Build log · 0001

The bench protocol

July 27, 2026

MEMORY

MemTest86 — full pass

GRAPHICS / CPU

3DMark — scored run

THERMALS

FurMark soak

RECORD

Serials · capture · results · walkthrough

Every machine that leaves this bench will have passed the same gauntlet, in the same order, with the results written down. This entry is the reference for what that means — every future entry links back here.

First, memory: a full MemTest86 pass. Memory errors are the cruellest failures a PC can have — rare, random, and invisible until they corrupt something you cared about. A pass takes hours and proves the modules, the board and the memory controller agree with each other at their rated speed.

Second, load: 3DMark runs the graphics card and processor the way games actually will, and produces a score. The score matters less than the fact that it is recorded — your machine's own number, not a number from a machine like yours. If a card is misbehaving, it shows up here, on the bench, not in your first week.

Third, heat: a FurMark soak — deliberately unrealistic, sustained worst-case load — while we watch the temperatures a small enclosure has no room to forgive. Cooling in ten litres is engineered, and this is where the engineering is checked against reality.

Then the record is made: the serial number of every component, a capture of the running system showing what is actually installed, the benchmark results, and a video walkthrough of the unit itself. That pack goes to the customer before the machine ships or is picked up.

Why write any of this down? Because “it works” is a promise, and promises are cheap. A serial number, a score and a video of your machine running are not promises. Years from now, when you sell it or upgrade it or just wonder what is inside, the paperwork answers — with proof, not memory.