There are plenty of benchmarking tools that can be used to test the raw power of your computer, but StressMyPC is a little different. As the name suggests, the purpose of this particular program is to push your computer to its limits to see what it can handle. You may wonder why you might want to do this but for anyone interested in checking the performance of their laptop’s battery this could prove to be a valuable tool.

StressMyPC is a fairly basic affair, but it does include a number of options that can be used to test different aspects of your system and push it in a variety of ways. The program comprises three basic stress tests which you can run individually, all at the same time, or in combination. If you are experiencing problems with the stability of your system, these tests could help you to determine what might be the root cause.

You can run intensive tests on your hard drive, your processor and your graphics card, and if you run the tests one at a time and note when your computer crashes, you can discover if any of these components are responsible for your stability problems. The app can also be used to see how long your laptop battery lasts when your computer is being used for different purposes – graphic intensive apps are likely to result in a different battery life that graphically intensive apps, for example.

It is important to note that if you use this software on a computer that has been overclocked a lot, you do run the risk of permanently damaging your hardware. However, when you are performance system diagnosis, this could be a very valuable tool and the fact that it is a portable app that can be copied onto a USB drive means that it is a helpful app for anyone who might be called on to assist with a friend’s computer.