Stress test ur CPU for stability with Prime95

[Red Phoenix]

Guys if u ever want to test out how stable, and i mean really stable, ur cpu is especially if u are a proud overclocker with a super insane fan then Prime95 is the little utility for u. many online reviewers use it when OCing.

it's free and like 1 mb in size

just download it and run it to stress test ur cpu and to a lesser degree rams to their maximum performance and heat production

if it runs for 15 minutes without giving a precision rounding error then ur pc isn't completly crummy, but u got to leave it on for hours (8 is good enough) to see if ur cpu doesn't make small miscalculations and/or ur rams do it instead while storing those bits.

it got 3 modes for running

the first one stresses mostly the cpu while the 2 and 3 stress both

now it would be very wise to run alongside it a program that can detect cpu temperatures accuratly like CoreTemp or SpeedFan through c2d's DTS (digital thermal sensors) since the mobo sensors and utilities are not that accurate.

anyhows, give it a test and see, it will tax ur cpu more than crysis ever did

and believe me u could be running ur cpu happily at a certain overclocking level without any (major) error in rendering/games/browsing thinking ur rig is 100% stable but this little utility can show u in minutes or hours if ur cpu is 100% stable or 99.9% or 95% hehe

pretty neat, run it and keep it minimized and check in a while if u are errors free ;)
(just for the love of god monitor ur cooling and make sure u got a good one cuz u will generate maximum heat possible)

Prime95 (32bit) - 25.8 Download - EXTREME Overclocking

i got a very decent cooling kit so my OCed rig runs quite swimingly stable and cool now in autumn at 50C max in Prime95 test 1 according to Coretemp/Speedfan DTS, 47C in test 2 (37C-45C when games are running or rendering), the external mobo sensors give temperatures different by 2 to 5 degrees below and above depening on the tests (test 1 generates cpu heat, test 2 generates mobo heat since it taxes rams) anyhows mobo sensors are kinda useless as each mobo reads temps differently to add to their inaccuracy problems (for reference my core 2 duo 45nm OCed Wolfdale idles at 30C according to DTS and 25C according to the external mobo sensors)

have fun, and if Prime95 gives u errors on ur 'proud OCed rig' that was always 'stable', feel free to investigate the matter to fix it or forget about Prime95 altogether if u think it's a nasty little dream destroyer ;)

me i'm happy it gives me accurate stability results quickly instead of waiting 3 month for my pc to crash once 'for no reason' while i'm working on some critical project and corrupt my data, so with Prime95 i can detect it, try to fix it early and find a good compromise.. hehe