There are many reasons for testing a video adapter. For example, you decided to buy a computer on OLX for half the price, but you are afraid that it will not work for a month. Are you planning to overclock the adapter, you are worried about crashes when launching heavy games, etc. How to check a dubious video card on a PC? Read on and find out everything.
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Mandatory actions before verification
Before software testing, you need to:
- Close applications that are not currently relevant: text editors, browsers, torrents, etc. You can pause a resource-hungry antivirus.
- View the temperature of the graphics adapter at rest. Make sure it is less than 50 degrees. If this threshold value is exceeded, it is impossible to test the hardware, since if you check a hot video card, components may burn out . At best, the test result will be incorrect. You can check the temperature at rest, for example, using the GPU-Z utility. It will be discussed below.
Perhaps, before the test, you did not install the vidyahu in the case, it worked there for several months and was pretty dusty. In this case, it is worth removing the dust “under the hood”, as the suspension can cause overheating.
How to check the performance of a video card: simple ways
Visual inspection is a mandatory checkpoint. If obvious defects are visible to the eye, there is no point in wasting time on testing. Even if it is successful, no one can guarantee that a shabby video adapter will last more than 2-3 months. First of all, you need to take care of good lighting. If you inspect the goods in the New Post office, where there are weak bulbs in the room, use a flashlight from your smartphone . To visually check the performance of a used video card, as recommended by repair experts, you need to go through the following steps:
- Check if the radiators are spinning. If new turntables are installed on the old vidyahu, most likely, it was repaired, and not just updated cooling. And this is an absolute disadvantage.
- Look for burnt or knocked down elements, cracks, traces of soldering during repair, flux residues, scratches, areas of textolite that have changed color to a dark yellow or black color from overheating. In the presence of such defects, it is better to refuse to buy a video device.
If no defects are found, proceed to the next stage of verification – software testing.
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How to test a video card using programs
The variety of software for testing adapters complicates the choice a little. To figure out the best way to test a video card, descriptions of the most relevant tools will help. First, the sign:
| Testing tool | Knows how to load a PC during testing | Russian interface |
| FurMark | + | – |
| OSST | + | + |
| AIDA64 | + | + |
| 3Dmark | + | + |
| GPU-Z | – | – |
Now let’s take a quick look at these five utilities.
FurMark
With the FurMark test, you can check the video card for both serviceability and the declared performance. The program is a rather crude but effective diagnostic tool. It puts a lot of stress on the graphics adapter, but does not test all technologies supported by the device. Before starting, you need to select the monitor resolution on the main application window and a couple of key settings in Setting. In the 3D test options section, you must leave 2 checkboxes opposite the items:
- Dynamic background;
- Burn-in.
Testing is accompanied by surreal animation. During the work of the program, there may be the following negative symptoms:
- the computer decided to shutdown or reboot,
- the picture loaded with artifacts,
- the system swore at the video driver and so on.
Their appearance means that, most likely, the video card is faulty. If nothing of the kind has happened within 20 minutes, you can end testing and view the report. The key indicator in it is the maximum heating temperature. It should not exceed the level stated by the manufacturer. Usually it is no more than 80-90 degrees. The functionality of the program includes the ability to verify your indicators with the values obtained by other users. The main window has a GPU-Z button that launches a popular FurMark utility.
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OSST
OCCT is a delicate and fine-tuned testing tool. You can check several components at once or just the video card. During testing, the program shows the minimum, current and maximum temperatures. Draws a graph. You can drive the video memory or run a 3D test to assess the stability of the hardware.
Before starting, you need to select the screen resolution and the complexity of the shaders. The load on the video chip depends on the second parameter. It is also possible to set a limit on FPS. Another interesting parameter is the temperature at which the program will immediately stop testing. You can eliminate the risk of finishing off by checking for the incense of a breathing video adapter.
OSST has a Russian interface, which simplifies configuration and testing. In the process, the same red fluffy donut is displayed as in the case of FurMark, but its image is static.
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AIDA64
The attachment allows you to both test a suspicious video card in delicate mode, and arrange it for an extreme test using a stress test.
Light option:
- We go to the “Service”.
- We click “GPGPU Test”.
- Choosing a video adapter.
- We start with the Start Benchmark button.
Hard check:
- We go again to the “Service”.
- We click “System stability test”.
- We remove items from all equipment except the video card, leaving only the Stress GPU.
- Let’s start.
In the process of checking, the program shows in the form of graphs the load in the range of 0-100% and the temperature – 0-100 degrees. If desired, you can narrow or expand the temperature range by going to the settings – Preferences. The test can be stopped at any time with the Stop button.
3Dmark
The program is used not only by ordinary users and employees of repair organizations, but also by video card developers. There is a free and paid version of the app. You can download a free, fully functional release with no customization options. The program offers several test options, differing in intensity. They are designed for:
- Entry-level PC,
- home computers and laptops,
- game hardware .
Consider a couple of options for failing the check:
- If the picture is normal during testing, but the video card gets very hot, then there may be problems with cooling.
- An even more unpleasant situation is when the temperature is within normal limits, but the computer freezes, the monitor loses its signal, the system scares death with a blue screen, etc. In such cases, the likelihood of a malfunction of the GPU or video memory is high. If you’re lucky, you’ll find an easily fixable video driver issue.
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GPU-Z
Before starting the video card check, you need to assess its state of health at rest. For this, many use the popular GPU-Z utility. After installing the program, about 30 parameters of the video adapter are displayed in the main window: name, name of the graphics chip, its characteristics, version of the video BIOS, information about video memory, etc.
The Sensors tab also has a lot of interesting things: frequencies of the video processor and memory, adapter temperature, airflow speed, etc. GPU-Z is an information utility, it does not load the adapter: it just displays information about the current state of the video. It is sometimes used in conjunction with a testing program.
How to check the graphics card on a laptop: features
In the case of a laptop, you can use any of the above applications for testing. You just need to take into account that the problem of overheating is more relevant for compact equipment. Also, laptop users are less likely to perform maintenance. Many are afraid to remove the case cover on their own, and do not want to give the equipment to the service either. Thermal grease dries out over time, the laptop becomes clogged with dust. There are other problems as well, especially if you regularly freeze in games. To minimize the risks, it is useful to check the graphics card on a laptop as described above, and do this at least once a year.
Signs of incorrect operation of the video card
A faulty graphics adapter can not only give out artifacts and stripes, become the cause of system failure in games. There are many signs of malfunctioning: shutdown, PC freezing, slow playback of dynamic content, and more. If your computer has two video adapters, then in case of partial failures or a bad picture, remove the discrete video card from the case and connect the monitor to the motherboard connector . Is the problem gone? This means, most likely, the discrete video card is faulty.
You also need to take into account that many signs, for example, spontaneous shutdowns and reboots, may not be associated with the video card. Comprehensive PC diagnostics often help to find the cause of malfunctions .
In conclusion, it should be noted that repairing a video card, especially one that has already worked for 3-5 years, is not the best option. If it is impossible to eliminate the malfunction without soldering, it is better to buy a new adapter, get a warranty for it and work or have fun without fear of breakdowns in the near future.
