GPU Stress Test

How to run a GPU stress test

Close extra apps and turn off battery saver. Let the device cool if it just finished a game. Start Volume Shader on Standard first so you know the canvas works. Move to Extreme only if Standard already looks easy. On the 3D test, start at Medium, then Ultra. Watch FPS over the whole hold, not only the first second.

Sixty to 120 seconds is enough for most phones. A discrete desktop card may need a longer native burn in if you are hunting cooler or power limit issues. Native tools still go further for that job.

• Close other apps and turn off battery saver
• Start Extreme or Ultra only if the mid level already feels easy
• Run at least 60 to 120 seconds
• Stop if the device is painfully hot or the OS warns you

What throttling looks like

A graphics chip boosts clocks for a short burst, then settles to a sustained clock it can keep without overheating. A one second peak is the burst. A stress test asks what happens after the burst. FPS that starts high and steps down, frame time that stretches, and a warm chassis are the usual signs. The test did not fail. The chip protected itself.

On a phone the GPU shares a package with the CPU, so heat from either side cuts both. On a laptop, battery mode and a plugged charger often produce two different sustained clocks. On a desktop card, a browser load is lighter than Furmark, but a falling counter still means the chip backed off, the browser composited less often, or the machine hit a power limit.

WebGL does not expose a reliable temperature sensor. You infer heat from the counter and the device in your hand. Unstable FPS during the hold is lag, even if the average still looks decent.

Stress is not a benchmark

A stress run asks whether FPS holds after the chassis warms. A benchmark asks for a repeatable score on cooled hardware. If you want a number you can write down and compare, use the GPU benchmark method instead of a two minute Extreme hold. Both still start from a live canvas. Falling FPS on a stress run is useful. It is not a failed page.

Do not average a stress drop with a cooled Medium score. They answer different questions. A GPU test tells you what the scene measures. A stress test tells you whether that number survives heat.

Stress test on a phone

Phone GPUs (Adreno, Mali, Apple GPU, and similar) sit next to the CPU in a tight package. Thermal and power limits arrive fast. A stress test on a phone is valid, but scores will drop as the SoC heats. Give the back air. Skip Extreme in a thick case if you care about a stable number. Charging while you run Extreme adds more heat. Brightness and leftover camera or maps tabs steal budget too.

Start on Standard. Extreme on a mid range Android can sit well under 30 FPS. That is the load working, not a crash. A longer phone walkthrough is GPU stress test on a phone.

Heat, lag, and stopping

Stress tests cause heat. That is the load working. Close the tab to stop. The test does not flash firmware, change clocks, or install a driver. Modern devices throttle when they get hot. Stop if the chassis is too hot to hold, the screen stops responding, or the OS shows a thermal warning.

Do not leave Extreme running while you walk away. Do not wrap the phone. Battery drain is expected because the GPU is busy. Once the tab is closed, clocks fall and the device cools.

Browser stress vs Furmark, Unigine, and 3DMark

Furmark and tools such as MSI Kombustor can push a desktop GPU harder and longer. Unigine Heaven and Superposition sit closer to a game-like scene. 3DMark still wins when you want a published, driver-aware score. A browser stress test is the tool you can run on a phone, a locked down PC, or a machine where you will not install burn in software.

Use Furmark when you need a desktop cooler and driver workout. Use this site when you need a load in the next minute, including on a phone. The browser still vsyncs to the display and shares the GPU with the compositor, so the ceiling is lower than a native fullscreen burn. More context: browser vs Furmark and 3DMark.