Hello,
What diagnostic tools do you guys run on your fresh built new PC's to check
for any issues?
Thanks
Depends on what role the system plays in my PC army.
memtest86
Prime95
3Dmark (whichever version appropriate for video used)
Sisoft Sandra
AIDA32 (now called Everest)
HDTach
HDD manufacturer's Diagnostics
Large file copies, compression jobs, then file CRC checks.
Trying to fill PCI bus by throwing in a GbE adapter and
copying files from ramdisk or one drive while playing audio
and copying from a RAID controller or (depends on system)
other PCI device usage.
These kinds of tests apply to most systems, but specific
uses might also benefit from more specific tests of that
use, similar benchmarks and comparision to online
statistics. CRC checking is also one you'd want to do over
and over, not assuming it's OK if it passes once or twice.
Personally I test with memtest86 while the memory bus is
overclocked (or overclocked even more than my plan if i'd
planed to overclock a box) to give even higher margin, or
catch the rare error scenarios where it's just barely stable
or doesn't have errrors that show up as readily in memtest
as they would in real-world uses, even booting windows can
sometimes turn up on a box that passes memtest86, but often
it's because memtest86 didn't run long enough, a few hours
is a very short time to test a box with 512MB of memory or
more.
If the box is going to be used at something that'll keep it
near or at full load continuously, I also take temp readings
of inside after extended load, not just relying on a (chip)
system temp reading, and often o'c the CPU a little extra to
confirm that it, like memory, isn't running right at the
edge of stabilty then back it down a notch from a
tested-stable speed, for it's everyday running speed. I'd
do so even if I only planned to run it at stock speed.
More o'c and temp tests also if video card is o'c or case
has limited cooling ability for (whatever) reason, including
someone specifying their home as no AC and summertime is
expected to significantly raise ambient temps... system need
be stable at max ambient temp possible per environment it's
used in, not just an ideal temp. Also account for a few
degrees rise from dust buildup, a non-aficionado may not be
diligent in dusting out their system on a timely basis, and
some of the newer cases with filtered intake have lower flow
to begin with, may have problems after a few months in dusty
environments... plan for the worst (reasonably) possible
environement.
Then there's other things like touch-testing capacitors at
that extended full-load event to see if they're staying
relatively cool... some boards just aren't built for a good
service life with the upper speed CPUs they're spec'd to
run, especially when a board was released during earlier
lower speed CPUs and only officially supports the faster
ones with a bios update, then often it's the case that it's
not really designed to handle so many amps, it may work but
not be as robust as a later contemporary board.
This is not an exhaustive list, basically there's a lot of
little things we overlook after doing them for awhile, or
familiarlity with some, same aspects might cut down on
testing and scrutiny, but basic things like memtest86, CRC
tests, temp measurements, should always be used... nothing
worse than trying to troubleshoot a problem and not even
knowning if there are logical errors.
