[SOLVED] Best way to stress test a used system and best of the components that I have ?

[SonicXtasy]

Hi, I have an older system consisting of an AMD FX-4300 on a Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 . Memory consists of 2 no name 8 gig sticks (taken from a Dell Optiplex) and 2 4 gig sticks of G.Skill Ripjaws X (F3-12800CL9D-*GBXL). I have 2 more sticks of the G.Skill. I also have a MSI R7 260X video card.

The system has been fine because I don't do much gaming, it runs Doom 2016 but with some lag, but I recently started editing some videos to upload to youtube and it seems to run super slow so I thought it was time for an upgrade. I wanted to get a newer Ryzen 7, mobo and ram but everything is either out of stock or way over priced right now so I thought instead I would just get a faster CPU for my current system which brings me to what I bought.

I picked up a FX-8350 on an Asus M5A97 R2.0 with 32gig of ram. It doesn't specify the ram but from the pics it looks like 2 sticks of ADATA XPG and 2 sticks of Patriot Viper 3.

I also have laying around from my sons old build an FX-4100 on a ASRock 970 Extreme3.


First thing I want to do is rig up a power supply and hard drive, install windows and stress test the purchased components just to make sure everything is working properly. What is the best way/software to do that?

Second thing I wanted to know is what are the best components to use out of what I have, best mobo, best ram, cpu is obvious.

I want to take the best what is left and make another machine to put in the family room for when my nephew comes over and we play Unreal Tournament or Counter Strike. I have a Zotac GTX 550 TI (actually 2 of them from upgrading the kids machines) that I will put in this machine.

Lastly, does anyone know the fix for the intermittent long pauses caused by an SSD on FX cpu's. I have a 120g KINGSTON SV300S37A120G if it matters.

Thanks, any input would be appreciated.

 

[Lutfij]

Ditch the mixed and matched sticks of ram and work with two sticks of ram that are identical, for a proper dual channel mode experience. As for stress testing, you might want to mention the make and model of the PSU and it's age. Stress testing will demand a lot more than normal(when idle) from the system which can be an end all event if the parts aren't up to par.

As for the logic being ram upgrades, look at them as you would with shoes, if you loose a shoe from a pair you're made to buy a pair from the store, not just one. So in your case, you're just running imbalanced when you mix and match rams.

I doubt you can salvage anything from your build(s) unless you want to carry over storage to the new build as well as the case but the age of the parts listed above tell me that the case is at least a decade old = bad thermals.

 

[geofelt]

A simple functional test is memtest86+
You can download the free edition here:

Memtest86+ | The Open-Source Memory Testing Tool

Memtest86+ is an advanced, free, open-source, stand-alone memory tester for 32- and 64-bit computers (UEFI & BIOS supported)

www.memtest.org

If you can run a full pass with NO errors, your ram should be ok.

Running several more passes will sometimes uncover an issue, but it takes more time.
Probably not worth it unless you really suspect a ram issue.

You can get more sophisticated but the stress test on cpu-Z is easy and convenient.

The problem with FX-8350 is that a cheap motherboard like yours will not have the vrm cooling capable of running the chip well.

At this point in time, I would not spend a dime on a fx system that can not be carried forward to a new build.

For <$250, you can buy a 2x stronger intel 10th gen processor, a lga1200 motherboard and 16gb of ddr4 ram.

 

[SonicXtasy]

Thanks for the replies. The 2 nice pieces of computer gear I have are a Ultra X4 1200 watt PS and an Aspire X Super Alien case, basically an aluminum copy of the old Antec server case, 5 hd and 5 CD rom bays and 6 fans. The power supply is about 7 years old and the case is almost 20.

So basically pick the best 2 matching stick of ram and just use those. Memtest86+ run multiple times to test memory. I forgot about prime95, I guess I can use that to test the CPU. Is there software that can test the sata controller and other sub systems?

I assume VRM cooling refers to heatsinks on the power transistors, 2 of the mobos have heatsinks. Both rated for 140 watt cpus.

I did not realize that intel mobos could be had so cheap. I haven't build an intel machine since a Celeron 333 back in 99. I have always used AMD because I at the time of a new build they were always a better cost to perfomance than Intel. I was pricing Ryzen 7's with the cheapest mobos with the X570 chipset and 16 gig of decent ram the total cost was much more than I want to spend at the time. I may just sell it all of and upgrade to new. lol.