I have a series of active charts and bar indicators on my second monitor that are invaluable, and I also have a Razer DeathStalker Ultimate keyboard that has an LED screen upon which AIDA runs temp and clock info. I also agree that it is the best monitoring program around. I too have noticed that AIDA64 is not very reliable as a stress tester. it really clears things up and provides me with a good route to take for achieving system stability. From that, you can tell I think OCCT is a pretty good stability test. Realbench features several open source software's with the latest CPU extensions, which each test a different part of the system: GIMP Image Editing This focuses on single threaded CPU and memory performance, therefore CPU clock speed and memory efficiency (timings + frequency) are the keys to a good score.
I also run OCCT's Linpack option for 90% memory coverage (4 minutes) as a final test after memory tweaks. RealBench Hwbot Edition is a free software to tests and compare the performance of your computer with others. In this case, 'pass' means running for a mere three minutes without error! OCCT pulls about the same power as Aida64, but runs at lower temperatures because the heat is distributed around the CPU chip more evenly than the hotspots generated by Aida64. Unfortunately, a profile running well and scoring high in Realbench still throws bluescreens at me in other tests and at a particular point in a CS6 workflow.Ī profile that passes OCCT large data set test has never thrown a blue screen at me. I use the benchmark to indicate stability because it covers more of the system.
Realbench is better yet and is more fun as a competitive benchmark. I still get BSOD in Adobe CS6, Realbench, etc. XTU uses Prime95 as a competitive benchmark. Prime95, including that in Intel's Extreme Tuning Utility (XTU), is next best. Great for sensing/monitoring - poor for stress/stability tests. Its memory read/write/latency benchmark is also a great indication of progress when tweaking memory. Share the result here on the forum to compare to others, or, compare to pre/post overclocks and pre/post upgrades to get maximum value from your PC.
Each test uses different parts of your PC subsystem, so all areas are covered.
The stripchart graph is valuable for recording what happens during a full screen app or game where you can't see a monitoring display in real time. Select the three tests and run the benchmark to get your result. Aida 64 is the best monitoring program for all the sensors going on around a modern CPU. Profiles that pass CPU, FPU and cache stresses for hours still give me BSOD in more stringent tests. They give varying results.Īida64 isn't very good, except for stressing memory. I've used several stress tests to indicate stabilty of an OC profile. Some additional comments on stability testing - all my own opinions with plenty of room for YMMV.