tommygunner
Sep 5 2006, 12:58 PM
I'm looking for software and hardware for diagnosing things such as bad RAM, motherboards, power supply and other.
So far I have only come across memtest86 and a hardware device by thermaltake that checks for bad memory. Does anyone have any suggestions for other software or diagnostic equipment?
Blue|Fusion
Sep 29 2006, 10:39 AM
memtest86+ for RAM.
Prime95 for CPU/RAM.
smartmontools for hard drive S.M.A.R.T. tests.
Motherboard is technically tested and stressed with the CPU and RAM checks as well - atleast the northbridge and bus are.
To test the power supply, that's a bit dependent on the motherboard unless you find the equipment to do it. If your motherboard has a monitoring chip, you can measure voltages from that. Often, you can read the voltages for your CPU, RAM, 12V, 5V, and 3.3V rails in your BIOS. If it's capable of that, then you should be able to get that information in Linux with lm_sensors. You might also want to buy a digital multimeter, too. They aren't too expensive and do a good job. Infact, since BIOS/software readouts aren't usually quite accurate anyway, it may be best to get a multimeter, especially if you're planning to overvolt some components to overclock them.