Once you have downloaded it drag it to your desktop and open the application. Prime95 Head over the Prime95 website and grab yourself a copy of Prime95.If your computer passed the initial 3DMark test, well done! Now it is time to really turn up the heat and torture your overclocked components into submission by throwing huge sets of data of them to crunch. You might be tempted to run Prime95 first but, 3DMark takes only 15 minutes to complete and places a huge load on most of the system components including the RAM, CPU, Powersupply, GPU and Motherboard allowing you to quickly determine if your system could potentially last 24 hours under a torture test. The cooling being provided for your CPU is underperforming.You didn’t set an XMP profile for your RAM.You pushed your CPU too far without providing enough vcore / vid.You hit your CPU’s overclocking ‘brick wall’.If this initial warm-up stress test fails, you just saved yourself a huge amount of time by running a shorter benchmark first. This helps me to ensure the system is warmed up and gives me a general glance at the stability of a system before I commit to a 12 hour Prime95 torture test which is still the ultimate test of an overclocks stability. I always start with a run of 3DMark Benchmark. As a result, my methods might seem a little dated but I assure you these overclocking stress testing methods will get the job done. As a result, I am stuck in my ways and still approach CPU stability testing in the same way I did when I first learned all that time ago. I’m an old-school overclocker having started around the age of 14 – 20 years ago. These stress tests or as they are otherwise known in the overclocking community, stability tests, will ensure your computer doesn’t randomly crash while under intensive processing load resulting in your potentially losing that clutch game or pivotal document you spent all night writing. You need to verify the stability of your computer by putting it through a series of tests designed to push your system to its limits. A system is not stable just because you can boot into Windows and browse Facebook. When you overclock your CPU you place an additional load on all of your pc components this includes your motherboard, ram, graphics card and power supply. 2.2 Testing: Prime95 /w Optimal Settings.2 How to Stress Test Your CPU Overclock.These are the pieces of software that can cause damage to incorrectly installed/configured hardware. Stress tests may stress only one component like the CPU or the GPU, but they can also combine tests to gauge your PC across a wider operating circumstances. These programs are used to make sure that the system can work under any conditions and loads. Stress/torture testing software is used to push the system to its absolute limits, these tests strain systems way beyond daily usage and gaming. We will be covering both benchmarking and stress/torture testing software, and we will also explain the differences between the types of software.īest Stress Tests for CPU, GPU, RAM & Whole System
Now with that out-of-the-way lets finally get to the software you need to let your machine stretch its legs. Software is never 100% accurate but it will give you a sense of what is happening in your machine. temperatures, voltages, clocks and power draw. Installing such software is mandatory if doing any kind of torture/stress testing because of the need to monitor system parameters ie. Usually, the hardware can protect itself when things go south, but low grade or incorrectly installed/configured components may degrade beyond repair in just minutes. Monitoring software must be also installed on the system to make sure that components aren’t overheating or pulling too much voltage. Any overclocking and system parameters are set either at stock or very conservative values for the very first few runs. heatsinks and CPU/GPU blocks are tightened down properly and thermal paste was used during installation. * Before we get into the guide, we want YOU to understand that running your system at its limits poses risks to hardware and you should make sure that you have configured your rig so that it can withstand the stress these programs are going to put on it.*īefore running these torture/stress tests you want to make sure your cooling components are properly installed ie. Whatever your particular goal you would like to achieve through stress testing your rig, we have put together a list of useful stress and torture tests to get you started and on your way to a healthy and stable system. Maybe you have malfunctioning hardware and need to perform diagnostics? Stress testing your PC rig, including RAM, CPU and GPU stress tests are a great way to help build a healthy and stable system – performing at its very best. So you’ve got yourself a new rig and want to overclock to get the best performance for your money.