody hear anything good/bad things about it? I am curious about this thing...

Discuss.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835702001

[DRDNA]

I like it from reading about it ....Hmm I think I am going to buy it just to test out and fiddle about with it.

[JdPower]

I like it from reading about it ....Hmm I think I am going to buy it just to test out and fiddle about with it.

Let me know how it goes please! Maybe ask wizzard if you can write a review for it :D

[DRDNA]

Hmmm I changed my mind the most important info for this would be the wattage which they dont list in the specs

Model
Brand VIGOR GAMING
Series Monsoon II
Model CLT-M2A
Spec
Type Fan&Heatsinks
Fan Size 92mm
Compatibility Socket 754 / 939 / 940 / AM2
RPM Low: 2000 RPM
Mid: 2400 RPM
High: 2600 RPM
Noise Level 24-34 dBA
Color Transparent
LED Blue
Heatsink Material 4 heat pipes, Aluminum Fin & Copper Base
Physical Spec
Fan Dimensions 92 x 92 x 25mm
Heatsink Dimensions 90 x 90 x 160mm
Features
Features Active CPU Cooling: The world's first CPU cooling system combining patented advanced software controlled Active TEC technology and heat-piped cooling module.

Automatic Temperature Control: 5.25" Management unit with LCD Display.

Ultra-low Thermal Resistance: Excellent thermal resistance provides extreme cooling performance.

Worldwide Patents: Including USA, Germany, China, etc.

Fail-safe Protection: Alarm system will alert user in the unlikely event of CPU cooler malfunctioning.
Package Contents
Package Contents CPU Cooling System
Thermal Grease
Clips
Power Cable


If they don't list the wattage of the pettier then it is most likely inadequate !!!

[technicks]

Should be good. But i find it but ugly and cheap looking.

[JdPower]

Hmmm I changed my mind the most important info for this would be the wattage which they dont list in the specs

Model
Brand VIGOR GAMING
Series Monsoon II
Model CLT-M2A
Spec
Type Fan&Heatsinks
Fan Size 92mm
Compatibility Socket 754 / 939 / 940 / AM2
RPM Low: 2000 RPM
Mid: 2400 RPM
High: 2600 RPM
Noise Level 24-34 dBA
Color Transparent
LED Blue
Heatsink Material 4 heat pipes, Aluminum Fin & Copper Base
Physical Spec
Fan Dimensions 92 x 92 x 25mm
Heatsink Dimensions 90 x 90 x 160mm
Features
Features Active CPU Cooling: The world's first CPU cooling system combining patented advanced software controlled Active TEC technology and heat-piped cooling module.

Automatic Temperature Control: 5.25" Management unit with LCD Display.

Ultra-low Thermal Resistance: Excellent thermal resistance provides extreme cooling performance.

Worldwide Patents: Including USA, Germany, China, etc.

Fail-safe Protection: Alarm system will alert user in the unlikely event of CPU cooler malfunctioning.
Package Contents
Package Contents CPU Cooling System
Thermal Grease
Clips
Power Cable


If they don't list the wattage of the pettier then it is most likely inadequate !!!

I think in one of the reviews it states how many watts the whole things pulls. I'll edit when I find it out give me a min...

EDIT: From one of the reviews....

When the TEC is on, and when the fan is operating above low speed (medium or high) the system consumes quite a bit of power. For comparison purposes, the system running a Core 2 Xtreme x6800 at 3.67GHz (@1.4875V) under full load with the Thermaltake Big Typhoon was using up 270 Watts of power. With the same settings and the MonsoonII cooler, the system was consuming 335 Watts. This trait is also dependent upon ambient temperature. If you live in a hot climate, the effectiveness of this system is high at stock settings, but not so great overclocked.

[JdPower]

Voltage is...

40mm, 12 VDC, 5A, 50W 100% loading...

TEC is 40mm unit 24 volts Vmax, 10A Imax, 65° DTmax, and upwards of 150 watts Qmax.

[DRDNA]

Thats only a 65 watt difference ! I would never use a peltier that was rated that low of a wattage for any thing,not even a gpu(well maybe I would on a mobo chipset ) let alone a cpu .. thats only me though...Maybe they have changed the design of the peltier cooling system

[JdPower]

Thats only a 65 watt difference ! I would never use a peltier that was rated that low of a wattage for any thing,not even a gpu(well maybe I would on a mobo chipset ) let alone a cpu .. thats only me though...Maybe they have changed the design of the peltier cooling system

The voltage might be wrong, but its not depedent on the peltier to cool, it also has the heatpipes, and fan to help exhaust and intake air. Here is the manufacturers website and if you scroll to the bottom they have 6 websites that have reviewed this product. I think I might get it here when I got the extra cash :D

LINK:
http://www.vigorgaming.com/components/cmp_monsoonii_intel.html

[OneCool]

I had wierd troubles with mine..

Check here http://forums.pcpitstop.com/index.php?showtopic=129872&hl=vigor

[JdPower]

I had wierd troubles with mine..

Check here http://forums.pcpitstop.com/index.php?showtopic=129872&hl=vigor

Hmmm what kind of case do you have? fans? Like you said/or someone else; that its not cooling the mobo chipset and its not letting you oc it more because of that :confused: ...

[lufrey]

Careful using peltier cooling. My old motherboard was damaged by water condesing and dripping onto the motherboard. You'll need to use something to insulate the peltier device, so it doesn't make contact with air, and therefor no condensation.

[Wile E]

I seriously debated getting one of these for a while, they perform quite good. But they have one flaw, imo - they are either for AMD or Intel, not both in 1 unit. If you have AMD now, but wanted to upgrade to Core2, you can't take the cooler with you. So, ultimately, I decided to start piecing together a nice water cooling setup instead, using Dangerden parts.

[lufrey]

I seriously debated getting one of these for a while, they perform quite good. But they have one flaw, imo - they are either for AMD or Intel, not both in 1 unit. If you have AMD now, but wanted to upgrade to Core2, you can't take the cooler with you. So, ultimately, I decided to start piecing together a nice water cooling setup instead, using Dangerden parts.

Yes, it's a shame these more exotic coolers don't have multiple mounting kits that the cheaper air coolers have.

[DRDNA]

Well I couldnt resist , I just purchased one of these babies to test out ...When i get it I will let ya's know how it gets along.

[ktr]

Just buy a TEC pad and a nice zalman heat sink, then grease up the TEC and sandwhich it between the CPU and Heat sink and wire it up to a spare v12 (i now this is still under the requirement but still works pretty good). Badda BING...TEC cooling.

***WARNING*** Frosting/moisture can occur...most of the pre-done TEC are sealed. Perhaps there is a way to seal the DIY TEC my placing a thin copper plate...

[ktr]

Here is a quick diagram of a DIY Tec cooling...

also i recommend a heatsink that requires to be "screwed down" rather than clipped down so that you can have some space to slide the TEC.

[lufrey]

Well I couldnt resist , I just purchased one of these babies to test out ...When i get it I will let ya's know how it gets along.

Well, if you are going to DYI, then I recommend you seal the TEC, if you can't find anything to seal it with, you can get away using petroeum jelly (vasaline). Just don't expose the TEC to air else it will frost or cause condesation, and you don't want water anywhere near your cpu or motherboard.

[DRDNA]

Yes Sir you are right about that...I will give it a good exam and look for such problems...I am not new to frost as I run a phasexchange also.Thanks for the good advise:toast:

[ktr]

Yes Sir you are right about that...I will give it a good exam and look for such problems...I am not new to frost as I run a phasexchange also.Thanks for the good advise:toast:

phase cooling dispates very quickly, therefore no frosting, but tec does not dispates as fast...

[DRDNA]

thank you for the heads up on that KTR ,any and all feed back is welcomed....I get the cooler tomorrow so I will post back on the results.

[WarEagleAU]

Phase change would be better than TEC cooling right?

[ktr]

Well you can pull of DIY Tec for around 60 bucks while phase will cost you 600-800...

overall phase will cool the cpu a lot cooler, but for a cost.

[lufrey]

Well you can pull of DIY Tec for around 60 bucks while phase will cost you 600-800...

overall phase will cool the cpu a lot cooler, but for a cost.

I look forward to hearing the results from you. Sorta makes me want to dig out my old Peltier device and try experimenting with it again ;)

[ktr]

I look forward to hearing the results from you. Sorta makes me want to dig out my old Peltier device and try experimenting with it again ;)

I have done that already for a skt A 3200+ for a friend about 3-4 years ago...i got his cpu around 10-15C on load....

Based on math...i would have gotten around -20C on the cool side, and around 51C on the hot...so the hot tends to be harder to exhaust so the temps are usually higher than usual.

also air cool TECS are not that efficient...you really want to use water cool to go under 0C...plus in addition with higher watts...12v doesnt really cut it.

[lufrey]

I have done that already for a skt A 3200+ for a friend about 3-4 years ago...i got his cpu around 10-15C on load....

Very nice indeed. I had my A64 3000+ OC'd to 2.6GHz @ 20C under full load, before the condesation eventually destroyed my MB. That's when I gave up on the idea. At that time, I didn't take any precautions to seal the TEC :(

[Ketxxx]

no way id pay $140 for that without a proper review to compare its cooling performance. logically though if you want to move from air, bypassing water entirely is the smartest move as its performance doesnt balance out to the cost.

[ktr]

TEC CPU water block: http://www.swiftnets.com/products/mcw60-T.asp

AUX power unit: http://www.swiftnets.com/products/S320-12KIT.asp

more info...

the Actual Tecs: http://www.dangerden.com/store/home.php?cat=30

Proper insulation/sealer: http://www.dangerden.com/store/home.php?cat=31

another AUX power: http://www.dangerden.com/store/home.php?cat=32

Looking at it, that AIO @ newegg is a better deal...but air w/ tec is not effective...pretty terrible ;)

swiftech water cooling w/ swiftech TEC block & AUX power...would be a awesome combo.

[ktr]

no way id pay $140 for that without a proper review to compare its cooling performance. logically though if you want to move from air, bypassing water entirely is the smartest move as its performance doesnt balance out to the cost.

found some...dont know how good they are...

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/964/

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=273&type=expert

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2021528,00.asp

[DRDNA]

In my searches for info on this product I have read good and bad but I saw more good than bad...I will soon see how it gets along ! There are better ways to cool a cpu than this design but I already have a Vapochill and dont care for water(thats just me) and want to see how this bugger goes at it;)

[Ketxxx]

checkin some reviews it cools nicely, but its not worth the pricetag. if it was $50-60 i may consider it, its just overpriced because its "new", and i use that term very loosely as this has been tried before, this time around its just starting to work better. itll flop just as badly unless prices are reduced to something sensible tho.

[Protius]

i'd rather put that $140 towards water

[ktr]

i'd rather put that $140 towards water

what about h2o with tec?

[DRDNA]

One could also layer the peltiers with coper syncs say like maybe 3 or 4 , then the first peltier on CPU will run way more efficient as the uppermost peltier would be getting hit the hardest with inefficiencies

PS lol now I am drawing the same as my phase lol

[Protius]

what about h2o with tec?

or that...

[ktr]

One could also layer the peltiers with coper syncs say like maybe 3 or 4 , then the first peltier on CPU will run way more efficient as the uppermost peltier would be getting hit the hardest with inefficiencies

PS lol now I am drawing the same as my phase lol

SLI the TECs'!!!

[DRDNA]

Oh ya brother Im wid ya there

[Lazzer408]

One review...

"Cons: When I began overclocking the temps shot through the roof. Temps are worse overclocking then they were when using my scythe ninja +6 C higher. Since I have no interest in keeping my system at stock clocks I will be returning this item. The LCD display is completely useless and serves no purpose. Fan is noisy. This thing also caused my motherboard chipset temp, PWMIC and GPU temp to go up because of the extra heat it generates."

I peltiers will cool well below ambiant but once you exceed the thermal capacity of the junction you will quickly overheat.

EDIT - I should make note that some of the heat pipes on that cooler are on the cpu (hot side) of the junction to help take away some of the CPUs heat so the peltier doesn't have to do all the work, but those pipes also take away an equal amount of the cooling power if it's colder then ambiant. I bet it breaks even in that way. I'm staying away from this one. If I'm going to spend the money I'll but a much more efficient water cooling system and save on my electric bill at the same time.

[AshenSugar]

tec cooling or pelters as we call them around here(at least the ppl i know call them pelters)
can be stacked, infact we made a dual celeron socket370 system that was pleter cooled, it was below zero, the chipset was below zero, we had to use a 3rd party pelter psu tnat mounted on the bottem of the case or outside the case.

all in all it was fun to do, the bx chipset and 2 466 celly's overclocked massivly we got them to 800 or 900 range( was long time ago) the boards back was COATED in dyeletric greese and foam, the chips where GLUED to the pelters(4 120watt pelters per cpu, 2 on chipset) then the heatsinks blued to that, then it was all spiderwired to the mobo(to secure it a little better) also used alot of silicone calk to make sure there was no condensation, we ended up selling the system to a shop over in portland oregon that specilized in insain rigs, he changed the case( got a fancyer one and had a window added) then sold it for 3x what he payed us.....well what he payed us in acctualy parts, we all got p3 coppermine or duron systems worth of parts out of the deal :D

and yes itwas BELOW ZERO, the backside of the case was cold to the touch even condensation when it was hot out, quite fun back in the day, glad my and my buddys went to gather and built it, was even gladder when we SOLD IT and made a nice profit back in new parts.

i do however miss my dual celeron system( i had a dual 433 system overclocked nicely) would be a great *nix box now :D

[AshenSugar]

forgot to say pcper is normaly pretty good, i use to spend alot of time on their forums, really till the c2d junkys took over it was a fun place, but since then its like anything you post exciting about amd gets 5 of them "c2d rocks" even if your just talking about amd showing off the quadcores.....

[Lazzer408]

tec cooling or pelters as we call them around here(at least the ppl i know call them pelters)
can be stacked, infact we made a dual celeron socket370 system that was pleter cooled, it was below zero, the chipset was below zero, we had to use a 3rd party pelter psu tnat mounted on the bottem of the case or outside the case.

all in all it was fun to do, the bx chipset and 2 466 celly's overclocked massivly we got them to 800 or 900 range( was long time ago) the boards back was COATED in dyeletric greese and foam, the chips where GLUED to the pelters(4 120watt pelters per cpu, 2 on chipset) then the heatsinks blued to that, then it was all spiderwired to the mobo(to secure it a little better) also used alot of silicone calk to make sure there was no condensation, we ended up selling the system to a shop over in portland oregon that specilized in insain rigs, he changed the case( got a fancyer one and had a window added) then sold it for 3x what he payed us.....well what he payed us in acctualy parts, we all got p3 coppermine or duron systems worth of parts out of the deal :D

and yes itwas BELOW ZERO, the backside of the case was cold to the touch even condensation when it was hot out, quite fun back in the day, glad my and my buddys went to gather and built it, was even gladder when we SOLD IT and made a nice profit back in new parts.

i do however miss my dual celeron system( i had a dual 433 system overclocked nicely) would be a great *nix box now :D

I just so happen to have a WORKING BP6 with dual 300s (or 366s?) that I had overclocked to 500 (or 550?). Give me any reasonable offer and it's yours. Hopefully your in the USA. yup... "BumB rump" can't say I know where that is but I bet I've been there before. :rolleyes:

[AshenSugar]

to the bp6 setup i will have to think about it, i dont have alot of cash but i do got alot of excess parts :P

honestly i gotta think on it, i got alot of excess stuff i need to find homes for already ;)

[DRDNA]

Sorry guys I have just been feeling so lazy after work that I haven't installed it yet...As soon as I get done with some coffee's I will be installing this baby, then I will conduct some tests to see how it does against the stock cooling that came with the FX57 .. I will compare stock volts and increased volts....rights now with 1.39 volts I top out at 51-53ish when under full load for 10+ minutes and any thing at 1.45 volts really gets upto 54-56 under full load after 10+minutes ..Any thing higher than 1.45volts I used Portable AC pumping into case because I don't like to see 57+ on my CPU ... but I will test again stock upto 1.5 volts just for comparison sake .SO for now

STOCK under load
1.39volts=51-53ish

1.45volts=54-56ish

1.5volts=I will add an edit when I run it with out AC

[DRDNA]

right off the bat a 20c difference in stock Idle 1.39volts=15c
I'll be back with a 100%load temp;)

[DRDNA]

Full load 100% cpu @1.39volts=33-34c not bad same as stock at idle and took 20 seconnds to get under 18c after test.

I'll be back with 1.45volts tests , into the bios i go.

[DRDNA]

1.45 volts at idle = 19-21c
under full load for 5min =35-37c

I'll be back with 1.5volt tests

[DRDNA]

1.5volts idle =23c-26c

under full load 5min=38-40c:D

SO far I'd recomend this product!!:toast:

If i ran 1.5 volts with the stock cooling i'd be in the friggin 60's:eek:

[DRDNA]

oh ya installing this is easy easy easy !!! the LCD thingy is cool as far as adding another wow to the case but useless for any thing other than changing color of LCD or Celsius and Fahrenheit... only feature I would of liked is peltier controller(wattage controller).

[Wile E]

Is your stock cooler one of the heatpipe jobs?

[DRDNA]

Is your stock cooler one of the heatpipe jobs?

lol , yes.

[AshenSugar]

*hits DRDNA over head and takes stock cooler* (only took stock because its better then what i have and i wouldnt have to spend any time yanking the other one out of a system :P

[DRDNA]

lol I'd give it to ya but I need it.

[DRDNA]

new update>> I will be moding this tomorrow !! I willl start by adding another peltier to make a stack under the heat sync. Or maybe A higher wattage one ,but more than probable I will do the stack .

Ps this does perform pretty well fo me now but I would like to see what a couple of cheap mods can do to it.

PSS I have already added my 80mm 7500+rpm adjustable fan to the other end ,

[DRDNA]

I will be removing the 4 pins with clips that have the springs that sandwich the peltier and replacing them with bolts that have tiny heads and nuts with the springs to accommodate for the extra distance that the pins will not allow.

[lufrey]

:) Good luck. Keep us updated as we're interested to see the results!

[DRDNA]

Will do , I am lucky that frozencpu.com is like 9 miles from me ! Or well um they are cuz they eat my money! but they keep me happy too:toast:

[noneed4me2]

I was looking into that cooling setup but the more I read on coolers, the bigger ones work good but are so heavy they can put a strain on the motherboard even with a backplate. I would like your opinion of the weight and mounting of the TEC cooler your using DRDNA. Thanx in advance. I am not totally against water cooling but with four kids only an internal solution is viable, and I still get nervous worrying about pump failure or leaks causing my cpu damage if they should fail for whatever reason. With the system you bought at least it has the heatpipes and fan to fall back on if the peltier should fail.

[AshenSugar]

i want to see somebody pelter mod a freezer64pro personaly ;) that could be quite intresting ;)

[lufrey]

i want to see somebody pelter mod a freezer64pro personaly ;) that could be quite intresting ;)

Hey, that's a fantastic idea!

[DRDNA]

I was looking into that cooling setup but the more I read on coolers, the bigger ones work good but are so heavy they can put a strain on the motherboard even with a backplate. I would like your opinion of the weight and mounting of the TEC cooler your using DRDNA. Thanx in advance. I am not totally against water cooling but with four kids only an internal solution is viable, and I still get nervous worrying about pump failure or leaks causing my cpu damage if they should fail for whatever reason. With the system you bought at least it has the heatpipes and fan to fall back on if the peltier should fail.

It is on the heavy side but not too bad !!!As long as you have all your mobo screws in place you will not have an issue!!!! beware that you will need good air flow in your case because thing can put off some heat depending on ambient temps.;)

mounting was easy and pretty fast ,but you will need to remove your mobo, then pull back plate (two screws for 939 and then add cooler and backplate(two screws) and you will need to have an open 5.25 bay and thats about the jist of it.

[InfDamarvel]

I have done that already for a skt A 3200+ for a friend about 3-4 years ago...i got his cpu around 10-15C on load....

Based on math...i would have gotten around -20C on the cool side, and around 51C on the hot...so the hot tends to be harder to exhaust so the temps are usually higher than usual.

also air cool TECS are not that efficient...you really want to use water cool to go under 0C...plus in addition with higher watts...12v doesnt really cut it.

To go under 0C? Am I not picking up on somthing here. Cause that is never going to happen with watercooling.

[DRDNA]

water with peltiers will:toast: :toast:

[noneed4me2]

It is on the heavy side but not too bad !!!As long as you have all your mobo screws in place you will not have an issue!!!! beware that you will need good air flow in your case because thing can put off some heat depending on ambient temps.;)

mounting was easy and pretty fast ,but you will need to remove your mobo, then pull back plate (two screws for 939 and then add cooler and backplate(two screws) and you will need to have an open 5.25 bay and thats about the jist of it.

I only have the mobo, cpu and ram, still waiting for tax return to get psu, hard drives, video card, and case. This is going to be a prescision buid from scratch so everything will be prepped prior to install. All the info you guys are providing is helping make my descion as cooling is the only area I haven't figured out what to go with as I have an opty 170 that does 3ghz http://valid.x86-secret.com/show_oc?id=163897 but one core is running very high in temp even at stock and cooling is the one area I am really focused on getting the best and most reliable. Water is a little risky in my household so highend air and the TEC setup seem to be viable options. The case I am getting has good airflow so thats not an issue.

[DRDNA]

Well I can tell you this it does cool very well as long as the Ambient temps are below 78ish Fahrenheit and processor is drawing less than 1.65 volts , at least with my rig ! my stuff is in sig below:toast:

Sorry I haven't done the mod to the cooler yet folks , but good news is i have the second Peltier (1.57x1.57@80watts) and the four bolts with nuts and washers =ing $28 in the USA

[DRDNA]

If this Mod can keep me under 30 Celsius @ 1.6volts then I will be impressed , If i can keep it under 25 Celsius @ 1.50 volts than I will consider this as acceptable.Right now @ 1.5 volts and Ambients above 75 Fahrenheit I am idle at 31ish Celsius and 44ish Celsius at full load .
I cant wait to mod this baby as the thermal paste they included is like really weird AZZ stuff ,Looks allot like the stuff that the pads are made of , its really Grey and stuff doesn't really look good (came in a tube), I will be replacing that goop with Arctic Silver Ceramique Thermal Compound.(My personal preference)

[noneed4me2]

Is ambient that big a factor in the TEC ability to cool cause I get real high temps in the summer where i am at and even with central AC it gets around the low 80s inside when it hits over 100 outside (older house), so if it is affected that much would I be better off looking at a water solution?

[DRDNA]

With this design yes it is a big factor as the hot side hot the Peltier is cooled by heat sync and fins which is cooled by fans. So it can only cool peltier's hot side as good ambient allows cooling to heat sync:)

[DRDNA]

but it was just 78ish in my room and i was gaming some seriousSam2 and my cpu went no higher than 36 Celsius.@1.5volts to cpu;) gaming for about 1hour.

[mandelore]

Noooo... be a man and watercool any pelt u use, air cooled pelts are just inneficient.!!! Yarr!! I reccomend the swifty module I use, seriously rocks!! I get -7 or -12 C bootup depending on time of day, 13Max under load when used with a heavily overclocked CPU

---> MCW-5002 4TW :D

I used to build my own pelt waterblock modules, once made one that got my old pentium prescott down to -20C (ran it at 4GHz), but the fittings were so narrow it kinda sucked when it went under load as i couldnt get quite enuff flow rate to dissipate all the heat from the pelt.

[noneed4me2]

Noooo... be a man and watercool any pelt u use, air cooled pelts are just inneficient.!!! Yarr!! I reccomend the swifty module I use, seriously rocks!! I get -7 or -12 C bootup depending on time of day, 13Max under load when used with a heavily overclocked CPU

---> MCW-5002 4TW :D

I used to build my own pelt waterblock modules, once made one that got my old pentium prescott down to -20C (ran it at 4GHz), but the fittings were so narrow it kinda sucked when it went under load as i couldnt get quite enuff flow rate to dissipate all the heat from the pelt.

I am building a system with the same board as yours any thoughts or recommendations regarding the board. I am going to update the bios to 0602 right way once I start to build, does it come stack with a backplate on the board? I was looking into mahybe a zalman 9700 or other heavy style cooler and weight was one of my concerns.

[mandelore]

noneed, my first reccomendation could be to buy a swifty backplate or other more sturdy backplate, the stock broke first time, which was kinda sucky. But you may get lucky as the swifty module I use does apply quite a bit of pressure. It obviously was not designed for too much force applied to it...So the heatsinks you speak of actally should be ok, coz i had to screw my module on directly.

The board is pretty good tbh, I get a very good overclock on my sandy and a great overclock on my ram. The new bios does improve stability somewhat. you can customise pretty much any voltage setting and northbridge/southbridge voltages. The memory page lack a couple of settings but systool sorts that out.
However, my only real gripe with this board is that I can not apply more than 1.6V onto my processor, which at the temps im getting would enable me to up the core freq a bit more. (however, i hear the available Vcore is dependant on the cpu core u use)

All in all a very good buy, supports dual PCIEx16 slots, integrated crossfire etc. Best board I have had so far and I dont intend on another purchase for quite some time. Yes sure, there are better boards available now, but for price and functionality, you cant really go wrong here. Good luck with your new system, hell knows I enjoyed getting this board and getting it set up, and that was when there were just the 404 bios available :)

[noneed4me2]

noneed, my first reccomendation could be to buy a swifty backplate or other more sturdy backplate, the stock broke first time, which was kinda sucky. But you may get lucky as the swifty module I use does apply quite a bit of pressure. It obviously was not designed for too much force applied to it...So the heatsinks you speak of actally should be ok, coz i had to screw my module on directly.

Thanx for the info on the board I can't wait to put everything together.
Where can I find aftermarket backplates for K8? googling didn't turn up ,uch but forum discussions on thje subject, no stores.

[DRDNA]

Ok well I have added the 2nd peltier to the vigor system. I added another 40mm x 40mm x 80 watt. The mod cost me $25 and takes 1 hour to install and up and running(this is with the vigor already installed and assembled to removing vigor , modding vigor and re-installing vigor to up and running). I ran the leads of the peltier of the one I added out the opposite side that the original peltier used . I also ran my peltier straight off the PSU and kept the original peltier on the 5.25 powering unit that came with the cooler that also runs off the PSU.
I only ran into 1 piece of trouble doing this mod, I did not put the the head of the replacement bolts on the CPU side ; I had put the bolt end to the CPU side and two of the bolts were keeping the heat sync from making complete contact to the CPU , so I had to flip the bolts over so the heads of the bolts were on CPU side .Once I did that I had complete contact.

http://img.techpowerup.org/070218/100_2683.jpg

The vigor had just enough room to slide the second peltier into the sandwich. I put the second Peltier so that its cold side was to the CPU heat sync(first in the stack).
The results of this Mod were less than desirable ,it only gave me about a 5 Celsius difference !! But on the other end now when my room is 75+ Fahrenheit the vigor is not effected that much at all by the ambient room temperature. So the mod is cheap but not really worth it unless your already having issues with the peltier not being able to cool to your satisfaction. Or if you overclock it maybe the little extra you need .
I have not yet tried bypassing the 5.25 unit that came with the Vigor > I would also like to see the difference in by passing that unit as I believe it may restricted the peltier from running to cold.

[DRDNA]

Now I saw alot of complaints that this unit can not go from AMD to INTEL . Well if this is an issue in making your purchase then maybe you might like the Ultra ChillTec Thermo Electric CPU Cooler (ULT33186) as it covers both AMD and INTEL in one pakage and seems to be almost identical!!! here is a couple of links for the Ultra ChillTec Thermo Electric CPU Cooler (ULT33186) unit.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5474/cpu-ult-03/Ultra_ChillTec_Thermo_Electric_CPU_Cooler_ULT33186 .html

http://jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=44

http://www.ultraproducts.com/product_details.php?cPath=17&pPath=571&productID=571

The middle link is a review and the last link is the manufactures:toast: