Here’s a list of 5 free SSD speed tester software for Windows 10 which can be used to test the speed of your SSD. Mechanical hard drives are very slow. That is one of the reasons why many people decide to use SSD hard drives in their desktops and even laptops. Buying an SSD can be tricky, because not all of them are created equal. Using speed test software you’ll be able to determine if the SSD that you bought has the declared speeds, or if you’ve been given SSD with inferior performance. Let’s have a look at what kind of software is available exactly.
CrystalDiskMark
CrystalDiskMark is the SSD speed tester software of choice for me, when I need to check the speeds of my SSDs, and other hard drives for that matter. It has both portable and installable versions and it works just fine on Windows 10. Four types of read/write tests can be performed, sequential, 4K random, and then another 2 tests for sequential and 4 random speed, but this time using multiple queues and threads.
Setting up the speed test is easy. Just select the test file size (I usually use 1 GB) and the number of write/read passes you want the application to perform. Multiple passes give you more accurate results. Also don’t forget to select the partition that you want to test out. Results are clearly displayed and easy to read. By default CrystalDiskMark tests with random data (un-compressible).
Get CrystalDiskMark.
ATTO Disk Benchmark
ATTO Disk Benchmark is a SSD speed tester software which has a lot of similarities with CrystalDiskMark, but as you can see from the screenshot above, it adds a bit more features like comparison charts for different file sizes that are being transfered, configurable transfer lengths, queue depths, continous testing, etc.
Test parameters are configured using the menus up top. Results are shown down below, in the “Test Results” area, see image above. You’ll see multiple results, depending on what range of test file sizes you’ve selected. Test file sizes can be between 512B (that’s bytes) up to 64MB. Each test, with all its parameters, can be saved and used later on with a different drive. Results can be printed from the application directly. ATTO Disk Benchmark is portable.
Get ATTO Disk Benchmark.
Also have a look at HDD Health: Free Hard Disk Failure Predicting Software.
AS SSD Benchmark – free SSD speed tester software for Windows 10
AS SSD Benchmark is another SSD speed tester software for Windows 10 that’s portable and easy to use. Like you can see from its name, it’s actually optimized for SSDs. What’s optimized is the type of data that gets written to the hard drive during testing. It’s non-compressible data, which gives more accurate results in solid state hard drives.
Speed testing can be initiated as soon you launch the application. Available test tweaks include things like changing the file size used when doing read/write tests, switching to input-output operation testing, choosing between sequential, random and threaded testing (check marks). More interesting features include things like access time testing, scoring system, and ability to save results as images, directly from the application, when you need to share them online.
Get AS SSD Benchmark.
HD Tune
HD Tune is technically speaking not an SSD speed tester software for Windows 10. It’s an all around HDD utility, with tools for checking health, scanner utility for error scanning, and info tool for checking HDD info like manufacturer, model, etc.
“Benchmark” tab is the one that interests us, because that’s where speed test is performed. There’re aren’t any settings that can be tweaked. Just click on the “Start” button to initiate the scan. Diagram gives you real time readings of the hard disk speed. Test is completed once the diagram reaches 100%. Results offer info like the minimum, maximum and average transfer rates, access times, burst rate, and CPU usage during the test.
Get HD Tune.
Also have a look at PassMark DiskCheckup: Free Hard Disk Health Monitoring Software.
DiskMark
DiskMark is an SSD tester software that takes a bit of time to setup, but I still included it on this list because I liked the way it performs tests. For example a graph will show live performance as the tests are being carried out.
Setup is where DiskMark falls a bit short when compared with all the other applications. I’m saying this because setup isn’t easy to figure out, and the default test parameters like test file size, number of test runs, and so on is not the best for SSD testing. They need to be increased to give more accurate readings. Make sure to go through the help files to figure out how to tweak the test parameters. They are asked and need to be set every time you click on the “Run” button.
Get DiskMark.
Conclusion
Out of the 5 SSD speed tester software from the list above, the two that I personally use and are my favorites would be CrystalDiskMark and HD Tune. AS SSD Benchmark is also interesting, because it comes optimized for SSD hard drives by default. Let me know what you think, which application you think is best by leaving a comment down below.
