After noticing the appearance of some artifacts while playing a game, you would like to test the health of your video card , however you don’t know how to do it. Don’t worry: if you want, I can help you. How? Simple: indicating a series of tools with which you can test the video card of your computer in a very simple way and without necessarily having to be a “geek”.
To be precise, these are programs to carry out what is commonly called a “stress test” and which put pressure on the video card (but also other components of the computer) and check whether the response to the “stimuli” is that waiting or there are problems. There are, then, tools that by carrying out only the analysis of the performance of the graphics card without going to “stress it”.
How do you say? Is that just what you were interested in? Then take a few minutes of free time all to yourself, position yourself in front of your trusted computer and immediately start focusing on reading what is reported below. I am sure that, in the end, you will be able to say that you are very happy and satisfied with what you have learned. Happy reading and good luck for everything!
Index
- How to test video card: PC
- OCCT
- BurnInTest
- Other solutions to test video card on PC
- How to test video card: iMac
- Heaven
- Novabench
- Other solutions to test video card on iMac
- How to test video card: Ubuntu
How to test video card: PC
You are using a PC with Windows installed and you want to know how to test a video card , rely on one of the tools that you find listed below: I’m sure they will satisfy you.
OCCT
A great program you can use to test video card is OCCT . This is free software that tests your computer’s GPU by carrying out customizable stress tests. It is quite easy to use and the results are displayed through convenient graphs. It works with all the latest versions of Windows, so you can use it to test your Windows 10 and later video card as well.
To download the program to your computer, connect to its website and click on the OCCT Personal button .
When the download is complete, open the .exe file obtained and, in the window you see appear on the desktop, click on the Yes button .
Once the software window is displayed on the screen, select the Test item in the left sidebar, click on the 3D tab , adjust the options relating to error detection, shader complexity and graphics card usage limit and press the Play button located at the bottom to start the test.
When the process is complete, the results of the analysis will be shown to you with the graphs provided which will be saved in the C: \ Users \ username \ Documents \ OCCT \ folder as images in PNG format .
BurnInTest
Another tool you can rely on is BurnInTest . It is a software for Windows, for a fee (costs $ 119), but also available in a trial version running for 30 days, which allows you to perform a stress test of the computer hardware components, graphics card included and to evaluate their actual performance. .
To download it, connect to the program’s website and press the Free trial button at the top. On the new page that appears, click on the Download BurnInTest Windows edition V10.0 (32 & 64 bit) link to start downloading BurnInTest to your computer.
When the download is complete, api the .exe file obtained and, in the window you see appear on the desktop, click on the Yes button . Then select the item I accept the agreement , click on the Next button three times in a row and complete the setup by pressing the Install and Finish buttons .
Once the program screen is displayed, click on the Continue button to start using it in the trial version. Subsequently, press the Go button that you find in correspondence with the Max GPU Test box , the 3D Graphics one or the 2D graphics – Memory one , depending on the type of test you want to perform.
Once the procedure has started, you will be able to find out all the information on the test in the relevant boxes on the screen. If any errors are found, this will be clearly reported to you. When you want, you can stop the stress test by clicking on the STOP button at the top. In the lower part of the BurnInTest window you will then be notified if the video card of your PC has passed the test or not.
I would also like to point out that, if you want, you can modify the parameters before starting the stress test. To do this, click on the Configuration menu at the top, then on the Test Preferences item in it, then select the 2D Graphics and 3D Graphics tabs and intervene on the available options according to your needs.
Other solutions to test video card on PC
Are you looking for other solutions by which you can test your computer’s video card? I’ll settle you immediately. In the list below, in fact, you will find further useful programs for the purpose you can decide to rely on.
- 3DMark– is a renowned software for testing computer components and especially the graphics card. It includes different levels of stress test and when completed it shows a score that establishes whether under load the performance of the computer can be stable or not. It’s only for Windows and it’s free, but you have to pay to unlock additional tests to the basic one (prices start at $ 29.99).
- FunMark– excellent software to perform the operation object of this guide, also to test used video card and to test broken video card . It is free, only for Windows and allows you to test the GPU and other electrical components of the graphics card allowing you to easily identify the peak performance of the hardware device.
- GpuMemTest– totally free Windows program that allows you to test the performance of the GPU by carrying out various tests. It is very easy to use and detects most errors in a few moments.
How to test video card: iMac
Now let’s move on to the Apple world and let’s find out, therefore, how to test video card on macOS (not only on iMac, but also on Mac mini and on various MacBook models). There are several useful tools for this. You will find the best of the category reported right below.
Heaven
The first tool to test the integrated or dedicated video card of a Mac that I want to report to you is Heaven . It is an application capable of stressing the GPU and verifying the stability of the hardware under load conditions, showing on the screen a fantastic village generated in real time with various techniques. It also allows you to compare the processing power of your computer with different GPUs. It is free, but eventually it is available in some paid versions (starting at $ 14.95) with extra features and is also compatible with Windows and Linux.
You ask me how to use it? I’ll point it out to you right away. First, connect to the program’s website and click on the Free Download button on the left, in order to download the software version on the Mac.
When the download is complete, open the .dmg package obtained and drag the Heaven icon inside it to the Applications folder , then right-click on it and choose the Open item twice in a row, in order to go around the limitations imposed by Apple to non-certified developers (an operation that must be carried out only at the first start).
Now that you see the software window on the screen, click on the Agree button , select the preset you prefer from the appropriate menu located on the right or leave the Custom item selected and intervene personally on the menus below to adjust the stress test settings as you see fit. .
Subsequently, start the video card test by pressing the Run button located at the bottom, wait for the relative animation to be shown on the screen and for the analysis to be completed, then you will be exposed the response and you will be able to know the performance of the graphics card in use .
Novabench
Another tool that I recommend you to try if you want to test MacBook video card or any other model of Mac is Novabench . It is a software that analyzes not only the performance of the graphics card, but also those of the processor, RAM and hard drive. It’s super easy to use and what’s more, it’s totally free. It is also compatible with Windows and Linux.
To download the program on your computer, go to its website and press the Download for Free button , then the Download for macOS button .
When the download is complete, open the .dmg package obtained and drag the Novabench icon into the Applications folder on your computer, then right-click on it and select the Open item from the context menu and in the window that appears, in order to start the program by going however to circumvent the limitations desired by Apple towards unauthorized developers (an operation that must be carried out only at the first start).
Now that the software window is displayed, press the Start Test button and wait for the analysis of the graphics card and the rest of the computer hardware to be completed, after which you can consult the response with all the details of the case.
Other solutions to test video card on iMac
None of the solutions I have already indicated satisfied you and, therefore, would you like me to recommend other solutions to test the video card on your computer of the “bitten apple”? No problem: you can find them in the list below.
- Valley– popular tool for testing the performance of the graphics card that proposes the vision of a forest surrounded by mountains. Basically it is free, but to take advantage of all the functions offered you have to switch to one of the paid versions (with prices starting from $ 19.95). In addition to macOS, it works with Windows and Linux.
- Cinebench– popular free program for stress testing the computer’s GPU, but also the processor. The graphics test measures the card’s performance when processing a complex car model in OpenGL. About one million polygons are processed and various graphic effects are applied. It can also be used on Windows.
- Geekbench– famous benchmarking solution that allows you to test the performance of computers and mobile devices, evaluating the state of the GPU, but also of the CPU, without too many technicalities or graphics that are difficult to interpret. It is paid (it has prices starting at $ 9.99 per license), but you can try it for free for 30 days. It also works on Windows and Linux.
How to test video card: Ubuntu
If what you are using is a PC with Ubuntu , which is one of the most famous and appreciated Linux distros around, to test video card I suggest you use, even in this case, Heaven , the software I told you about in the step dedicated to macOS .
The operation of the software is practically identical to that already seen on Mac. Therefore, you must download the software from its website , start the .run file obtained, configure the options related to the graphic card stress test, start the procedure and wait for completed.
In Alternatively , you may decide to entrust to another of the programs I reported you how to work well with Linux in the previous rows.
