Test program for undervolting
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
Test program for undervolting
I'm going to undervolt a TBird 1.1G. What programs should I use to test stability? I've been using cpuburn to test different heatsinks and fans but I have access to Sandra and 3dMark.
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Ralf Hutter
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The standard CPU stability testing program is Prime95. It's a program that searches for prime numbers. Download it from here and install it. At the end of the install check the box that says "just torture testing" (or something like that).
To run it, start it up and go to "Options>Torture Test" and it will start running. Start it right after a fresh boot. After you start it check for CPU usage in Task Manager and make sure Prime95 is using at least 97% of your CPU. Just let it run in Torture Test mode. If your system isn't stable it will shut itself down and say something like "Test cancelled, results equaled 5.00, expected result is 4.0385429759". That means something was calculate incorrectly, which indicates that your CPU is unstable and not working right. If that happens you'd add a little more Vcore and start the testing over again. If your system is stable you should be able to run Prime95 for at least 24 hours without it erroring out.
There's two different ways to approach your stability limits. The first way would be to start by lowering your Vcore by about .025V or .05V and run Prime95 to see if it's stable. If it runs for about an hour, lower your Vcore another step and try Prime95 again. Keep repeating this until you get a Prime95 error, then raise your Vcore up .025V and let it run for at least 24 hours. If it lasts you're golden, if it errors raise your Vcore and try again.
The second way of doing this would be to initially lower your Vcore by a big chunk, say .2V or more, then run Prime95. If it errors out, start increasing your Vcore in .025V increments until you're 24hr Prime95 stable.
Either method is a little tedious but it's the price you pay for running out of spec (whether by overclocking or undervolting) and wanting stability.
BTW - Running Prime95 for a while will also show you how hot your CPU will get under load. If you can live with those temps you're in good shape, if not you'll have to improve your cooling. There are a few apps that will heat your CPU up a little more than Prime95 (one is "CPUburn") but they're not testing your stability like Prime95 does. On my gaming system I find that even extended sessions of hardcore gaming won't get the CPU quite as hot as Prime95 does so I figure whatever max temps I get with Prime95 are greater than I'd ever get during "real world" usage.
To run it, start it up and go to "Options>Torture Test" and it will start running. Start it right after a fresh boot. After you start it check for CPU usage in Task Manager and make sure Prime95 is using at least 97% of your CPU. Just let it run in Torture Test mode. If your system isn't stable it will shut itself down and say something like "Test cancelled, results equaled 5.00, expected result is 4.0385429759". That means something was calculate incorrectly, which indicates that your CPU is unstable and not working right. If that happens you'd add a little more Vcore and start the testing over again. If your system is stable you should be able to run Prime95 for at least 24 hours without it erroring out.
There's two different ways to approach your stability limits. The first way would be to start by lowering your Vcore by about .025V or .05V and run Prime95 to see if it's stable. If it runs for about an hour, lower your Vcore another step and try Prime95 again. Keep repeating this until you get a Prime95 error, then raise your Vcore up .025V and let it run for at least 24 hours. If it lasts you're golden, if it errors raise your Vcore and try again.
The second way of doing this would be to initially lower your Vcore by a big chunk, say .2V or more, then run Prime95. If it errors out, start increasing your Vcore in .025V increments until you're 24hr Prime95 stable.
Either method is a little tedious but it's the price you pay for running out of spec (whether by overclocking or undervolting) and wanting stability.
BTW - Running Prime95 for a while will also show you how hot your CPU will get under load. If you can live with those temps you're in good shape, if not you'll have to improve your cooling. There are a few apps that will heat your CPU up a little more than Prime95 (one is "CPUburn") but they're not testing your stability like Prime95 does. On my gaming system I find that even extended sessions of hardcore gaming won't get the CPU quite as hot as Prime95 does so I figure whatever max temps I get with Prime95 are greater than I'd ever get during "real world" usage.
This was a interesting article on system stability testing that uses Microsoft's hardware compatability testing suite.
http://www.whiningdog.net/Articles/PC/T ... 21202-HCT/
I've not seen any review sites use it for testing purposes, but I've run it on one of my systems and can say it really bombards your video, memory and cpu system simultaneously.
http://www.whiningdog.net/Articles/PC/T ... 21202-HCT/
I've not seen any review sites use it for testing purposes, but I've run it on one of my systems and can say it really bombards your video, memory and cpu system simultaneously.
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powergyoza
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I thought I was the only one that noticed! I've been too chicken to install it though.... I'll have more courage now that I know about your experience...thanks!Ginta wrote:This was a interesting article on system stability testing that uses Microsoft's hardware compatability testing suite.
http://www.whiningdog.net/Articles/PC/T ... 21202-HCT/
I've not seen any review sites use it for testing purposes, but I've run it on one of my systems and can say it really bombards your video, memory and cpu system simultaneously.