If you are an avid PC gamer, you likely faced a bunch of choices along your career. There surely was a time when you had to pick between buying a gaming laptop or a desktop PC.
Gaming laptops are attractive because they offer everything you need in a convenient package. You can take all of your computing experience wherever you go and do some gaming (or work) while on the go.
However, you likely had second thoughts when faced with the option of purchasing a gaming laptop. Sure, they feature an all-in-one deal, but that is a blessing and a curse, as they tend to be very restrictive when it comes to hardware specs for a bunch of reasons. You can fit high-performance components in a thin laptop chassis, but that will likely break your bank too.
Most PC gamers choose to build their custom rigs. The bigger PC chassis allows for more customizability, which means that gamers can combine various components to their liking.
There’s nothing like that feeling when you put together a PC and first start it. It is one of the most rewarding experiences you could hope for.
However, what happens when you are ready? You take your computer for a spin!
There are numerous ways to do that. You can pick the good old approach of launching a demanding game, or you can test your computer more professionally.
You can use tools that stress test your computer’s internals, including CPU stress tests, GPU stress tests and more.
Top 3 CPU test tool picksÂ
- Aida64 – It is one very popular stress test tool, which relies on a convenient approach by simulating real-life processes that take your CPU usage to 100% to see how it performs. The only downside is that the app isn’t free. However, a 30-day free trial is available.
- Prime95 – This tool was developed by GIMPS, a computing project that aims to find new Mersenne prime numbers (any prime number that checks the equation 2^n − 1. Though the app was initially meant to discover Mersenne prime numbers, the stress test became mainstream for hardware enthusiasts aiming to push their CPU and memory to the limits.
- IntelBurn Test – This app deserves its name as it will make your CPU get hot as fire. It got a reputation for pushing people’s CPUs to the limits. However, IntelBurn Test takes things one step further by putting your CPU to even more unneeded stress.
GPUs are part of how a computer performs, so they are also the target of performance tests.
Top picks for GPU stress test tools
- 3D Mark – This is a popular GPU stress test tool used on multiple devices, both computers and mobile devices alike. 3DMark also keeps track of the clock speed, load, frame rate, and temperatures during the testing procedure. The full version of the app costs $30 on Steam.
- FurMark – FurMark is a trending GPU stress test tool worth taking into consideration. Though it doesn’t feature anything too out of the ordinary, it puts some immense stress on your GPU, which is all that you need.
- Heaven & Valley Benchmarks (Unigine) – These are some of the most popular stress test options for graphics cards, whether you are looking to overclock it and see how it behaves or just as a simple benchmark to see the evolution of your GPU under intense loads. The most exciting detail about it is that it features VR capabilities.
