The central processor in any computer system is almost the most important component, since all operations and calculations are assigned to it. Therefore, his condition must be monitored so that there is no overheating, physical damage, or anything else. The question naturally arises of how to check the processor for operability. To do this, you can use several generally accepted methods.
What threatens disruptions in the operation of the central processor?
First of all, speaking about possible failures of the processor chip, it should be noted that as a result of its damage the entire computer system will cease to work. In the best case, with partial damage, the computer will behave, to put it mildly, inadequately (causeless freezing, spontaneous restart, severe overheating, inability to start programs, etc.).
In the end, the system will simply fail, not to mention the fact that a processor malfunction can lead to disruptions in the operation of other "iron" components installed on the motherboard. To prevent this from happening, you need to check the CPU at regular intervals. How to check the processor for performance, and now it will be considered.
The main symptoms of failures
Any computer has a special primary input / output system, which stores the basic parameters and settings of all devices installed in the system. We are talking about the structure of the BIOS and its new modification UEFI.
When you turn on your computer or laptop, all health parameters are checked, and only then does the operating system load. Many probably noticed the characteristic jerky signal of the system speaker immediately after switching on. It indicates that all components are working properly. In case of failure of any of them, a series of signals is issued.
Depending on the manufacturer, it is possible to recognize violations in the processor only if you study the technical documentation. There are standard combinations. For example, the AMI BIOS produces five short beeps. The Phoenix BIOS uses a combination of four signals. Then a pause, two more signals, another pause, and four more signals (this sequence is also called a combination of 4-2-4).
As for the launch, in addition to BIOS signals, direct signs of malfunctions in the processor may be the inability to boot the system (even with the indication present) or the start, after which any application freezes.
Physical troubleshooting
An Intel or AMD processor test can begin with physical intervention. To do this, remove the processor from the socket on the motherboard and check its performance on another computer. If the problem appears there, it remains only to replace the processor. In the best case, you can try to apply an additional layer of thermal paste, which reduces CPU heating.
But without special knowledge, such procedures will be quite problematic. Therefore, it is better to use special applications. Any program for testing the processor can be attributed to one of two varieties: either this is a general test, or checking only strictly defined parameters (we are not talking about programs for managing the load on the CPU now).
CPU Test: General Test
Common tools such as CPU-Z or Hot CPU Tester are suitable for general testing. When the testing process starts, all indicators related to the central processor will be determined. But, if CPU-Z is more of an informative application, then Hot CPU Tester belongs to the class of test utilities.
The program for diagnosing the processor Hot CPU Tester is very simple to use. After starting in the main window, it is enough to click the Start Test button. After a while, a report will be presented that can be printed. The only thing worth paying attention to is that it is recommended that you close all programs that are currently active before starting the test, since the test application may experience slowdowns. Moreover, the mere fact that in normal mode the verification process went smoothly may already indicate that everything is in order with the processor.
Temperature Testing
If we talk about which program for testing the processor in terms of temperature indicators, it is especially worth noting such utilities as HWMonitor (section of the CPUID Hardware Monitor application), Core Temp, Open Hardware Monitor and others. Application interfaces are quite similar and do not cause any special difficulties in use.
Some of these utilities are portable versions, so first you need an archiver program to unpack the contents of the archive, after which you can run the application without first installing it on your computer. The displayed parameters are also very similar, so it makes absolutely no difference which of these utilities will be used to carry out the check.
The program for diagnosing the processor in stress test mode
There is another test technique called a stress test. Its essence is to diagnose possible malfunctions in the central processor during critical (peak) loads. For this, a utility called CPU Stress Test or CST for short is best suited.
Again, the application is a portable version that does not require installation, and in the best case, you need an archiver program to unpack the downloaded archive. This application is very interesting in terms of functionality.
How to check the processor for operability with its help? Very simple. It is only necessary to activate the start of the diagnostic process, after which the application, using SSE commands, will immediately begin to increase the processor load to 100%, and even with increasing temperature to critical values. As already clear, all active programs must be closed during the scan.
In principle, you can use the Prime95 utility, which, unlike the first, gives a load not only to the CPU, but also to all components as a whole.
Performance test
Finally, let's see how to check the processor for performance in terms of performance. To do this, it is best to use the unique Super PI application.
It is based on calculating the value of the number pi in the range from 16 thousand to 32 million decimal places. How to evaluate the result? Yes, just look at the time spent on the operation and compare it with the performance of similar processors, for example, on the program’s website or on the processor manufacturer’s resource. In general, it is this utility that most overclockers involved in overclocking processors use, thus evaluating performance gains.
Conclusion
It remains to say that it is not worth using any one program, because each of them can be designed for strictly defined tests. It is better to conduct a comprehensive scan using several utilities. Even applications for general testing or purely informative programs do not give a complete picture of all possible violations in the processor.
It is rather difficult to advise which utility to use for the performance of a particular task due to the fact that today there are thousands of them on the Internet. Here, only some types of programs were considered, so that any user would at least get an idea of the general principles of processor testing and possible tests.
As for the test showing a negative result, you will either have to go to specialized centers, where specialists can take some steps to troubleshoot, or simply change the processor, because each CPU has its own average service life, after which no physical intervention will not make it work as it should.