Testing methodology and examples

The CPU stresser

We test processor coolers following a strict protocol. We already have shown you the BIOS settings for the overclock. To stress the CPU we apply the stress modes (default/OC 1.2V /OC 1.3V) and have our stress software Prime95 finish a full run. If Prime95 returns an invalid result, the overclock failed. This did not happen. We did however have a security feature enabled, if a cooler reaches 98 Degrees C the system will power down to prevent it from damage.

Below a couple of examples of our test runs. We note down the package temperature, the per core temps as such can differ here and there. For LOAD testing we note down the MAXIMUM measured temperature after a full Prime95 run.

Above you can see the Corsair H90 under stress. In this example we apply a clock setting of 4600 MHz on all CPU cores with 1.3 Volts on the processor.