Whether you have built yourself a new computer or bought a new gaming laptop, you can use a GPU stress test to check your system stability under load. This is also useful when you encounter issues with an older system and want to troubleshoot it for the same.
You can use a GPU stress tool such as FurMark and Unigine to perform a stability test and monitor your GPU performance. These tools generate a heavy load to help you check how your system will perform in not-so-ideal conditions.
Here are the best GPU stress test tools for Windows with built-in presets to test your graphics unit in stock and overclocked mode.
Is GPU stress testing safe?
Modern GPUs have built-in protection
A stress test helps find potential failures that may occur in the future due to overclocking. It is also used as a troubleshooting measure to detect existing errors in the system.
Stress testing is generally considered safe as long as you understand the variables involved in the process. Overclocking often increases GPU temperature, which, if not done right, can lead to system instability or gradual degradation of components.
But with an adequate cooling solution, you can extract a decent bump in performance by overclocking your GPU. Modern GPUs have a built-in protection mechanism that will throttle the performance or shut down the component when the power reaches critical limits.
How to monitor your GPU performance during testing
What temperatures to watch for
You can use the NVIDIA app and AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition overlays to monitor GPU performance during stress testing. In the NVIDIA app, press Alt + R to bring up the performance overlay. Alternatively, use third-party utilities like MSI Afterburner, which offers real-time performance monitoring tools. If you have a Radeon card, Adrenalin also includes a built-in stress test in its Performance Tuning section, which you can use to check whether your current tuning settings are stable.
While stress testing your GPU, pay attention to the temperature. A good GPU temperature for gaming ranges from 65 to 85°C (149° to 185°F). Some GPUs may be rated higher. If so, refer to your manufacturer’s manual to understand your GPU’s temperature range.
During stress testing, the temperature may go as high as 90°C (194°F). Anything above the 90°C mark for an extensive period means the device is overheating and may require further adjustments to decrease the temperature.
Now that you know the tools to monitor system performance during stress testing, let’s look at the best apps to stress test your GPU on Windows. You can use almost all the apps on the list for free. However, some may require a purchase before you can use the advanced features.
Unigine
Free, polished benchmarks with an 8K stress preset
Unigine is a cross-platform game engine, and you’ll find it appearing in most GPU benchmarking tests, and for good reasons. Instead of serving plain bland stats, it uses graphics visuals to benchmark and stress test your GPU unit.
It features three popular benchmarks, namely Heaven, Valley, and Superposition. You can choose from any three, but Superposition is the latest of the lot and supports extreme performance testing. You can use a custom preset to set the resolution from 720p to 8K, choose from DirectX and OpenGL graphics API and tweak a few other settings to run a benchmark.
The Superposition benchmark features 17 scenes and, in the end, shows performance results. It also renders a small but interactive environment allowing you to evaluate system performance for an extended period.
Superposition is available in both free and Advanced paid editions. Upgrading to the paid edition gives access to the Stress test mode with custom duration and graphics quality settings.
If you want a free alternative with DirectX 12, Vulkan, and ray tracing support, try GravityMark from Tellusim, a company led by one of Unigine’s original co-founders.
Download: Unigine (Free, premium version available starting at $19.95)
3DMark
The industry-standard benchmark, now led by Steel Nomad
3DMark is a benchmarking tool to stress test your GPU, CPU, and storage devices. Its current flagship GPU test is Steel Nomad, a DirectX 12 benchmark that runs at 4K and replaces the aging Time Spy. But you’ll need to upgrade to the paid version to use the Stress Test mode.
3DMark renders cutscenes locally on your system. These stunning graphics-intensive visuals will test your system’s hardware to its potential. You can run the benchmarks for a few hours on an overclocked system to determine the system stability at that clock rate.
The free 3DMark Demo includes Steel Nomad, Steel Nomad Light, Time Spy, Fire Strike, and Night Raid, which cover everything from high-end gaming PCs to laptops with integrated graphics. Upgrading unlocks ray tracing benchmarks like Port Royal and Speed Way, feature tests for technologies such as DLSS and mesh shaders, and custom benchmark settings.
Depending on your system hardware, you can configure benchmark filters, such as graphics technology, resolution, and additional features like ray tracing and testing on an ARM processor.
Download: 3DMark (Free, premium version available starting at $34.99)
OCCT
Error detection built for overclocking and undervolting
OCCT is a stress test tool primarily used for checking for errors and stability issues. It is an excellent stress test utility to find stability problems on an overclocked or undervolted setup quickly.
You can use it to stress test different components of your system, including video RAM. With the GPU option selected, you can customize the test time and the maximum range of memory utilization.
If you are new to overclocking and stability testing, OCCT lets you configure a few core security settings. For example, you can configure critical temperature to limit tests beyond the predefined temperature level.
In addition, you can also configure the app to stop if it encounters an error. This allows you to tweak and underclock your hardware component and run the stability test to detect additional issues.
OCCT is free for personal use and requires a license if you want to use it in a commercial environment. The free version caps test duration and adds a wait time between tests. Unlimited test duration, test reports, and stability certificates are reserved for the paid Supporter edition.
Download: OCCT (Free, Supporter edition available for €4.50/month)
FurMark
The most punishing GPU load you can throw at your card
FurMark loads GPUs far harder than real games do, and both Nvidia and AMD have historically throttled it in their drivers. Keep an eye on temperatures while it runs.
FurMark is a lightweight GPU stress test and benchmark utility that is often considered extreme for stress testing purposes. The current version, FurMark 2, supports both OpenGL and Vulkan, runs on Windows and Linux, and bundles GPU-Z and GPU Shark for checking your card’s details. The app even displays a caution dialog warning that it is a very GPU-intensive application and may lead to system crashes and instability issues.
It features a basic user interface that lets you customize the benchmark preset. You can choose between OpenGL and Vulkan, use a preset to stress test at 720p to 4K resolution, or use a custom preset where you can set the resolution, run it in fullscreen or windowed mode, and turn on anti-aliasing.
Download: FurMark (Free)
MSI Kombustor
FurMark-based testing with a built-in artifact scanner
MSI Kombustor is MSI’s GPU stress testing utility for finding stability issues. It is based on the FurMark tool and supports the OpenGL and Vulkan graphics APIs. It also includes an artifact scanner that flags rendering errors during a test, which are often the first sign of an unstable overclock.
It features a few presets to perform tests in 1080p to 2160p resolution. However, you can run lower-resolution custom tests and select stress test benchmarks from MSI, FurMark, and others, including dedicated VRAM stress tests and a PhysX-based test that can run on the GPU or CPU.
Kombustor, like FurMark, is targeted at enthusiasts looking to push their hardware to the limit to see if it can withstand the high power consumption and excessive heat generated during the test.
Download: MSI Kombustor (Free)
The Best Stress Testing Apps to Identify GPU Stability Issues
GPU stress testing is generally safe as modern GPUs have built-in protection mechanisms that will throttle the performance to protect the component.
That said, stress testing may be necessary to identify stability issues when you overclock or undervolt your graphics card. Tools like OOCT can help you detect errors and get the adjustments right. Make sure to keep the temperature in check to perform stress-free stress testing on your relatively expensive graphics units.