What if Your CPU Cooler Fails?

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3DMark06

The only processor that shut down the test system while running the 3DMark06 CPU Benchmark was AMD's Athlon 64 X2 6000+, which again became extremely hot once the fan was disconnected to simulate failure. The Core 2 Duo was capable of finishing this benchmark at slightly reduced performance levels. The two low-cost CPUs - AMD's Athlon X2 BE-2350 and the Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160 - completed this run almost without performance penalties due to the insufficient cooling.

The same result applied to the graphics benchmark of the 3DMark06: AMD's high-end Athlon 64 X2 6000+ shut down before the benchmark could complete, while all the other processors made it through the benchmark, even though the processor fan was disconnected.

Patrick Schmid
Patrick Schmid
Editor-in-Chief (2005-2006)

Patrick Schmid was the editor-in-chief for Tom's Hardware from 2005 to 2006. He wrote numerous articles on a wide range of hardware topics, including storage, CPUs, and system builds.