Chapter 4: Stability Testing
Congratulations! You are now running at 5GHz, which is nothing to scoff at. Now it’s
time make sure that it’s stable. We’re going to use the software below to monitor our
system, test stability, and adjust our overclocks.
Prime95 Version 27.9 Build 1 – This is used to stress test our CPU in order to
ensure that it’s stable in the most taxing of conditions. This particular version of Prime95
uses AVX instructions which push our CPU to the absolute max.
CPU-Z – Used to monitor our CPU frequencies and Vcore settings.
CoreTemp – Used to monitor idle, load, and loading temperatures.
How to Stability Test
Step 1: Open up CPU-Z, CoreTemp, and Prime95. Make sure Prime95 is configured.
Click the “Small FFTs” preset and then press OK to start.
Step 2: Start Prime95 and look at “CPU Load” in the CoreTemp app. If one of your
cores is not at 100%, your system gets the blue screen of death or just freezes, that
means your settings were too aggressive and your CPU has failed the stability test. We
normally test for 1 hour. You can keep it running overnight for increased assurance.
18