Heater 🔥#

A Rust command-line application that churns your CPU and GPU at maximum capacity for testing, benchmarking, or keeping your system warm.

Features#

• 🔥 Maximizes CPU usage across multiple cores
• 🎮 Optional GPU heating using compute shaders
• 🛡️ Leaves one core free by default (configurable)
• ⏱️ Run for a specific duration or indefinitely
• 🛑 Graceful shutdown with Ctrl+C
• 📊 Real-time thread and GPU iteration status
• 🌐 Cross-platform GPU support (Metal, Vulkan, DX12, OpenGL)

Build#

cargo build --release

The compiled binary will be at target/release/heater.

Usage#

CPU heating only (default)#

# Run indefinitely (until Ctrl+C)
cargo run --release

# Run for 30 seconds
cargo run --release -- --duration 30

# Leave 2 cores free
cargo run --release -- --free-cores 2

GPU heating#

# Enable GPU heating with the --gpu flag
cargo run --release -- --gpu

# GPU + CPU for 60 seconds
cargo run --release -- --gpu --duration 60

# Max heat: all cores + GPU
cargo run --release -- --gpu --free-cores 0

Advanced examples#

# Use ALL cores (leave 0 free) + GPU for 2 minutes
./target/release/heater --gpu --free-cores 0 --duration 120

# CPU only, leaving 3 cores free, run indefinitely
./target/release/heater --free-cores 3

Options#

-d, --duration <DURATION>      Duration to run in seconds (omit for indefinite run)
-f, --free-cores <FREE_CORES>  Number of cores to leave free (default: 1)
-g, --gpu                      Enable GPU heating (requires compatible GPU)
-h, --help                     Print help
-V, --version                  Print version

How It Works#

CPU Heating#

The application:

1. Detects the number of logical CPU cores on your system
2. Spawns threads equal to (total cores - free cores)
3. Each thread performs intensive mathematical operations in a tight loop
4. Continues until the specified duration expires or you press Ctrl+C

GPU Heating#

When --gpu is enabled:

1. Initializes GPU using wgpu (supports Metal, Vulkan, DX12, OpenGL)
2. Creates compute shaders that perform intensive trigonometric and exponential operations
3. Dispatches large workgroups (256x256) continuously to maximize GPU utilization
4. Runs in parallel with CPU heating threads

Use Cases#

• CPU/GPU stress testing
• Thermal testing and validation
• Benchmarking cooling solutions
• Testing throttling behavior
• Power consumption testing
• Keeping your laptop warm in winter ❄️

GPU Compatibility#

The GPU heater uses wgpu which supports:

• macOS: Metal
• Windows: DirectX 12, Vulkan
• Linux: Vulkan, OpenGL
• Web: WebGPU

If GPU initialization fails, the app will fall back to CPU-only heating.

Safety Notes#

⚠️ Warning: This application will significantly increase CPU and GPU temperature and power consumption.

• Ensure your system has adequate cooling before running for extended periods
• Monitor temperatures if running for long durations
• Some laptops may throttle or shut down if temperatures get too high
• Use --free-cores to leave headroom for system processes