Benchmarking and Diagnostic Programs - Diagnostic Programs
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Taking look at the most useful diagnostic programs.
Now when a user has any kind of issues with their computer, or wants a quick and easy way to see what their system may be running will be looking for one these programs. For the most part, all detailed information will be provided for their computer system. In some cases not all information will be displayed. It is very hard for the program writers to keep compatibility with all motherboards and chipsets, often updates provide additional compatibility. Here is the list of diagnostics that most users are running.
- CPUZ
- Sandra 2005
- Memtest86
CPUZ (www.cpuid.com)
CPUZ is a great little program which offers a very basic reading of your motherboard chipset information to find out the clockspeeds of your system. CPUZ can list detailed information about your processor, CPU voltage, original frequency, overclocked frequency, revision number as well as cache, list motherboard information such as northbridge and southbridge and bios information. One of the better features of CPUZ is the memory and SPD tabs. Here CPUZ will detect memory latency and dividers being used. This information is great for users trying to get every bit of bandwidth out of their system. One of the newest features in CPUZ is the validation tool. This allows users who have extensively overclocked their processors to verify if their clock speeds are correct.
Sandra 2005 (www.sisoftware.co.uk)
Sandra again is listed in the diagnostic programs. Sandra can be used to gain information on your computer system. Sandra has the ability to list all sensor readings, all clock speeds and voltages, and it also can display motherboard, graphics card, hard drive, CD & DVDRW information, not only that Sandra has its Burn in Wizard. With the burn in wizard, you can stress individual components in the computer system; this will show individual instability of a component in the computer system, which is great for detecting any weak links in your PC.
Memtest86 (www.memtest86.com)
Memtest86 is a great program for testing memory. Memory is one of the key components to computer stability, especially when overclocking. Memtest86 tests the memory for failures and will mark each point as the memory fails. With overclocking, the memory can run significantly faster. With this increase in speed, errors are much more frequent. This program will automatically detect them and notify exactly when the instability occurs. The longer the test runs, the more reassurance stability will be ensured.
Memtest86 is not a Windows based program. Instead Memtest86 needs to be booted off a floppy disc or from a CD, and luckily the creators have setup their download package as an ISO, so you can create your disc right from the image, just set your boot priority to CD Rom and you’re set.
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