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Prime95 is a popular freeware application that is primarily used for stress testing and benchmarking computer hardware, particularly CPUs and RAM. Developed by George Woltman, the program utilizes the Lucas-Lehmer primality test to search for Mersenne prime numbers, which are prime numbers that can be expressed in the form of 2^p - 1, where p is also a prime number.
| Aspect | Description |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Prime95 (also known as GIMPS - Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search) |
| Developer | George Woltman |
| Initial Release | 1996 |
| Latest Version | 30.8 build 9 (as of 2023) |
| Purpose | • Finding Mersenne prime numbers • CPU stress testing and stability testing • Benchmarking |
| Main Features | • Prime number search • Torture test • CPU/FPU stress testing • Network distributed computing • Multiple CPU core support |
| Supported Operating Systems | • Windows • Linux • macOS • FreeBSD |
| Test Types | • Small FFTs (maximum heat/CPU stress) • Large FFTs (maximum RAM usage) • Blend (combined CPU and RAM test) • Custom (user-defined parameters) |
| Hardware Requirements | • Minimum: 1 CPU core, 512MB RAM • Recommended: Multi-core CPU, 4GB+ RAM |
| CPU Instructions Used | • SSE • SSE2 • AVX • AVX2 • FMA3 • AVX-512 |
| Monitoring Capabilities | • CPU temperature • Error detection • Work progress • System stability |
| Common Uses | • Overclocking validation • System stability testing • Scientific research • Mathematical calculations |
| Data Output | • Prime number discoveries • Test results • Error logs • Performance statistics |
| Network Features | • Distributed computing • Result submission • Team participation • Progress tracking |
| Safety Features | • Automatic result verification • Error checking • Checkpoint saving • Temperature monitoring |
| Known Limitations | • High power consumption • Extreme CPU stress • High memory usage • May cause system instability |
| Awards & Recognition | • Discovery of numerous Mersenne primes • Standard tool for CPU testing • Widely used in overclocking community |
| Configuration Options | • Thread count • Memory usage • Test duration • Priority settings • Custom FFT sizes |
| Community Support | • Active forum community • Regular updates • Bug reporting system • User guides and documentation |
| Notable Achievements | • Found largest known prime numbers • Contributed to mathematical research • Industry standard for CPU testing |
| Integration | • Compatible with monitoring software • Can be automated • Supports command-line operation |
| Resource Impact | • High CPU utilization • Significant memory usage • Power consumption increase • Temperature increase |
| Best Practices | • Run with adequate cooling • Monitor temperatures • Start with short tests • Regular breaks between tests |
| Additional Tools | • Results viewer • Progress tracker • Error analyzer • Performance graphs |
