[interloper359]

Does anyone have any information about graphics card quality testing? I mean what is it, what kind of graphics card parametrs are checked. Or maybe someone knows any book and/or article about this?

[cdad]

Here is a site that can give you some insight as to what is tested and why. Most had to do with the structure of programing that goes into gaming. Manf of video cards use these for benchmarking their cards.

3DMark - test your graphics card with the gamer's benchmark

[InfoJunkie4Life]

What goes into testing graphics cards may seem daunting, but in reality there are number of tools out there to make this job easier. First, it is important to understand the different aspects of the video system being tested.

Benchmarking is a series of tests that force a GPU to cycle through different algorithms that have a standard output. This will test the throughput of the GPU, this can be compared to benchmarks of other cards, specs, etc. There are literally thousands (or more) tests that can be performed with respect to each type of system to give different scoring methods for different performance perspectives. Some calculate output in Flops others in Hertz, and others in FPS. Most cards have limitations on these numbers, however good benchmarking programs can easily get around this to see what the hardware is really capable of. It may max out the card until it faults to find its maximum performance. Or run an algorithm that forces it to compute complex commands at its maximum numbers to find out the card's reliability. There are thousands of websites (like this one) that pit one card against another with various scores, and tested with various graphics heavy games.

Stress testing is forcing the card to perform at its maximums, or beyond, to see how it may perform, to attempt to overheat at maximum specifications and beyond. This may entail running the GPU at its maximum to calculate its heat output or to ensure that the cooling system attached is adequate for the system. It may overclock the GPU to find its fault point or to find the maximum speed the cooling system can handle. There are also video memory stress tests, these run different data sequences through every sector of vRAM in order to ensure that they are reliable. vRAM testing may also come up with some other numbers such as bus speeds and GPU memory performance indicators. It may test how fast the RAM is capable of switching data, etc. A good testing program will allow the same tests across multiple architectures suchas DirectX, CUDA, and OpenGL.

There are some other not so prominent tests that attempt to verify other aspects of the video system (not necessarily the video card). These tests include color and image quality, motherboard AGP (Old), PCI(-E), etc. connection testing, Power Demand/Supply testing, screen resolution and compatibility testing, and probably a whole skew of others I've never heard of. The new and emerging technologies like Crossfire and SLI, or GDDR(5), etc., will create a ton different data paths to be tested and benchmarks to watch.

As far as testing devices yourself, there are a number of tools out there to test the different systems on the card. Prominently stress testing the GPU and the RAM can show not only the limits of the card but also any faults it may have for QC.

Personally I use Hiren's Boot CD for a lot of hardware testing. Graphics testing tools available there include:

CPU/Video/Disk Test
System Speed Test
Video Memory Stress Test (VMTCE)

As stated before, 3DMark is an awsome benchmarking tool, especially for gaming specs; also you may consider FurMark as a good graphics burner. Finally I'll mention Haven Benchmark as a burner program that offers game-like immersion for stressing graphics cards and testing drivers' performance.

Further Reading

http://www.mathworks.com/help/distco...n-the-gpu.html (Flops from a programing perspective)

http://www.freemake.com/blog/cuda-dx...ily-explained/ (Architectures related to video conversion)

http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/ (Testing your monitor)

http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-ca...-your-monitor/ (Calibrating your monitor)


http://www.labtrain.noaa.gov/config/test_screen.htm (Resolution Testing)