'Out of the Box' testing

Whether gettting a new system or a repaired system, I have learned a valuable lesson. Test it, test it test it.
I have been searching for a basic guide to this process and have come up short. Can someone point me in the direction I can find one?
I know there are a lot of experienced Alienware owners on this forum. More than likely you have your own system of what you check for 'out of the box' to make sure the laptop is running like it should.
It would be good to hear what process and programs you use to stress test the cpu, gpu, etc. Also what you look for that signals possible problems.
I didn't do this with my very first M17X and I think I am reaping what I sowed. When they send me my system repaired or if I'm lucky replaced; I won't make that same mistake twice.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.

 

I have games like Crysis and Far Cry 2 that put my system through the ringer.

3D Studio Max will gobble up every CPU cycle it can get its hands on, but then it is a 4 grand application.

I have a good feel on my particular system, so I can notice significant changes in performance.

 

Good suggestion. I think a step by step testing process would be quite useful.

It would enable people to test their systems upon receipt and if problems are found they could log issues with Dell/send back immediately.

If it is found to be a regular occurrence that a new system is received, has problems and is subsequently sent back then I imagine it would only be a matter of time before it flags on someone's radar at Dell and it may encourage them to review their quality control.

 

I use cinema 4D and the rendering/editing certainly put a strain on my cpu. I always make sure I have an up to date GPU but I dont really use it for intense gaming. When I do want to take it for a spin, I'll run Crysis or Unreal Tournament 3 (I just love that game) with max settings on both. I'll play them for an hour or two while monitoring FPS and heat of the system. Thats about it. AW doesnt ship the system with bloatware, so you dont have to worry about that slowing you down.

 

When I get them I run a full Dell diagnostic plus the memory test. Then I run at least 10 passes on Memtest. From there, I start playing all of my different games to see how it does with stability and heat.

 

Just push the limits on your machine the moment you get it, and if it isn't up to your standards then use one of the various programs mentioned above to possibly figure out what's wrong/what you need more of.

Then again, you COULD just buy crysis and play it on max settings (as mentioned before) as that puts even the best of PC's through "the ringer."

If anything is significantly wrong, you should be able to notice with just Normal everyday use (maybe not the GPU)

 

i downloaded hwinfo32 to monitor the temps and then ran furmark for 20 minutes while making sure GPU and CPU are being cooled correctly. That test would also surface GPU problems if they exist.
Then i'd turn off furmark and run prime95 on all cores for 20-30 minutes - that would load the CPU to the max and also verify the memory is not faulty, again monitoring temps.

If the machine passed those tests most probably it's fine.

 

Thx for all the replies and info. I was thinking it wouldn't be just me that would benefit from this thread.
I'll be getting a copy of Crysis. I don't think Witcher or Oblivion (even with all the environment and hi-res texture mods) will be intensive enough.
I have an 'old' copy of Maya on the desktop, so that should possibly bring it to its knees (if I can install it on a second machine).
Funny I tested the crap out of the desktop I built because I didn't completely trust myself. I 'assumed' my M17X was just fine coming from the best of the best. I should have put it through its paces early on. But I will this time.

 

If you cant install it on a second machine you might want to do look in to this- It is possible to install Cinema 4D on an external drive and then run it from any computer. Maybe you can with maya as well...