Prime95

buckchoi

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Oct 2, 2002
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Sorry for this newbie question but I was just wondering what exactly Prime95 is? :confused:
I see it mentioned in the reviews and everyone in the forums talk about using it to stress test to see if a system is stable and so on.
So what does it do exactly....is it a distributed computing type thing, does it benchmark your system, or does it simply put your system under strain??

Thanks
 

THUGSROOK

Elite Member
Feb 3, 2001
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its simply a number cruncher that puts severe stress on your CPU.
let it loop for at least 5 hours ~ longer if you run any programs for longer then that.

:)
 

Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
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Thugs has got it....I like that theory test it to what type of duration you use apps....Some run number crunching stuff 24/7 so you may need to let it run for quite awhile.
 

buckchoi

Member
Oct 2, 2002
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Thanks guys

Woah just flicking through that website of theirs.......several weeks to complete a unit on a P2-400!??
Geeees that must be one hell of a complex calcualtion....no wonder it puts strain on a system!
 

buckchoi

Member
Oct 2, 2002
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Ahhh interesting.
Yeah I've used both SETI@Home and Folding@home and they use 100% CPU under the WinXP task manager.
Whether this is stressing the rest of the system I'm not sure.
Any ideas?
 

rogue1979

Diamond Member
Mar 14, 2001
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If you can run Seti stable, it is still possible that Prime95 will fail. Prime95 is the best tool to find a stable overclock for your cpu.
 

ErikaeanLogic

Platinum Member
Feb 14, 2000
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Originally posted by: SupermanCK
Originally posted by: ErikaeanLogic
are there any known issues with Prime95 and WinXP?

(sorry to Shanghai your thread, bub:p)

no

thanks, CK;), I guess I'm the issue:p! I just could have sworn that I read somewhere that people are having trouble getting it to run. . .



edit: I use loops of 3DMark2001SE to test for stability, usually for 24+ hours. I'm a gamer, so this is what I use my systems for and I've proven (on my own systems) that this works for me, ie: no crashed loops of 3DMark = no crashed games, ever.

 

THUGSROOK

Elite Member
Feb 3, 2001
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looping 3dmark is useless for a system stress test.
its weak and wimpy and doesnt run full time (its loading half the time!)
serious sam could still crash that system w/in 5 mins!

a program called X-Isle is alot like Serious Sam and a much harsher stress test.


HTH :)
 

SupermanCK

Platinum Member
Mar 31, 2000
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agree with thugsrook here...or you can try playing games 24hrs straight...but watch out...you might died from it :p
 

ErikaeanLogic

Platinum Member
Feb 14, 2000
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ouch, THUGS just called me a i love you:Q!



well, I've never crashed at Serious Sam, and I've put in some Serious hours, too:p! but then again, I also use Toast to burn in;)
 

THUGSROOK

Elite Member
Feb 3, 2001
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no i didnt!
i called you a hefty cinch sak! :p ;)

if you play Serious Sam ~ then you know how harsh that game is on a system and vid card :)
99.99% stable aint gonna cut it ;)
 

ErikaeanLogic

Platinum Member
Feb 14, 2000
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Originally posted by: THUGSROOK
no i didnt!
i called you a hefty cinch sak! :p ;)

if you play Serious Sam ~ then you know how harsh that game is on a system and vid card :)
99.99% stable aint gonna cut it ;)


. . .and if anybody's going to find that 0.01% instability, people, it's going to be THUGSROOK:p!

just glad you're here to keep my shootin'-from-the-hip mofo azz in line;)



seriously (haha, I'm sooo punny:D!), I'll give that X-Isle a try, sounds cool; been getting bored of that 3DM2K1 anyhow:)
 

rogue1979

Diamond Member
Mar 14, 2001
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I found that passing 3DMark for multiple loops is just an approximate gauge of stability. Play Giants at high resolutions and any slight video related instability will show up very fast.