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Due to a freezing problem I've had on Ubuntu, I want to test the GPU in detail because I think it is connected to my problem.

I've tried the Phoronix Test Suite but I don't think that the three benchmark tests on the DVD are intended to find hardware errors with my graphics card. I don't care about benchmark tests but I want to find possible hardware errors.

Which tests can be recommended for my intent?

Carl B
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Bevor
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1 Answers1

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I have recently had a similar problem, and I could not find any software for stress-testing a GPU - there does not seem to be any available for Linux.

Your best bet probably is to load the GPU by drawing lots of stuff, then wait for lock-ups or rendering errors.

To load the GPU, you could use

  • for 3D functionality: any 3D software - Phoronix Test Suite looks fine, or some 3D demo
  • for 2D functionality: try gtkperf, it continually draws stuff using GTK+ (run it in a loop from a shell so it loops endlessly)

Edit:

Of course, running these test may not help you. It's not guaranteed that testing will reproduce your problem, and even if it does, it might still not be the GPU (maybe heavy load on the GPU overloads the PSU, or a warm GPU causes dogdy contacts on the motherboard to come loose, that kind of stuff ... ). So you will still have to investigate the results and draw your own conclusions. Such is the nature of testing...

sleske
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  • Thanks foe the tipp. Should I provoke a freeze while a test is running, how can I know that it is from the GPU when I only draw pictures? I could be coincidence because my freeze symptoms are very random and Phoronix doesn't even load the NVIDIA driver. So how can I ever assign this problem to the GPU? Is just drawing pictures the usual way to solve such kind of problems? – Bevor Dec 17 '10 at 15:35
  • @Bevor: Of course if you provoke a freeze, you don't know what caused it - but even a dedicated software may not able to show you. You can only guess based on circumstantial evidence (such as display artifacts, or crashes only when you run the GPU test). As to the NVIDIA drivers: You can load them before running Phoronix - Phoronix will use whatever driver is loaded. – sleske Dec 17 '10 at 15:53
  • I understand. Meanwhile I let gtkperf run 10.000 - 100.000 times but no freeze. – Bevor Dec 17 '10 at 15:59
  • gtkperf is a good test, so it doesn't seem like the GPU is to blame. – harrymc Dec 17 '10 at 16:14
  • Then I have no clue what is to blame, because I get freezes with nvidia driver, with nv driver (so it's no NVIDIA driver issue), with listening to music without any other interaction with the computer, with watching dvd, with just running firefox, with moving the mouse pointer, I even got a new power supply unit, I checked the RAMs more than once, I ran SMART on both HDs,... This freeze happens ordinary once a day and you can't isolate it. – Bevor Dec 17 '10 at 16:55
  • A tech shop might be able to help. If it's new enough, use the warranty. – harrymc Dec 17 '10 at 19:29
  • @Bevor Did you manage to find the issue? I'm having the exact same kind of problem at the moment with a newly built tower and the only old piece is the GPU which I though might be the issue. – Sebastien De Varennes Aug 26 '20 at 21:13
  • @SébastienDeVarennes No, but it's not the GPU, because since 10 years I use the "workaround" to just reboot the computer again after the initial start. Then I never have freezing problems during the current session. It's definitely a hardware problem and I think it's maybe a capacitor anywhere on the motherboard which causes a voltage drop which causes my computer to freeze and after the reboot, the capacitor is full. I don't have any other explanation. – Bevor Aug 27 '20 at 11:08
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    @Bevor Just found the issue on my end, it's an extremely weird one... turns out my main screen (an acer predator z35) ended up being the reason. I am not sure what exactly caused the issue, maybe the integrated Nvidia card ends up clashing with my Gpu. Good news is I simply unplug-replug the screen whenever the issue happens and it fixes itself. – Sebastien De Varennes Aug 28 '20 at 15:16