We present results of a test program of a group of pseudorandom number
generators which are commonly used in the applications of physics, in
particular in Monte Carlo simulations. The generators include public
domain programs, manufacturer installed routines and a random number s
equence produced from physical noise. We start by traditional standard
tests, followed by detailed bit level and visual tests. The computati
onal speed of various algorithms is also scrutinized. Our results allo
w direct comparisons between the properties of different generators, a
s well as an assessment of the efficiency of various test methods. Tog
ether with recently developed application specific tests, this informa
tion provides a good criterion to choose the best generator among the
tested ones for a given problem.