Best tools to stress test your CPU and RAM

Stress testing is an important part of ensuring PC system stability and fault finding. We teach you how to do it with a plethora of different software.

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Best tools to stress test your PC: When you’ve just dropped a substantial amount of money on a brand-new gaming PC, you should always make sure it’s working as intended. A PC stress test can help you achieve this. In this article, we will be covering RAM and CPU stress test tools to push your components to the maximum, while testing component stability in the process. 

Stress testing isn’t just for new systems however, stress testing is a valuable tool for older systems to ensure everything is running smoothly and performing as it should. Stressing your system can be especially useful to test overclock stability on newly overclocked components, and to make sure older parts remain fully functional. 

In this guide, we are going to outline the best RAM and CPU stress tests to perform along with where to download them online. We will also be including some hardware monitoring tools, to allow you to keep track of your system and how it’s performing. 

Please note that we do not cover the GPU in this article, if you’d like to know more about GPU overclocking then please visit our ‘how to stress test your GPU’ page.

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VIDEO: How to stress test your CPU and RAM

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Best CPU stress test tools

Whether you want to check the stability of your CPU after overclocking it or want to see how hot it is running, you are going to want a CPU stress test tool. The tools we recommend below are the best you can use for the job and are worth a download so you can start stress-testing your CPU. Here are the best tools to stress test your PC with.

Prime95

When it comes to CPU stress testing, the most reliable and widely popular Prime95 is a go-to tool. This tool finds the Mersenne prime number using the CPU and generates a very heavy workload. If your PC can manage running this stress test for a couple of hours (1-2) we’d make a pretty safe assumption that your PC is working as it should.

There are a few different tests you can run when you want to stress your CPU. You can run small FFT’s to reveal potential issues early on. The blended test could be very useful as it will stress your CPU and RAM at the same time. But using this method to fault find can be a bit of an issue due to the multiple components tested, leaving you unsure where the fault lies.

If you’d like to try Prime95, download it here.

IntelBurn Test

IntelBurn Test is another free stress test tool that will enable you to push your processor to the limit. You can use this tool to check how stable your component is, however, due to this software having very few in-but failsafes, it’s led to some negative feedback over the years with users reporting damage due to their CPUs. This isn’t exclusive to Intel Burn Test, all of the stress testing tools on this list have the potential to cause harm if your overclocks aren’t properly configured.

Don’t let that put you off, The IntelBurn test is still a very well-renowned CPU stress testing tool.

If you want try the IntelBurn Test, download it here.

Adia64

Aid64 is the only stress test tool for your CPU on the list that will cost you money. The package starts at around $39.95, which isn’t that expensive but for most out there its completely unnecessary with the free tools bringing enough capabilities to the table. That being said Aida64 is one of the most reliable and in-depth CPU stress testing tools available today.

Aida64 needs to be paid for you to get full system diagnostic utility when compared to the free ones. This type of kit is aimed more towards computer engineers, Professionals in the IT industry, and enthusiasts. but you can get a free trial that lasts a limited number of days with limited features, and the trial does indeed include the stress testing suite.

Download AIda64 here.

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Best RAM stress test tools

RAM can sometimes be forgotten about when it comes to stress testing, but for a thorough system test, it is highly important. With a RAM tool, you can diagnose potential issues from your components and also check for stability, especially when overclocking. When RAM fails it can cause a whole host of issues elsewhere in the PC, making RAM faults sometimes difficult to diagnose.

Because of this, the best practice is to check the RAM physically when feasible.

Checking RAM physically

The best practice when it comes to RAM is to check it physically, doing this is simple.

If you have two sticks of RAM, remove one and see if the fault persists. If it does, remove the other stick and replace it with the one you removed first, swapping the sticks if you will.
Failing that, it’s time to switch up the slots. Try placing a single stick of RAM in the proper slot, or any other slot you haven’t been using, this is to check the slots on the motherboard hasn’t gone bad. Repeat this for all slots available.

Prime95(Blend Test)

Prime95 is best suited for CPU testing; however, its blended test can be useful for stress testing RAM and checking for stability when overclocking. When torture testing within the program, you will see an option to Blend, but it is worth noting that this tool won’t check your RAM for potential errors. If you are looking for a better diagnostic tool for your RAM, then the ones below are a much better solution.

Download here.

MemTest86+

The best tool available for checking RAM stability and potential RAM issues is MemTest86+. Once MemTest is loaded it will automatically begin stress testing your RAM, and it will indicate clearly if you have any current hardware issues or if your RAM is unstable from a recent overclock. It is worth noting that this tool needs to be downloaded to a USB pen as it isn’t a Windows application. You will want to set your system to boot from the USB drive then as mentioned the software will automatically begin on reboot.

Just make sure you have a couple of hours to spare, this test is thorough and takes a long time to complete.

MemTest 64+

MemTest86+ is always recommended for RAM stress testing as it is simply the best out there. However, MemTest64+ offers a more user-friendly solution. MemTest64+ works within Windows, making it more appealing to some. And is available for 64-bit systems, most computers in this day and age are based on 64-bit systems.

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Best tools for monitoring your system

So, what are the best tools to stress test your PC? It is always a good idea to monitor your system when performing stress tests. Monitoring tools are a good way to keep track of temperatures, and load levels and some of these tools can be used in unison with benchmarking software allowing for better tracking.

HWMonitor

A handy tool for component temperatures is HWMonitor. This tool is straightforward to use and will give you real-time info on thermals, clock speeds, and power usage.

While each component has varied max temperatures it can operate at; it is always good to keep your CPU under 75°C.

Download HW monitor here.

HWiNFO64

This tool is quite advanced when compared to the other two. With HWiNFO64, you can monitor multicore components in a user-friendly manner. When running this tool, you can track temps on your CPU, GPU, RAM, and motherboard, while also tracking fan speeds and load times. This is a be-all and end-all tool, meaning it has pretty much everything you’ll ever need. Providing your PC has a sensor for whatever you’re trying to pull data from, HWINFO may be magical but it cant create sensors where there aren’t any.

If you’d like to give HWINFO a try, you can download it here.

Core Temp

Core temp is a relatively simple tool, but it does exactly what it says on the tin. You get real-time temp readings, and you can easily see load percentages for your CPU. Core Temps is a bit more advanced for the Intel CPU users out there as you can see the information for each core of your processor however with AMD you can only see an overall temperature. We don’t know why this is as other software can report a per-core temperature on AMD CPUs, we guess it’s just a limitation on the Core Temps end.

This tool also lets you see a bit more information on the CPU you have installed, such as displaying voltages and frequencies.

If you’d like to give Core Temp a spin, download it here.

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What is a stress test?

A stress test relating to computers is a type of performance test that puts a computer system under a heavy workload to evaluate its stability and performance under maximum load conditions. A stress test can involve pushing the CPU, GPU, memory, storage, and other components of a computer to their limits to see how they perform under heavy loads.

The purpose of a stress test is to identify any weaknesses or bottlenecks in the system that may cause it to malfunction or crash when running demanding applications or tasks. Stress testing is commonly used by system builders, computer enthusiasts, and overclockers to ensure that their systems are stable and reliable under heavy workloads.

Stress testing tools typically run a series of tests that simulate heavy workloads and measure the system’s performance and stability under those conditions. The tests may include tasks such as running multiple applications simultaneously, encoding videos, compressing large files, or rendering 3D graphics. The stress test may run for several hours or even days to ensure that the system is stable under sustained heavy loads.

What’s the difference between synthetic testing and real-world testing?

There are two main types of testing and both are required in different scenarios. There are both advantages and disadvantages to both. The exact dynamics of stress testing can become pretty complex, but we will aim to give an easy-to-understand explanation for both.

Synthetic testing

Synthetic testing is when a piece of software creates a set of defined instructions that do not differ or alter during the testing process, this is designed to provide repeatable results with very few software-oriented variables. An advantage to synthetic software testing is that the component can be reliably loaded to 100% load constantly.

For example, Aida64 has an in-built stress test tool that loads the CPU at 100% constantly and consistently. This is achieved by asking the CPU to complete complex instructions, whilst maintaining a steady stream of uninterrupted instructions that never differ from one another, so as to eliminate any software-related performance4 anomalies.

Real-world testing

Real-world testing is designed to create a ‘real-world’ representation of performance and is essentially mimicking your PC during normal usage conditions. Often real-world testing incorporates more than one component and is usually much less targeted than synthetic testing.

For example, a Prime95 test is a synthetic workload and targets the CPU specifically. Meanwhile, a gaming session is a real-world stress test and targets most PC components, mainly GPU, CPU, and RAM.

The idea here is to test how the component performs collectively with the rest of your system, this test is mainly for fault detection within the system as a whole, or to test a specific component’s reaction, thermals, or power draw in a real-world scenario.

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Does stress testing damage the CPU?

Stress testing can potentially damage a CPU if it is not done properly or if the CPU is already damaged or defective. When a CPU is subjected to stress testing, it operates at higher-than-normal temperatures and voltages, which can cause it to degrade or fail if it is not designed to handle such conditions.

However, if the CPU is in good condition and the stress testing is done within safe limits, it is unlikely to cause any damage. It is important to use a reliable stress testing tool that is designed to safely test the CPU without pushing it beyond its limits. Additionally, it is recommended to monitor the CPU temperature and voltage during the stress test to ensure that it remains within safe ranges.

Overall, stress testing can be a useful tool for testing the stability and performance of a CPU, but it should be done carefully and with caution to avoid any potential damage.

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Final word

There we have the best tools to stress test your PC, really all of them will work for you; it just comes down to picking what is best for you. Make sure before you begin, that you download one of the monitoring tools online to give you an idea of your system’s current status and to see what the stress testing does to your components.

These tools will come in handy for anyone looking to overclock and maximize the performance of their system. You will be able to push these components until they become unstable without worrying that you may break something. These tools can often give a good indication as to the health of your components and will help you diagnose the issue. We hope you enjoyed the best tools to stress test your PC article.

If you have any questions concerning PC issues, feel free to comment below or head over to the WePC community and we’ll do our best to help you.