Dumb question RE: stress testing

[SaltBoy]

I'm just wondering if there's any harm in doing other things on my box while stress testing via Prime95. Of course, I won't be doing any video encoding or game playing, but I assume downloading and/or surfing the Intarweb is okay? What about watching videos?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Yes, not only is it ok to do those things, but they may actually prove to be a better stress test than just simply prime95.

 

[Drsignguy]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
Yes, not only is it ok to do those things, but they may actually prove to be a better stress test than just simply prime95.

I thought it was Not good to do other things while stress testing. ie; video encoding, or other multitaking programs.....

I haven't even surfed the net or anything that will change the results of stress test.

 

[covert24]

the more stuff you do (ie. surfing the web, encoding, decoding, etc) puts more stress on the cpu resulting in a "harder" stress test.

personally for my stress tests, i do real world things to test it. such as playing some COD4 while playing music and maybe running some folding. or when i really want to see if its going to hold up, i run a CPU client and GPU client of folding@home while listening to music, having everest and cpuz open, while surfing the web.

using prime95, orthos, occt is, IMHO, a waste if your not going to be pushing your CPU anywhere close to where the program is pushing it. just my .02

 

[AmberClad]

Originally posted by: Drsignguy
I thought it was Not good to do other things while stress testing. ie; video encoding, or other multitaking programs.....

I haven't even surfed the net or anything that will change the results of stress test.

If surfing the net changes the results of the stress test, then you're not stable . Whatever test you're running should not be producing errors, even if the CPU is multitasking (assuming the OC is stable).

It's pretty boring watching OCCT or P95 doing its rounds, so I do usually surf or doing something else on the system while it's happening. Obviously, you probably don't want to be writing a novel or doing data analysis while it's going on, in case the system crashes/makes calculation errors/corrupts the filesystem, etc...

 

[Drsignguy]

Originally posted by: AmberClad

Originally posted by: Drsignguy
I thought it was Not good to do other things while stress testing. ie; video encoding, or other multitaking programs.....

I haven't even surfed the net or anything that will change the results of stress test.

If surfing the net changes the results of the stress test, then you're not stable . Whatever test you're running should not be producing errors, even if the CPU is multitasking (assuming the OC is stable).

It's pretty boring watching OCCT or P95 doing its rounds, so I do usually surf or doing something else on the system while it's happening. Obviously, you probably don't want to be writing a novel or doing data analysis while it's going on, in case the system crashes/makes calculation errors/corrupts the filesystem, etc...

I would have to agree but I didn't say I was nor ever had errors while surfing. What I did say however, I never did it. I have other machines to work with while I tested.


And in bold is exactally why I don't do anything, just in case...

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
Yes, not only is it ok to do those things, but they may actually prove to be a better stress test than just simply prime95.

Funny, I've heard the opposite. Normally programs such as prime 95 and occt are designed to use all CPU cycles available. So if your doing other background tasks you would be taking away cpu cycles to do that other stuff, while the stress test program would only be using what ever cpu cycles are left. Which essesntially can lead to a false stable/instability issues.

Personally, I wouldn't.

Of course if you don't feel like waiting 8+ hours to find out if your stable, you could use linpack (or intelcpuburn --same thing just with a gui) which takes considerable less time and generally stresses harder. (Were talking less than 1 hour)

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Originally posted by: Drsignguy

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
Yes, not only is it ok to do those things, but they may actually prove to be a better stress test than just simply prime95.

I thought it was Not good to do other things while stress testing. ie; video encoding, or other multitaking programs.....

I haven't even surfed the net or anything that will change the results of stress test.

Generally, I'm of that opinion as well.

PRIME95 is not the "ultimate" stress test. On the other hand, I've seen my AV software interfere with it. If I had a diagnostic and repair program like System Mechanic installed, its startup service would occasionally bring up SM and its "TotalCare" program, and interfere with the stress-testing program.

My latest strategy is to run PRIME95 to prove the system stable for 16 hours or more at the minimum voltages and highest speeds limited only by my personal choice of a "red-line" CPU or "VCORE" voltage and load temperature readings.

Then, I drop the speed back 5 to 10 Mhz (CPU reference or "external" frequency), and stress again with IntelBurnTest for 2 hours -- about 30 iterations.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

I like running Orthos and and OCCT in tandem while playing music and surfing the web.

 

[honolululu]

While I agree that doing other things while running Prime is a better stability test unto itself, one should not say they were 12h Prime stable unless that's the only thing running. Because of what Quiksilver said up there and here are some temps that I've seen. When I run small FFTs my temps go up to about 68 C, then if I open up another Othos and have it Blend at the same time the temps drop to about 64 C.

There's no such thing as being '100% stable' anyway. Every computer will crash at some point if you run it long enough. So what percent stability do you want to chase? Prime95 is to multitasking stability as 3DMark06 score is to gaming performance.

So to make a long story short you have to do both. Run P95 alone, and then run it in the background while doing other things. The more the merrier. I run 5 Orthos Blends to get 'full' testing of my RAM and pagefile. Don't think I ever got past an hour with that one.

Edit: Wrong bracket usage.

 

[Zapper48]

I'm running Orthos now with priority set 8 on blend.4 hrs so far and just surfing etc.

400x9 all voltages on default. Load Temp 55c.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I should probably clarify when I said that it was OK to do other things while stress-testing. I mean things that take very little CPU time, such as web browsing. I wouldn't watch a movie or encode video. The CPU needs to work as hard as possible on stress testing, otherwise it wouldn't be a good stress test.

However, I've found that web browsing while running Prime95 sometimes pushes systems over the edge, because it exercises the HD, RAM, the I/O busses, etc., at the same time as heavy CPU load. On some systems, Prime95 could continue to run successfully, but web browsing at the same time can make it crash. So I say, sure, test that scenario out too.

 

[SaltBoy]

Thanks for the info guys!