How long should I run the tests?

[speed_demon]

Downloaded BurnInTest Pro. Pretty cool. How long should I run the tests for to give my machine a good rattling?

[David (PassMark)]

Not an easy question. In our opinion, the chances or finding a problem in the first hour are relatively high, (the system gets hot, it's the first run across the disk / CD and the first use of some of the drivers). Then every hour after that, the chance of finding a hardware problem drops significantly. The extra benefit of doing 12hours compared to 6hours is thus probably not great. Other nice technique is temperature cycling. All major manufacturers of electronic equipment do this, they have large ovens and fridges in which they test equipment. The expansion and contraction of components and solder joins brings to light many problems. You could do 6 hours On, 6 hours Off, then 6 hours On, to get some limited temperature variation like this. NASA and the Army load their equipment on to vibration machines, but this may be going too far for home / office use.

[Ian]

Hi
Assuming you are building for customers don't miss what for us is the most usefull part of the program.

The report when printed off showing a 12 hour burnin with no errors differentiates you from the bucket shops. It shows you care!!!

We always give the client a copy of the burnin test and as a sales pitch it is impressing to show a client how you build machines.

Cheers

Ian

[Ryanryan]

Hi
Assuming you are building for customers don't miss what for us is the most usefull part of the program.

The report when printed off showing a 12 hour burnin with no errors differentiates you from the bucket shops. It shows you care!!!

We always give the client a copy of the burnin test and as a sales pitch it is impressing to show a client how you build machines.

Cheers

Ian

Do you guys still give a copy of the burnin test in 2018?

[David (PassMark)]

This topic was raised from the dead (initial post was 15 years ago)

There is now an FAQ on the topic
Q. How long should I run BurnInTest for?

Trial downloads of BurnInTest can be found on the download page.
We never gave out free full copies of the software, if we did we likely wouldn't still be in business after 20 years.

[GawgA]

I agree with David, 1 hour tops, but with one caveat. As good as Passmark software is, to be sure I always use 4 different CPU bench/stress apps. The new LinXtreme is good. Aida on FPU only sure heats it up, OCCT is a bit dated but still useful. Theres the not well known prog "HeavyLoad," which is fairly new and does push harder than most.
I still use Prime 95 (new one with avx) but I'm phasing that out. It's not crashed on me, but the small ffts just put ridiculous load/heat on the chip. 30 mins is tops for me on that. The tests such as blend can be run hour after hour safely, but what's the point?

However, Ian above who makes/sells PCs (I am assuming from the post) no doubt has happy customers. For me, I don't sell them so not as strict. But I never have crashes at all.
However in Ian's case, I'd be happy to purchase a PC from him with the 12 hour doc. But I make my own. Anyhow, good on ya Ian.