How to Test Graphic Cards
Video cards are probably the most expensive and important piece of computer hardware for the PC gamer. Limited by the mostly plateaued speed of CPUs, PC game designers focus much of their attention on the speed of the graphics card instead of the speed of the CPU. As a result, many PC gamers prefer the most powerful video card they can lay their hands on. Due to stress and use, however, these cards might need to be tested for stability and/or speed. This is not difficult to do.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Download and install Fraps and Furmark (see Resources). These programs are designed to measure and test your video card's performance.
-
2
Run the Furmark program on your system. On Furmark's setup screen, select the normal screen resolution and depth with which you normally run your favorite computer games. The resulting test will push the ability of your video card to its stress limit and tell you how stable your video card is during its most demanding performances.
-
-
3
Begin running Fraps before starting your favorite and/or most graphically demanding video games. As you play the game, Fraps will display the amount of frames per second (FPS) your graphics card is producing. Although you probably have your own standards, 20 to 30 FPS is usually considered the lowest rank of acceptable performance; 30 to 40 FPS is much smoother and more stable; and 40+ FPS is the range of performance most PC gamers aim to achieve with their selection of video cards.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
You can compare the performance of your video card to that of your friends, family or online users. But ultimately, you should judge the card by your own standards of performance. Unlike CPUs, which have a measurable speed, video cards perform differently in every game, so you ought to test and judge your own video card accordingly.
