GPU stress tests are generally designed to attempt to overheat the GPU. Depending on the particular test, this might or might not use the entire video memory or check its integrity at some point. Video Memory stress Test is specifically designed for this purpose, and it's quite similar to MemTest86+. You can test the memory using DirectX, CUDA ... More @Wikipedia
Hover over any link to get a description of the article. Please note that search keywords are sometimes hidden within the full article and don't appear in the description or title.