A video card is one of the most important nodes in the system unit, which helps the central processor display the image on the monitor. This part is equipped with its own RAM, which is characterized by high speed and a graphics processor. The latter is specially designed to quickly create 3D effects. However, like any other mechanism, it can suddenly fail.
In such cases, the question arises of how to check the video card on a computer. In addition, you need to find out its performance and a number of other important aspects. How to check how a video card works? The answer to this question is in the article.
What do we want to determine?
Before checking the performance of the video card (including nvidia), you need to find out what exactly we need to extract from testing this part. Often, diagnostic programs calculate the following points:
- The stability of the video processor.
- The operation mode of the video card.
- The invariability of the action of video memory.
Video processor stability
This aspect is key to creating normal conditions for the functioning of the entire system. It is from it that you can determine the health and operability of the entire video card. And what kind of video processor is installed in your laptop or system unit can be seen on the sticker, which is glued directly to the surface of the part itself. In addition, the model of this element is written on the box, warranty sheet and in the documents that are attached to it.
Such characteristics as the type of processor and its performance affect almost the entire computer. This can be both increased power consumption and stability and performance of games installed on a PC. Sometimes after buying a new video card there is a need to replace the power supply. If the requirements for the game are too large, the load on the processor will increase significantly. Accordingly, the temperature regime of the system unit will be violated.
Video Memory Continuity
The stability of a video card depends primarily on the amount of its memory. The larger this value, the more productive the PC will be. This is especially important when working with high-resolution monitors. Therefore, you should check the video card for operability.
About operation mode
This characteristic is a determining factor that affects the life of the device, that is, durability. Also, the "life" of a video card depends on the stability of power, temperature and dustiness of the room in which the unit is located. Another interesting point: if you do not periodically clean the parts of the unit from dust, sooner or later one of them will certainly fail. In addition, the life of a video card depends on the degree of load and the time of continuous use of a PC or laptop.
So, we decided on all the main points that affect the operation of the video card and found out what exactly we need to diagnose. The question was “how?”.
You can check the video card for performance by several utilities, we will show this by the example of two, the most popular of them. These are OSTS and ATITool.
How to check the operation of a video card using the OSST program?
This is one of the most popular programs that allows you to quickly determine the health and performance of a given PC part. The OSST program is free, so if you are required to enter some code and send an SMS message to an unknown number, be aware that these are tricks of scammers. After downloading this software, you need to run the EXE installer and install the "program" on your computer. It is worth noting that the Internet must be turned on during the installation of this program. Also, with the OSST, the latest version of DiretX will be installed on your computer.
Before checking the video card for performance, from the bookmarks of the program you must select the GPU: 3D. All other options are best left as they were before. In addition, it is recommended to replace some fields in the options. Here it is necessary to tick the option “Check for ...”. Whoever has the English version, this line is referred to as Error Check. But we note right away that using the version with the crack is much more convenient, since the program interface in Russian is more understandable and familiar. Some set full-screen testing mode. In principle, the last option does not affect the speed of checking the performance of the video card, but only expands it to full screen. To transfer OSST to full-screen testing mode or not is a matter of principle.
After setting all the necessary values, click on the green OK button and wait until the program checks the video card for performance.
As for determining the temperature of the part, it is immediately possible and not to be determined in the system, since the built-in algorithm for working with sensors and sensors in the “program” does not allow this to be done until a certain point. To find out the heating temperature, you need to wait a few minutes - and then the values ​​appear on the screen themselves.
You do not need to test the video card for a long time. It’s enough to “torment” her for 4-5 minutes, no more. Under heavy load, the video card heats up very much, and, as we noted above, high heating does not affect the durability of this part in the best way. The main purpose of testing is to compare the temperature dynamics of the element under test under different loads with certain periods of time. The way the video card works under load can be seen almost immediately after pressing the OK button. In this case, "squeeze all the juices" from it should not be, as this will only harm the details in the system unit.
When testing a video card, pay attention to indicators, especially ERRORS. Its values ​​during the operation of the OSST program must be equal to zero. If this figure deviates in one direction or another, then the video card is working intermittently.
Thanks to the OSSST program, it is possible to diagnose the state of this element in a matter of minutes. In particular, the video card is checked for kernel and memory failures.
Kernel errors can occur in the appearance of a blue BSOD screen on the monitor or a computer freeze. The last “symptom” is most often observed when there is a driver error. Therefore, the first thing to do in this case is to reinstall the "firewood", and it is better to reinstall Windows on the PC. By the way, such processes need to be done at least once every 6-12 months.
Can I take a screenshot of the program during the diagnosis?
When OSST tests a video card, it periodically takes screenshots and saves them to a folder that immediately opens after testing is stopped. Therefore, you do not need to click PrintScreen every second and enter Paint.
What is the critical temperature for heating a video card?
If you saw in the screenshot that the heating of the tested part is 85 or more degrees Celsius, this undoubtedly indicates that it works intermittently. And if you do not take certain measures, then the video card will simply burn under such a voltage. Such measures are a set of procedures, which consists in cleaning the part from dust and self-measurement of thermal paste. If this is a laptop, you are unlikely to do it yourself - you will have to turn to specialists.
How to check the video card for performance using the ATITool utility?
This is an equally popular program that allows you to determine the performance of a video card on desktop computers and a laptop. Like OSST, this utility is absolutely free, which makes it very popular in Russia and abroad.
Before downloading and installing the ATITool program, be sure to update the driver, after which you can safely proceed to the diagnosis. How to check the memory of a video card and its performance using this utility?
Move on to action
After installing ATITool, click on the button Show 3D view. After that, an unusual hairy cube will appear in front of our eyes. There are also sliders here, but their value should not be changed. All you need after clicking the Show 3D view button is to wait for the program to diagnose the video card for performance. In time it is about 5-10 minutes. As in the previous case, during testing, you need to pay attention to the heating temperature of the equipment. How to check the video card for performance so that it does not burn out? If the value exceeded the level above 85 degrees, immediately turn off the program - and that’s it.
It is also unacceptable that yellow dots appear on the screen in the render window. If so, your video card is at risk of failure.
So, we learned how to check the performance of a video card and what to do with increased heat.