Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool, Test Intel CPUs

There are a few things that you need to look out for when buying a new processor or a computer system. One of them is to make sure that you get what you have been paying for. A few years back it was common that shady merchants tried to sell hardware to users that was not the real deal. The hardware was either counterfeit or, in the case of processors, overclocked to look like a higher priced cpu model.

Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool is a diagnostic software for 32-bit editions of the Windows operating system. The software performs a variety of checks that test the functionality of an Intel processor. Checks that are performed include brand identification, the processors operating frequency, processor features and a stress test on the process.

It has to be noted that the Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool is only available for 32-bit editions, and that it has several dependencies which need to be installed if they are not already installed on the system. The dependencies are:

• Microsoft® Visual C++ 2008 Runtime Libraries
• Windows® Installer 3.1 Redistributable (v2)
• Microsoft® .NET Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package (x86)
• Java Runtime Environment

Besides that, users should consult the following supported cpu listing to see if their cpu is among the supported ones.

Intel® Atom™ Processor
Intel® Celeron® Processor Family
Intel® Core™ Duo Processor
Intel® Core™ i3 Desktop Processor
Intel® Core™ i3 Mobile Processor
Intel® Core™ i5 Mobile Processor
Intel® Core™ i5 Processor
Intel® Core™ i7 Mobile Processor
Intel® Core™ i7 Mobile Processor Extreme Edition
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor
Intel® Core™ i7 Processor Extreme Edition
Intel® Core™ Solo processor
Intel® Core™2 Duo Desktop Processor
Intel® Core™2 Duo Mobile Processor
Intel® Core™2 Extreme Mobile Processor
Intel® Core™2 Extreme Processor
Intel® Core™2 Quad Mobile Processor
Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor
Intel® Core™2 Solo Processor
Intel® Itanium® Processors
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor Extreme Edition
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processors
Intel® Pentium® D Processor
Intel® Pentium® M Processor
Intel® Pentium® Processor Extreme Edition
Intel® Pentium® Processor for Desktop
Intel® Pentium® Processor for Mobile
Intel® Xeon® Processor
Intel® Xeon® Processor 3000 Sequence
Intel® Xeon® Processor 5000 Sequence
Intel® Xeon® Processor 6000 Sequence
Intel® Xeon® Processor 7000 Sequence
Mobile Intel® Celeron® Processors
Mobile Intel® Pentium® 4 Processors - M

The cpu diagnostic tool performs all checks during installation and will install the required software automatically if needed. It will also stop the installation if the system is not a 32-bit Windows.

The Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool will start testing the CPU right away after it has been launched on the system. This test takes several minutes to complete. A progress bar and a log indicate the test progress.

The lower half of the screen displays the features and parameters that are tested by the diagnostic software. All features are tested by default. A new window opens after the test that displays the test results. The tool will either display Pass or Fail on the screen as a first indicator of the processor status.

Every test result is displayed in the log area on the screen.It is possible to close the application at this point, or change the configuration of the test. It is possible to disable features and to change parameters, for instance to raise the cpu stress time from four minutes to a higher or lower value.

Windows users who want to download Intel's Processor Diagnostic Tool find the download at the official Intel website. A user manual is available in pdf format as well.