Bill_Bright said:
a benchmark program... [is] ...synthetic and abusive to hardware.
running a benchmark isn't horribly abusive to hardware.
That's splitting hairs. "Not horribly abusive" is still abusive.
overclocking to the point of instability just to get a higher score in the benchmark is.
Agreed. And I note that is exactly how some of those programs work and sadly, is exactly how some ill-informed and naïve users use them.
Running a bechmark is just like rendering, pushing hardware to 100%. Just watch out for some stress tools that push stuff to 120%.
You just illustrated the contradiction, and validated my point by confirming some benchmark programs abuse the hardware. Pushing the hardware beyond 100% (or to the point of instability) is abuse. Will it damage the hardware? Maybe, maybe not. But it will increase aging.
FTR - I have no problems running hardware at 100%. In fact, as an electronics technician, I say all electronics should be able to run at 100% of "
published specs" 24/7 and remain stable and without overheating (assuming "normal" operating environments). But this capability can easily be verified by running a rendering program, or searching for ET or the cure for cancer (Folding) without running a program that intentionally abuses the hardware in an artificial scenario.
If you really know what you are doing and understand there are potential catastrophic consequences (and you own the hardware), and you are willing to accept those potential consequences, then go for it if that makes your boat float.
But again, benchmark programs don't improve performance and don't reflect your own real-world scenario. And that is especially true of WEI.