Prime95, also distributed as a command-line utility mprime under FreeBSD and Linux, is a freeware application written by George Woltman. It is used by Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS), a distributed computing project dedicated to Mersenne prime hunting. In overclocking circles, it is commonly used for stability testing.[3]
Although most[4] of its source code is available, Prime95 does not qualify as free and open-source software because its end-user license agreement[2] states that in the event that the software is used to find a record prime that qualifies for the bounties offered by the Electronic Frontier Foundation,[5] any prize money is to be claimed and redistributed by GIMPS.
Finding Mersenne primes by distributed computing
Since the foundation of GIMPS in 1996, 17 new Mersenne primes have been found by participants of the project.[6]
To accomplish this, the program implements the following algorithms:
Lucas–Lehmer primality test (LL)
Fermat primality test (PRP) with error checking
Due to the large volume of candidates and the scarcity of Mersenne primes, the program also implements some computationally cheaper tests to quickly exclude composite candidates:
Trial division using a modified Sieve of Eratosthenes
Pollard's factorization algorithm (P-1)
Elliptic-curve factorization method (ECM) for smaller numbers
Use for stress testing
Prime95 28.7 running a stress test on an Intel quad-core Windows 10 system
Due to the operations performed by Prime95 and its emphasis on performance, extreme pressure is exerted on the various computer subsystems when used with certain parameters. This can help identify issues with RAM, FPUs and power delivery and other components. In a stable system, running Prime95 would not result in crashes or incorrect results. It is due to this that Prime95 is one of the most common tools used by the overclocking community to assess the stability of their systems.[3]
See also
List of distributed computing projects
Stress testing
Prime number
PrimeGrid
References
Woltman, George. "I've made 30.3 build 6 the official download version at mersenne.org!". Retrieved 2020-09-16.
"GIMPS Legalese - PrimeNet". Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
"How To Run a CPU Stress Test Using Prime95". Appuals.com. 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
Woltman, George. "The security code or checksum is hard to forge. This is the only source code that is not published".
"EFF Cooperative Computing Awards". Electronic Frontier Foundation. 2008-02-29. Retrieved 2019-05-08.
"GIMPS History - PrimeNet". Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search. Retrieved 2019-05-09.
Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics
Graduate Studies in Mathematics
Hellenica World - Scientific Library
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