You have just installed a new game or a demanding video editor, but it is not really going well. Is the bottleneck in memory, processor, graphics card or disk? Benchmark tools put your system on the test bench and tell you in detail how well each component performs. We put the best benchmark software in the spotlight.
The term “benchmark” means benchmark or benchmark. The derived term ‘benchmarking’ refers to the systematic measurement of the performance of a certain product, after which it can be compared with equivalent products on the basis of a reference point. In the computer world, we distinguish between synthetic and “real world” benchmarking.
The first category of tools provides a series of built-in artificial tests that attempt to mimic the properties of certain applications and then calculate a performance score. The second category makes effective use of existing apps to map performance. In this article, we introduce a diverse set of popular and predominantly free benchmark tools from both categories. By the way, some tools combine synthetic and real world methods.
UserBenchMark
We start with a very versatile benchmarker that measures the performance of various system components: UserBenchMark (UBM). In the UBM welcome window you can read which parts are being tested: Processor, Graphics, Fixed Drives, Memory and USB Drives. Confirm with Run and leave your PC untouched. Make it clear to your firewall that it is bona fide software. Two minutes later, the test results appear in your browser.
With plastic classifications from Tree trunk and Yacht to Nuclear submarine and even UFO, UBM shows how your system performs as a Gaming PC, Desktop and Workstation. UBM uses a different criteria mix for each type of PC. For Desktop, for example, that’s 25% CPU + 50% GPU + 15% SSD + 10% HDD.
These ratings already give you a pretty good idea about system performance, but UBM provides you with other interesting information. A little lower on the page you get detailed information about all important system components and you can read what has been tested with each part. Bee Drives for example, you will find three large test items (Sequential, Random 4K and Deep queue 4K), each with the corresponding tests (such as Read, Write and Mixed). Click the question mark next to such a test item for additional feedback.
Even lower on the page, at Custom PC Builder, you can go on Explore upgrades for this PC click. This is especially interesting if you are willing to invest in more powerful system components. Here you can see which alternatives are available, how much performance gains you can expect from them and at what cost price you look at. This PC Build Comparison page is made up of two parts: top left the initial parts of your own system, top right the parts of a possible alternative.
To change a part, first open the desired tab on the left (CPU, GPU, SSD, HDD, RAM and MDB), then you go through Change […] indicates which upgrade you are considering for your system
SiSoftware Sandra Lite
Before we move on to the more specific benchmarkers, we would also like to ask you SiSoftware Sandra Lite. This tool has enjoyed great popularity for years and is mainly aimed at the more advanced user.
In addition to an extensive system information module, with both hardware and software feedback, you will also find an impressive range of benchmark tools here. You will find them neatly collected on the tab Benchmarks. In contrast to UBM, you decide here which tools you want to run.
There are several tests, divided into sections like Processor, Video Adapter, Storage Devices, Memory Controller and Network. At the very top you will find the button Overall Computer Score On. Click on the green check mark, place a check mark next to it I have read […] or uncheck it Enable certification […] and click the green check mark again. The benchmark process starts immediately.
Keep in mind that the whole procedure can take quite some time and your PC seems to freeze from time to time. Afterwards you will receive a score expressed in (the home-owned unit) kPT, both globally and per measured component. In itself this indication says little, but it is therefore the intention that you compare that score (s) with other equivalent systems.
CPU benchmark with Cinebench and CPUID CPU-Z
With a tool like Cinebench we have arrived at the specific benchmarkers. Cinebench tracks the performance of your CPU by rendering a high quality 3D image. You do this by starting the tool and pressing the button Run Bee CPU to click. The score follows after the test and the performance of your CPU appears in a comparative table.
You can work in more detail via File, Advanced Benchmark. Click at CPU (Single Core) on the Runbutton, Cinebench measures the speed of the individual CPU cores. Bee MP Ratio you can read the ratio between single and multi core.
CPUID CPU-Z is another well-known tool for benchmarking your CPU, albeit in a different way than Cinebench. This gives you very detailed technical information about your processor – and also about your motherboard, memory and GPU. The actual benchmarks can be found on the tab Bench. With the button Bench CPU you start the benchmark, both Single Thread as Multi Thread, where you can set the number of simultaneous threads yourself.
In the drop-down menu at Reference you can select another processor, the score of which will be placed next to your own result. Watch the button Stress CPU: that puts a maximum load on your processor, which is confirmed by the Windows task manager, which you can invoke with Ctrl + Shift + Esc.
Video card benchmark with 3DMark and Unigine Heaven
3DMark is in turn intended for benchmarking GPUs, or video cards. The Basic Edition can be used for free to test DirectX10, 11 and 12. The tool detects your hardware and suggests the appropriate test itself, but you can also select another test.
Also the multiplatform tool Unigine Heaven is a popular gpu benchmarker, the Basic version of which you can use for free. It shows a few dozen graphically demanding scenes that you can fine-tune using various parameters, such as resolution and anti-aliasing. The result is an average, minimum and maximum fps value (frames per second), as well as an overall score that you can compare with other systems.
We would also like to mention Bandicam. This tool shows the FPS in real time while you are playing any game.
RAM benchmark with PassMark Performance Test
The amount of working memory often plays an important role, but the performance of that memory also has an influence, and one ram module is not the other. However, there are some benchmarkers that specifically target memory. In addition to the aforementioned UBM and Sandra Lite, for example, there is also PassMark Performance Test (30 days free trial).
Start up the installed tool and press Memory Mark on the button. This will launch a benchmark module that performs memory read and write tests, as well as a latency check and a few intensive database operations. A minute or so later you will get the result and you can compare the result against similar ram modules by clicking a few icons.
HDD and SSD benchmark with ATTO Disk Benchmark and AS SSD
In applications where a lot of data is read or written, the disk often proves to be an annoying bottleneck. You can quickly find out how well your hard disk (hdd) or ssd is performing ATTO Disk Benchmark. This benchmarker can handle various types of disks, such as HDDs, SSDs and raid arrays.
After installation, launch the tool and press the Start-button. The window systematically fills with the determined write and read speeds for various block sizes (called I / O Size).
However, these block sizes are adjustable (up to 64 MB), as well as the size of the test file (up to 32 GB). You can also use the Queue Depth the maximum number of read and write commands you can execute at any given time. Place a check mark next to it Direct I / O, the benchmarker does not use system buffering or caching. The built-in help function provides more information about this.
If you have specific SSDs in mind, whether or not controlled by the NVME protocol, you can also use the tool AS SSD to consider. Based on a few synthetic benchmarks, the tool nicely maps the sequential and random read and write performance of your SSD.
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