How to benchmark an SSD
We’ll show you how to benchmark an SSD for performance and drive health
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Whether you’re building a new gaming PC or you’re upgrading your work laptop with some extra storage, knowing how to benchmark an SSD for performance and drive health is a critical part of any PC owner’s toolbox.
Running SSD benchmarks are an important step in confirming the assembly of a PC or upgrade installation, and they can be the only way to confirm defective drives before the grace period for returns to a retailer passes, so they’re important for everyone to run, regardless of circumstance.
If you’re wondering how to benchmark an SSD properly to ensure your system is in tip-top shape, we’re here to walk you through the process.
Method one: Steps for how to benchmark an SSD
Tools and Requirements
Step by step guide
Before we show you how to benchmark an SSD, you need to make sure that your antivirus is up to date. The benchmarking tools in this guide are downloaded from the internet, and it’s vital to check anything you download from the internet with thebest antivirus softwareto keep your computer safe.
That said, the sites hosting the benchmarking tools are well known and trusted, so our advising precaution doesn’t mean there’s anything suspect about the sites or tools in question.
1. Download and install HWiNFO to confirm proper installation
Head over to theHWiNFO download pageandgrab the Windows installerfor this tool, which we’ll use tocheck drive health and monitor our SSD temperatureduring testing.
Once you’vedownloaded and run an antivirus scan on the installerand its confirmed safe, install the tool wherever you’d like, but make sure tolaunch it after it finishes installing.When you see the small popup windowon launch,press startto open up the system information panel.
There is going to be a lot of information suddenly on the screen, but the only thing we’re interested in ismaking sure that the SSD is plugged into the right sloton the motherboard or SATA port.
If you areusing a PCIe 4.0 or PCIe 5.0 SSD, make sure that theinterface for the SSDin thebottom left of the System Summary panelmatches theSSD’s rated speed.
APCIe 4.0 SSD will run in a PCIe 3.0 slot, but its speed is going to begreatly reduced. Likewise a PCIe 5.0 SSD in a PCIe 4.0 slot.
ForSATA III SSDs, any modern motherboard willonly have SATA III ports, but for the odd ducks out there, make sure you’re using the properly rated interface for your SSD regardless.
2. Download and install benchmarking tools
There areseveral benchmarking toolsout there for SSDs, but we’re justgoing to stick with the free onesfor now:CrystalDiskMark (download here)andPassMark PerformanceTest (Download here). The former isfully freeware, while the latter is a professional tool thatoffers a free trial for 30 days, which should be more than enough to get your system in order.
Select theWindows installer for both toolsfor simplicity’s sake, and download them.
Afterscanning them for virusesanddetermining that they are safeto run,install the two toolsto the directory of your choice.
3. Find your real-time SSD sensor information before testing
In HWiNFO’s main window, you’ll see a number of buttons along the top ribbon.Find the one labeled ‘Sensors’andclick on it. This will open up the Sensor Status screen, which you can move off to the side of your desktop, but leave it visible.
In the sensor list, scroll down until you find the SSD you want to benchmark, which should beprefixed with the label ‘S.M.A.R.T.‘andasecond set of readingsunder the label’Drive:'.Note theTotal Remaining Life percentage in the S.M.A.R.T. section. For a new SSD,this should be 100%, so if it’s lower than the drive might be defective or previously used.
Make note of themaximum temperature columnandfind Drive Temperature 2on the list. This is theusually the ASIC controller in the SSD, the part that actually coordinates the read/write/copy operations and it’s the part that’smost sensitive to heat damage, so you’ll want tokeep an eye on it.
During testing,if the temperature approaches the maximum safe temperaturefor the drive provided by the manufacturer, you’ll probably need toreseat the SSD with better contact with the M.2 SSD slot’s heatsink. This number will be around 70C / 160F in many cases, but check with your manufacturer.
4. Run the benchmarks
Now that you’re ready to benchmark your SSD,open up the two benchmarking toolsif you haven’t already.
For PassMark’s Performance Test, you’ll want toclick the ‘Run’ label on the bottom of the Red Panelin the testing interface. This willrun the Disk Benchmark. You can run other benchmarks or all of them in one go if you’d like, butwe’re only interested in the Disk test. Once the test is finished,run it two more times and average the three scoresto get your final score.
Theremight be wildly varying scores at first, and if so,you can run the test a few more timesuntil the test results startbecoming more consistent, thentake the three scores and average them.
For CrystalDiskMark,click the top-left button that says ‘All’to run the read and write tests. The top row is theSequential Read and Sequential Writescores, given in MB/s, and it’s thesescores we’re most interested in.
The other results are important, but the only one I would make a note of is the third row labeled ‘RND4K,’ which gives theSSD’s Random Read and Random Write performance. Note these scores andrun the test two more times and average the results.
5. Compare your results with the manufacturer’s listed speeds
Themanufacturer of your SSDwill have a speed rating for your SSD, given inMB/s for Sequential Read and Sequential Write. Compare theaverage speeds you got from CrystalDiskMarkand see ifyour results are at least near where the manufacturer says it should be.
It’s okay to beoff by a several hundred MB/s(manufacturers tend to cherry-pick the absolute best scores possible to market, so you might not get that level of performance based on your system), but if you’reoff by more than 1,000 MB/s, thensomething is definitely hurting performance.
Ifyour results aren’t even close to what the manufacturer says it should be, double check thatyour SSD is in the right motherboard slotand that itspeak temperature hasn’t spiked too close to the maximum temperature, which could lead toperformance throttling.
6. Compare your PassMark score to PassMark’s average for your SSD
Assuming that yoursequential read and write performance is what you expected, navigate toPassMark’s database of Disk Benchmark scores.
CTRL+F your SSD’s model nameto find iton the list (making sure toalso find the same drive capacity, as different capacities can perform very differently). Once you’ve found it,compare your PassMark Disk score to the average score for that SSD. Are they in line with each other? If not, it could be an issue with compatibility, heat throttling, or a cluttered SSD, butif your score is considerably lower, then check tomake sure that you’ve installed the SSD in the right slotand that there weren’t anysevere temperature spikesduring testing.
Final thoughts
If your benchmark results don’t line up with what the manufacturer said you should be getting, or your performance is way off from what the average reported PassMark performance for the SSD is listed as, then try reseating the SSD. Double check that you have it in the right slot (consult your motherboard documentation if necessary), and ensure that you have proper thermal dissipation on the SSD if you’re using an M.2 slot.
Often times it takes a couple of tries before an SSD is properly installed, so if your SSD is working and should be getting better performance, a little bit of tickering can go a long way – and now that you know how to benchmark an SSD, you can use what you’ve learned to confirm that you have everything installed correctly.
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John (He/Him) is the Components Editor here at TechRadar and he is also a programmer, gamer, activist, and Brooklyn College alum currently living in Brooklyn, NY.
Named by the CTA as a CES 2020 Media Trailblazer for his science and technology reporting, John specializes in all areas of computer science, including industry news, hardware reviews, PC gaming, as well as general science writing and the social impact of the tech industry.
You can find him online on Threads @johnloeffler.
Currently playing: Baldur’s Gate 3 (just like everyone else).
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