Stress test of the processor. Stability testing

Over the past few years, there has been a substitution of concepts in the computer world. A computer stress test designed to identify and eliminate errors in the hardware and software is very popular with fans of all sorts of games. It is used to calculate FPS (the number of frames per second) and is used as an argument among peers about the availability of modern gaming hardware. The purpose of this article is to explain to all owners of personal computers what for in fact there are so many stress testing programs in the world, how to use them, to identify and fix problems in the system.

Best offer

Many paid attention to the fact that when buying a computer, there is an opportunity to buy as a collection, and collect it on spare parts. And already a ready computer for some reason is more expensive than a PC assembled in the presence of a buyer. The user will also be very surprised to learn that in a similar configuration and price range the ready-made solution in the assembly will be a little more productive. The fact is that the company, engaged in self-assembly of personal computers, pays great attention to the performance and stability of the system. No matter how much the components are compatible, they have different potentials. The task of the collector is to find a middle ground, with the minimum cost of components to achieve maximum productivity. And, judging by the numerous reviews of the owners of such PCs, the manufacturer manages to achieve such goals. Some stores also carry out a stress test of the computer during assembly, but most buyers do not understand what it is for, and refuse a profitable offer.

The reason for instability

Let it sounds rude, but it is the seller in the store that is responsible for the unstable work of the personal computer. The lack of professionalism and competence of both the consultant and the collector leads to the failure of expensive components. It is explained quite simply. The computer in the presence of the user is collected on spare parts. The emphasis is on the price of the goods and availability in the warehouse. Frequency indicators, consumed current and quality of power supply, delays in data transmission, cooling system - all this is simply ignored by the seller. And in fact it is enough to spend only one stress-test of the processor, for example, to see a weak link in the system and select components to eliminate it or focus on it in case the user wants to save on buying.

The task of stress testing

The stability of any system is determined by the delivery of such a load, at which the components will operate at their maximum capacity. If there is some kind of marriage or one of the components of the system is less productive than others, it will immediately become clear from the results of testing. It is worth explaining that the "stress-test" program performs without overclocking the frequencies and raising the voltage on the device buses, because the failure under the load of any device will be classified as a marriage. Accordingly, the seller must replace the device or return the money without problems. After all, logically, the system is constantly subjected to a stress test during games that require high system performance, which in no way are engaged in overclocking devices. The processor, video adapter, RAM, power supply and hard drive are necessarily tested.

The heart of a personal computer

The correct selection of components must begin with the processor. It is under its characteristics that the components are selected, and not vice versa. After all, all tasks in the computer are performed only with his participation, and any failure will lead to a complete shutdown of performance. Therefore, the CPU stress test is the most popular not only among users, but also software developers. Testing means a set of ready-made mathematical operations, which are provided by separate threads for each core of the processor. This calculation forces the processor to run at full power, which causes it to start to heat up. Working in an abnormal situation, the CPU can give the wrong result - this will be an indicator of instability. Sometimes it happens that when the device is warmed up, the device is not able to produce a result at all, activating the protection system, it simply turns off, and the user contemplates the blue "death" window of Windows.

RAM

The processor's performance test is often performed in conjunction with the RAM. "Communicating" with each other at the same speed, the CPU and memory transfer different amounts of information to each other. The results of calculations are placed in different memory cells. After filling all the cells, the data is read and overwritten. The speed of writing and reading information by the processor from memory determines the performance of the latter. All thanks to the existing template, which indicates the average data on the transfer speed between similar chips. Data were identified as a result of hours of work by the developers themselves. When buying a computer, you need to strive to ensure that the high-speed performance of the processor and RAM match. Otherwise, the non-synchronous operation of this pair will lead to a drop in the performance of the entire system.

Argument for game lovers

Stress test for the video card among players is no less popular than testing the CPU. After all, it is from this adapter that speed and realism depend on the game. This erroneous opinion leads to the fact that, having bought the most expensive video card and a weak processor, most gamers were not lucky enough to get pleasure from their favorite game. Just one CPU test for performance in conjunction with the video adapter would show a weak link, and the user would be able to correct the situation before buying. The video cards are also tested during overclocking, which is often recommended by the manufacturer. Qualitative cooling system and correct overclocking can significantly improve the performance of the device. With testing the overclocked video adapter, you need to be extremely cautious, because a significant overheating leads to the appearance of "artifacts" - rectangular areas on the monitor screen of different sizes and colors that can not be eliminated in the future.

Above the Stars Only

To determine the weakest component in the system, it is not necessary to conduct complex tests, which are offered by many software producers. Predict the joint stress test of the processor, RAM, video adapter and hard drive by looking at the speed of their data bus. In terms of performance, the hard drive is a weak link. However, such a test will show the overall stability of the system. In most cases, hard drive performance is not critical for testing, the program simply does not take into account the speed of the drive. But if there are bad sectors on the hard drive, the user's attention is always drawn to it.

Quality power supply

No CPU test can be performed correctly if a weak or poor-quality power supply is installed in the system. The most consuming components in the PC are a video adapter and a processor, so the calculation of power for the entire system should be calculated not according to nominal values, but according to the theoretical maximum load. In most cases, a positive stress test for a video card is an indicator that the power supply is installed high-quality, and with any given task in the future will cope. Judging by the numerous reviews of the former owners of cheap power supplies, it is not recommended to carry out a stress test of devices if unknown Chinese manufacturers are present in the BP system.

Quick testing

The main criterion for not testing the system is time. After all, sometimes a stress test checks the system for more than one hour. Always want to get the desired result in the shortest time. Thanks to the IntelBurn Test software, this is quite possible. Initially, the program conducted a test of Intel Core processors. Only recently, it added support for AMD's competitor processors. The task of IntelBurn Test is to find the instability of the processors during overclocking. Instability in the test is very fast in the form of a self-stopping process with an error message or a BSOD window with code x124. The results in fact are only two - either the system will work stably when overclocked, or not. No additional features are provided.

Complex approach for the "processor-memory" bundle

The S & M application also knows how to quickly test the processors for stability. In the market, the application is positioned to test the performance of processors and RAM after raising the nominal frequencies. It will appeal to all AMD fans, as it supports the FX processor test. In addition, any user will like the functionality. In addition to all sorts of filters that can limit testing, by selecting its narrow specialization, the user is provided with an informative report on the stress test carried out. The developer recommends performing all tests from the DOS environment, ensuring that such collection of information will be more accurate. To do this, the installer of the program provides a set of tools for writing to a floppy disk and running in a 16-bit environment that will conduct a stress test of the processor and memory outside the resource-intensive Windows system.

You can not do an advertising test

Known to each player software called AIDA64 is advertised on almost every page of the computer forum. And if there are no questions to the speed of work and information content of the report, then there are very many of them to objectivity of the data. With the release of new processors, developers do not have time to update the database and the criteria for testing the system for stability. There were situations when the tests of the processor i5, when compared with the performance of similar systems, showed the result is lower than that of single-core processors. AIDA64 has well proven itself as an informative program. Allows you to see the model or temperature of the device, update the driver and so on. But to trust her with a stress test of expensive equipment, judging by the numerous user reviews, it is not worth it.

Favorite test of all players

OCCT is considered the best application for complex system testing for stability and performance. Individual in it is not only the CPU test, the program can work alone with RAM and video card. The implementation of this approach allows the user to obtain more reliable information in the report. There are a lot of comments on this application. Both positive and negative. All the positive are reduced to the convenience of work, fine-tuning and an extensive report in Russian. What are only reviews about the testing capabilities of the video card! Not every application can work with memory blocks on a video adapter. Negative comments were left by all owners, whose inexpensive power supplies were burned during testing, "taking" with themselves expensive video adapter and motherboard of a personal computer.