Question Is furmark really bad?

vmarc41

Prominent
Mar 8, 2018
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I'm seeing different opinions about Furmark. Some say it puts an unrealistic load on the gpu, while some say that load is what it's supposed to be. Shouldn't a 99% usage in a game be the same as 99% usage in furmark too? If a game pushes the gpu to 99% utilization, is that NOT the same as 99% utilization in furmark?
 
I actually don't like FURMARK. It has been kind of a mixed bag. I tend to avoid it. It's probably the most intense GPU stress test utility to date (I could be wrong though). But it aims to use absolutely all of the GPU power you've got. Don't OC the GPU while running this benchmark.

Furmark will do things that no game will ever do, and it does it on purpose to make it worker as hard as physically possible. However, all the manufacturers consider it a heat virus, as it goes out of its way to push a GPU harder than any game ever would as it does things that make no sense in practical use.

The act of running it under controllable temps won't harm a GPU, but you could overheat a GPU and cause harm. Newer cards and their drivers control the temps by down clocking if they get too hot, so it isn't really a big concern, IMO.

Overall, it's an OK tool.
 
I actually don't like FURMARK. It has been kind of a mixed bag. I tend to avoid it. It's probably the most intense GPU stress test utility to date. Since it aims to use absolutely all of the GPU power you've got.

Furmark will do things that no game will ever do, and it does it on purpose to make it worker as hard as physically possible. However, all the manufacturers consider it a heat virus, as it goes out of its way to push a GPU harder than any game ever would as it does things that make no sense in practical use.

The act of running it under controllable temps won't harm a GPU, but you could overheat a GPU and cause harm. Newer cards and their drivers control the temps by down clocking if they get too hot, so it isn't really a big concern


Prime95 (And some other stress tests) do things your CPU will never normally do either, but that does not discount the relevance of their usefulness when trying to establish stability limits. In fact, it's the WHOLE point of it, to go a little beyond what you will actually NEED, so that you know that in your normal operations you will not see problems relevant to the configuration.