Geekbench 2 stress tests can help you uncover problems with your computer. Stress tests work by running Geekbench's multi-threaded benchmarks in a loop. This places a lot of stress on both the processor and on other hardware components.

While the stress tests are running, Geekbench will report a number of different statistics:

• Iterations reports the number of benchmark loops completed during the run.
• Elapsed reports the amount of time the stress test has been running.
• Errors Detected reports the number of errors detected during the run.
• Average Score reports the average benchmark loop score for the run.
• Top Score reports the highest benchmark loop score for run.
• Latest Score reports the most recently completed benchmark loop score.

Detecting Problems

Geekbench 2 stress tests detect and report problems in the following ways:

• Latest Score or Average Score are significantly lower than Top Score.
• Errors Detected is not zero.

When Latest Score or Average Score are significantly lower than Top Score this usually indicates that there is a problem cooling the processor. When the processor overheats it slows down to prevent it from generating even more heat and damaging itself. This slowdown is captured by the lower Latest Score and Average Score statistics.

When Errors Detected is not zero this indicates that the processor (or other hardware) is not working correctly. Unfortunately there is no easy way to troubleshoot this problem. If you encounter this scenario we recommend you take your computer to a reputable service center for assistance.

Finally, in rare occasions your computer may crash when running the stress test. AGain, there is no easy way to troubleshoot this problem, so we recommend you take your computer to a local service center for assistance.

Stress Test Scores

A brief word about the different stress test scores (Average Score, Latest Score, and Top Score). While these scores resemble Geekbench 2 scores, they cannot be directly compared with Geekbench 2 scores.