Stress testing your System
So you’ve built a new system or you have just applied some overclocking parameters your BIOS. Let’s assume that you have managed to boot into Windows and have successfully run your first benchmarks. Everything looks fine and dandy until you start running into problems. It may be that the system isn’t as stable as you first thought. Though Benchmarks are great for checking your system's performance, stress testing is an excellent means of checking the stability of your PC.
What you need
Setting up the session
Monitoring
On your marks! Set! Go…
When things get too hot...
Seeing Red!
What you need!
First, you will need some software to "torture" your CPU and system to its maximum. If you are using a multi-core CPU, then you need to stress all cores concurrently. There are many torture test applications available but the most popular are:
Orthos Prime 95
Prime95
There’s little difference between these utilities really and it’s purely preference as o which one you use. Both can be run from Windows and can test multi-core CPUs.
The only difference is that Prime95 is easier to use for quad core CPUs, as it will create four threads to test all four cores. Orthos (for the time being) on the other hand, can only check two cores which means you will need to run two instances of the application to test all four cores. For no reason, I’m going to use Orthos Prime95 for this guide.
Next up, you need to monitor the system temperatures as this is imperative if you are to avoid permanent damage to your components. Again, there are a many utilities to choose from but here a few of the most popular.
Everest (trial version but worth buying for Diagnostics and collecting system information)
CoreTemp (Only works with Intel Core CPUs, not Pentium D and below)
SpeedFan
I’ve opted for CoreTemp because I’ve found it very reliable in the past. However, all are excellent utilities and will do the same job.
NOTE - Make sure you have the most up to date version of the software for your Operating System.
Most people like to take screen prints of the test and compare results with other users. Therefore, having the system values of the CPU and RAM on the same screen can be handy. CPU-Z is by far the most popular method of showing this information but is purely optional. Therefore, I’m not going to include this in my guide. It’s pretty straight forward if you need it.
Lastly, and most importantly, you need plenty of patiece. Be prepared to leave the PC for a few hours so if you have something to do, then go and do it.
Setting up the Session
Assuming you know have handy all the utilities you need it’s now time to start setting up the test session. We are going to run the stress software and system monitors concurrently so we need get the applications ready.
Firstly, you need to launch the stress test. As I’ve already stated, I’m going to be using Orthos Prime for this guide.
NOTE – Do not start the test
If you are not running quad core CPU or Orthos Prime, then you can skip this following part and go straight to Monitoring as setting the Affinity does doesn’t apply so off you go..
Setting the Affinity
If you are reading this then you are running a quad core CPU. Lovely jubbly! Since Orthos Prime 95 will only run on two cores at a time, you will need to run two instances of Orthos to test all four cores as seen in screen shot 1.
Screen example one - Here are two instances of Orthos Prime are ready to test a quad core CPU...
You will then need to set the affinity of each instance to use only two cores each. So, for example, one instance is set to CPU #0 and CPU# 1 only and the other instance was set to CPU # 2 and CPU # 3 only.
To do this hit CTRL+ALT+DEL to bring up task manager. Then select the performance tab. Look down the list of processes and you’ll see the two instances of Orthos running. Right click on the first occurrence to bring up a selection menu and click on Set Affinity as shown in screen shoot 2.
Screen example 2 - For running Orthos Prime on a quad core CPU, you'll need to set the affinity of each instance..
When the affinity screen appears, it will show all four cores ticked. For the first instance of Orthos, un-tick cores #2 and #3. This will make sure that only cores #0 and #1 will be used, as shown in screen shot 3
Screen example 3 - Here, the first instance of Orthos will only use cores 0 and 1...
Repeat the process above to change affinity of the second instance of Orthos but this time un-ticking cores #0 and #1 so that only cores #2 and #3 are being used, as shown in screen example 4.
Screen example 4 - Here, the second instance of Orthos to only use cores 2 and 3...
You have now set the affinity for both instances of Orthos to run.
Don’t close down the task manager, as you will need this to monitor the performance.
Monitoring
Regardless of how many processors or cores you are testing, it's imperative that you monitor the system whilst it's under load. You need to make sure that system is obviously stable, but you also need to make sure that the temperatures remains at an acceptable level.
Firstly, you will need to see how much of CPU and/or RAM is being used during your test. If you are checking the CPU only then you'd expect to see the CPU usage at full throttle. Other tests may use a combination of both memory and the CPU in which case you'll want to see both the CPU and RAM in action. Regardless of which, the Windows performance monitor in task manager is an excellent tool to see the activity of your test. The GUI provides a graphs for both CPU and physical RAM activity on one screen and is an obvious choice for this particular monitor.
If you don’t already have windows task manager open, then CLT-ALT-DEL and select the performance tab as shown in screen shoot 5 below. Keep this window open.
As said, temperatures play an important part of either your new system or overclock so we need to keep an eye on the CPU and system temperatures during the test. I'm using Core-Temp to show real-time monitor of the temperatures. Start this up and align against the other application being used as shown in screen example 5.
Screen example 5 - You need to monitor system activity and the system temperatures.
Note for Vista x64 users – You may have to run the CoreTemp start up batch file each time you start a new session. Download this here.
One important thing to note on this screen is the Tjunction. This is the recommended ceiling for your CPU temperature as dictated by the CPU manufacturer. Theoretically, the CPU could run higher but in practise it's not a good idea. In fact, I wouldn't recommend the CPU temperature exceeds 80% of the Tjunction. That is of course if you want your CPU to last. Both AMD and Intel list thermal & power specifications on their websites and are worth a visit. For example, the AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800 can run up to 78oc but has a Tjunction of 70oc.
Now you know about the Tjunction, it's important to make sure that the starting temperatures are not too high from the start. This is when the system is doing hardly anything and is regarded as idle.
If the temperatures exceed 50% of the Tjunction when idle then stop.. do not continue. Refer to "when things get too hot" section below".
On your marks! Set! Go...
But before you do, you need to select the right test for the job.
I normally stress test the CPU only first but the choice is yours.
Lastly, if you haven’t done so already, come out of all other applications and arrange the windows so they are not overlapping.
You are now ready to start the test.
To test the CPU only, then select the "Gromacs core" from the drop down list in each instance of Orthos. Then when you are ready click on "GO", again on each instance.
You're off!! When this starts, you will see activity on all screens as shown on screen example six
Screen example 6 - It's all go.. Your system is being tested to its limits!
<screen 6>
The performance graph will show 100% activity on all four cores when using the “Gromacs” test and the temperatures will start to rise quite quickly. Don't be too alarmed!
Watch for few minutes and keep an eye on those temperatures. After a few minutes, the temperatures should start to level out at a peak level (load). If they continue climbing and get anywhere near of 80% of the Tjunction setting as described earlier then stop the test immediately! Refer to "when things get too hot" section below".
When the temperatures do level out at a safe temperature, make note of each core temperature then leave for a few hours. Don't be tempted to keep checking because that's quite sad really. Literally go away and do something useful because watching these screens is quite boring. Go to the pub or something..
When returning from the pub (or something), the system should be still running. That's always a good sign. Orthos should still be running and showing green, indicating that the system has coped well under stress and that there are no errors. Check the temperatures are roughly near what you made earlier and keep these handy. When you are happy, stop the test by clicking the stop button. Don't close the application.
You have successfully completed the CPU stress test.
Now let's test again but with some RAM usage thrown in. For this, we are going to use the “Blend” test.
Select "Blend" test from the drop down list on each instance of Orthos and select “GO” when you are ready. You’ll notice less activity on the CPU this time as both the CPU and RAM are being tested. Again, make sure everything is okay at first. Make notes of the load temperatures and leave for a few hours..
Back again and hopefully, you’ll return to a working system with Orthos still churning away. If this is the case, make note of those temperatures before stopping the test.
You have successfully completed the Blend stress test.
If you have run either or both tests, it's pretty safe to say you have a totally stable system. However, if you run into problems later, it might be worth running the tests again just to be sure.
When thing get too hot
If things get to hot, then stop immediately. Even if you haven't even started the test or the test hasn't failed, there is clearly a problem which needs to be investigated before continuing. You may have your HSF installed incorrectly or your case has insufficient cooling. Check your CPU HSF is mounted correctly, and that the fan works. Make sure your case is being cooled correctly and all the fans are in good working order.
If you are overclocking you may have set your system settings too high. Reset the CMOS or go back to your previous settings.
Seeing Red!
If you are unfortunate to see red screens during the test or any other error if not using Orthos, then there is a problem that will need to look into. The system is not stable. The main thing here is not to panic.
If this is a new system that’s running on stock settings, make sure you have everything installed correctly.
If you are testing your overclock, then the system doesn’t like the settings you have made. It may be that the system or CPU doesn’t have enough voltage, or the system can’t cope with the overclock. Either which, you have some trouble shooting to do which is beyond the scope of this guide.
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