How would you stress test integrated graphics?

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MrAgmoore

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I built a computer for my father, for surfing the Internet and burning to CD/ DVDs etc. He didn't want to pay more than $600 so I figured I'd build it for him and subsidize the $ that he didn't want to pay.

I'm used to building in a full ATX case, with a high-end graphics card: https://steamcommunity.com/id/CryonicSuspension/

I can't find any information about if or how to stress test a rig that has integrated graphics? With a dedicated video card, I would just run Furmark ( that software that models a furry donut thing ) but I wouldn't want to stress out something as weak as integrated graphics? I've never worked with integrated graphics before.

I guess I could load up a couple of games and run benchmarking software and see how it looks but I was wondering if there was something quicker / easier... ? If you were building a computer for a client, what would you do?

Samsung Magician says that the NVMe is "healthy" & 35 Celcius ( which is really what I was most concerned about ).

I still have to do RAM & CPU tests and see what core temperatures are like. I'll do the testing on Wed / Thursday.

Intel's sheet for the CPU: https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...m-gold-g5400-processor-4m-cache-3-70-ghz.html


Copied from my notes:

Micro ATX build 3:

CPU: Intel Pentium Gold G5400 Coffee Lake 2-Core/4-Thread Processor LGA1151 300 Series, 3.7 GHz Base UHD Graphics 610 54W Gen8 Retail Boxed (BX80684G5400) (CanadaComputers $79.99)

MB: GIGABYTE B365M DS3H Socket 1151 Intel B360 Chipset Dual Channel DDR4, PCI-E 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, M.2 USB 3.1, D-Sub, DVI-D, HDMI1.4 mATX Motherboard (CanadaComputers $109.99 )

PSU: GIGABYTE PW400 400W 80 PLUS Certified Power Supply (GP-PW400) (CanadaComputers $39.99).

RAM: G.SKILL Aegis 8GB (4GBx2) DDR4 DRAM 2400MHz C15 Memory Kit (F4-2400C15D-8GIS) (CC$56.99).

SSD: SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus M.2 NVMe PCI-E 250GB Solid State Drive, Read:3,500 MB/s, Write:3,300 MB/s (MZ-V7S250B/AM) (CC $129.99)

Secondary Storage: ?

OS: Win 10

Case: Corsair CC-9011086-WW Carbide Series 88R MicroATX Mid-Tower Case ( Amazon.ca $74.99 )

DVD burner: ASUS (DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B) Internal 24x DVD Writer, OEM Black, SATA Green Environment with Software Bulk ( CC 27.99)

$598 including taxes

Not included in the price, stuff like a Silverstone heat sink for the NVMe & 5 x Noctua 120mm fans.
 
Well, FurMark works fine on integrated, I just tested it. Granted at 3 fps, but it runs.

You can also try Unigine Heaven. Put like 720p low settings, let it loop for 30 minutes to an hour you should be good.

Also, IntelBurnTest is good for testing CPU to make sure it's working and to see temps if that matters to you.
 
You can stress test it exactly the same way as you do with regular graphics cards, the only difference is your CPU and GPU temperatures are effectively the same.
 
I agree with others, heaven/valley with a lower res like 720p is perfect. Can combine it with any of the other stress tests and maybe load up all but one core and see where the temps go. Also kinda funny that you went budget on almost every item except the premium case fans. :)
 
I used to run a program called OCCT that had a setting to stress test the PSU by stressing the cpu+gpu. I haven't used it in a long time since they added some weird timers for free users and I wasn't sure what other trickeries they may have come up with.
 
CraptacularOne said:
Wait, are you trying to tell us you're building a PC for your dad for $600 and you're sticking him with a Pentium G CPU? Do you just not like him or did he piss you off? You can build him a FAR better system for $600
Click to expand...

I forgot to mention Canadian dollars. From Google:

600 Canadian Dollar equals
441.52 United States Dollar
 
Furious_Styles said:
I agree with others, heaven/valley with a lower res like 720p is perfect. Can combine it with any of the other stress tests and maybe load up all but one core and see where the temps go. Also kinda funny that you went budget on almost every item except the premium case fans. :)
Click to expand...

So show me your build for $600 CDN ( 441.52 USD )?

This is my first time using an NVMe drive. I've read that people basically fried their NVMe by not using a custom heatsink ( all it comes with is a thin, copper heat spreader under the sticker ).

If it was just a regular 500 MB/s SSD or even a HDD, I wouldn't worry about fans that much.

The parts + fans + NVMe heatsink already put me over budget by $250 CDN or so.

When I bought the Corsair case, I didn't realise that it would only come with 1 shitty (made in China) 1K RPM rear exhause fan so that was my mistake. There are 2 front fans, 2 top fans and after removing the hard drive cage, you can even mount one on the case floor. I had already planned to subsidize anything past the $600 CDN mark.
 
RamonGTP said:
Can’t think of a reason to stress test an IGP unless you just have time to waste. They are perfectly reliable and adequate for basic computing needs.
Click to expand...

I've never used IGP so I have no experience... I'm more of a RTX 3080 ++++ w/e

The thing with my father is... he was in the British military ( Royal Air Force ) ( mid 1970's ( born in 1947 ) ) as an aircraft engineer. He worked on motherboards, that went into satellites, that went into space. He had to have clearance through CSIS to get into Canada because he worked on submarines ( reserved access - under Top Secret ).

My father is a mixture between Donald Trump, Bill O'Reilly and the drill instructor from "Full Metal Jacket". The entire scene is much longer but for brevity:



He's actually more docile in his old age now. I'm never going to be able to encapsulate my father into text because of the generation gap, he grew up in Guyana, South America in extreme poverty and had to drop out of highschool so he has... "unique" / "strange" perspectives.

About 5 years ago, I went to Peru, stayed a week in the city and three weeks in the jungle. I was born and raised the UK.

I haven't seen my father in 4+ years. We have a very estranged relationship. He's so out of date when it comes to computers that he would have bought a pre-built with a 7,200 RPM HDD that's basically as obsolete as a floppy drive and will end up like vinyl / an 8-track.

My father bought my mother a laptop. I borrowed the laptop from my mother to work from home ( it has Win 10 on it, I'm still using Win 7 64 bit ). It took me literally 5 hours to do one Windows 10 update ( the forced updates thing ).
 
For the use-case scenario of that computer, the GPU will barely ever even be touched, let alone taxed.
The same goes for the NVMe SSD - if it were going to be under constant load, the HS might be necessary, but for casual usage, it will probably sit idle most of the time and will most likely barely get warm.

EDIT:
Modern IGPs are far more capable than they were 15-20 years ago, and are more than capable of playing back 4K YouTube videos and decoding H.264/H.265.
The only limiting factor would be heavy 3D usage or compute, which it sounds like those functions won't ever be used, so as long as the drivers are working, you should be golden.

Also, it sounds like your dad lived in the real world and knows exactly what life is about - respect is given and my hat is off to him. (y)
 
Furious_Styles said:
I agree with others, heaven/valley with a lower res like 720p is perfect. Can combine it with any of the other stress tests and maybe load up all but one core and see where the temps go. Also kinda funny that you went budget on almost every item except the premium case fans. :)
Click to expand...

After I posted this thread, I did a search on the Internet and found a really good resource:

"15 Best Tools to Stress Test Your PC (CPU, RAM, GPU, System)"

by Sam Chen Feb 11, 2018 updated March 19, 2020

https://www.gearprimer.com/technology/best-tools-stress-test-pc-cpu-ram-gpu/

So I actually did the valley test at 1080p on low res. I was kinda surprised at how OK it was.
 
Dayaks said:
At that pricepoint you’re usually way better off buying a prebuilt and slapping in a cheap GPU.

Also don’t think you need five fans... or a heatsink on the NVMe... I’d go SATA over the NVMe.
Click to expand...

He doesn't need a GPU because he doesn't do gaming or download movies or ... well... do hardly anything. Get this... he already has a laptop. I asked him why he needs a desktop if he already has a laptop? His answer didn't make a lot of sense, he said something about power (???). He has the desktop set up in the basement.

The price difference between SATA and NVMe is $30 CDN ish but 6x / 4x faster.

My dad sent me a diagram of the dimensions that he wanted ( 14.5 inch long x 10.5 inch high x 4 inch wide ). In retrospect, really what he wanted was a cross between a mini-PC and a prebuilt.


I saw this ChuWi larkbox after I ordered the parts ( even though I spent a lot of time trying to figure out an ITX build, I didn't even realise that mini-PCs were a thing ):

Downsides: 30 day warranty from China; some kind of proprietary power supply; some kind of problem with SATA cabling:



In retrospect, I could have got a pre-built ( on sale: saves $150 CDN ) from Staples ( it would come with a Win 10 license - huge cost saving ). It would have come with a 7200 RPM HDD but I could have simply added an NVMe and just turned off the power to the HDD and used it for archival storage. I could have swapped out the slim DVD for a slim DVD burner. I would have saved on the cost of the Noctua fans ( $200 CDN ) and the time that I spent building the thing ( although the case is awesome for cable management and has more utility than my 10 year old, expensive Lian Li full tower gaming case - by necessity ).

I have more experience in what not to do, when it comes to building.

Edit: I had to order a special magnifier because I couldn't read the writing for the pinouts on the motherboard ( micro ATX motherboard is tiny ):

https://www.amazon.ca/Carson-Hand-Held-Hands-Free-Magnifier-FH-25/dp/B002R332T4/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Carson+Freehand+2.5X+LED+Lighted+Hand-Held+or+Hands-Free+Magnifier+with+5.5X+Spot+Lens+(FH-25)&qid=1594593787&sr=8-1

Edit: I also forgot to mention that the i-860 that you guys built 10 years ago is still working ( I use it for high end gaming 24/ 7 ). I never expected it to last this long but I plan on replacing it maybe the end of this year or next year, depending on Intel pulling their fingers out of their butt. Also depends on the NVIDIA 3000 series video cards coming out. That's why I was interested in what the deal is with NVMe & PCIe 4.0.

My ( 7 year old ish ) Samsung 840 Pro started randomly pausing for fractions of a second while gaming ( sometimes as long as 2 seconds ) and the hard drive light is on, like it's constantly trying to access the drive. The drive is almost full and the speeds are sequential read: 204 MB / s and sequential write: 130 MB /s, which is pretty terrible. I'm going to see if installing Win 10 fixes the drive because I have not formated this drive in 7 years or something.
 
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I'll second that an a top of the line NVME drive doesn't make sense. I would just stick a cheaper SSD in there. If you must go NVME there are cheaper options with more storage that will be nearly as good (a quick search shows the WD Black 500GB model on newegg.ca for $110).

But honestly get the biggest capacity SATA SSD for your budget, I doubt he will notice the difference.
 
You definitely don't need five fans for that case or what will be running in it - one 120mm in the back and one or two 120mm in the front of the case is plenty (one in the back would probably be sufficient as well), so you might be able to save a bit of money on those if you can return them.
The custom build you got for him looks like a good solid build, though, and really, a SFF Dell OptiPlex, for that price, probably would not have been much better, and that case will allow you better standardization for replacing different parts than a pre-built would with proprietary parts.
 
Currently, his used hard drive space = 121 GB / 500 GB on a 10 year old computer.

So the system is built and I did most of the testing last night. I'm going to do a prime 95 test tonight. The only thing left to do is test the DVD burner.

You can get a WD NVMe for about $80 CDN: https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=179_1927_1930&item_id=134009

WD Black SN750 250GB PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe M.2 2280 Read:3100MB/s,Write: 1600MB/s SSD (WDS250G3X0C)
 
I saved most of these as .png files to apologies. I wasn't planning on sharing but...

2 minutes into a stress test and the CPU doesn't really go over 50 Celcius: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kzopu0051mru59j/CPU temperature under stress test.png?dl=0

Intel Benchmark: https://www.dropbox.com/s/w2wudtno02hu7nl/Intel XTU Benchmark.png?dl=0

Intel's Analysis: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vt2g35dcgd29kvc/Intel XTU Benchmark Web Analysis.png?dl=0

Yep... massive overkill. 🤣

The graphics test ( for the curious ): https://www.dropbox.com/s/vl2a2c98e82lkwb/Integrated Graphics Test.jpg?dl=0
 
A stock Pentium G passing a stress test isn’t surprising to anyone. That’s why many of us told you it wasn’t necessary.
 
My dad said he was shocked at the computer - he can do a virus scan in 5 minutes ( it used to take him 5 hours ). LOL :rolleyes:
 
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