4 simple benchmarks to test your PC’s performance
Put your PC through its paces to find out what you’re getting from your hardware.
You don’t need to be a PC gaming enthusiast to run benchmarks on your rig; modern tools can be installed easily and will put your system through its paces with minimal hassle. Whether you want to test GPU, CPU, or SSD performance, using benchmarking software is simple and worth exploring.
Running performance tests can also help you detect system issues. If you’re not seeing the scores you’re hoping for, it could indicate problems with your PC or laptop. Fortunately, tools like 3DMark, Cinebench, Superposition, and Crystal3DMark all have free versions that will quickly show you how your system components are performing.
3DMark is a particularly useful tool for evaluating GPU performance, as its various built-in tools allow you to compare your card’s score to similar configurations used by other gamers. Let us guide you through the best, most intuitive benchmarking tools to help ensure your PC delivers what it should.
What PC benchmarks should I use?
If you want to benchmark your GPU, 3DMark has long been the most popular software for testing graphics card performance. You can download a free (“demo”) version of 3DMark on Steam, which gives you access to tests like Solar Bay And Time Spy. The free version allows you to compare your benchmarking results with comparable material from other users online. There’s a premium version for $30 that lets you do extensive stress testing, which most people shouldn’t need.
Overlay is also a great option for comparing your GPU. Thanks to the UNIGINE 2 engine, it can put your card under heavy load with tests that simulate demanding lighting and visual effects. This software can also monitor your GPU’s clock speeds and temperature, which illustrates how your card’s fans are performing when put under stressful testing. It hasn’t received a major update in a while, but it’s still worth a try.
CPU-wise, you can’t go wrong with Cinebench. This is currently the safest and most reliable way to test your CPU and therefore should be your go-to software for evaluating CPU rendering performance. It’s often a good idea to run 3DMark and Cinebench simultaneously to put your PC under a combined CPU and GPU load, mimicking real-world gaming. Try running Cinebench’s multi-core CPU test alongside 3DMark’s. Speedway test. The latter will seriously make your graphics card sweat with a range of ray tracing and global lighting effects.
For those looking to compare the read/write speeds of the best SSDs, CrystalDiskMark is your friend. This free open source software allows you to easily and quickly test your disk’s sequential read and write speeds. For best results, close all background applications and make sure your SSD has at least 10% of its space free. If you are evaluating your laptop’s drive, be sure to plug in its charger first.
Are in-game benchmarks more reliable than 3DMark tests?
If a game has a built-in benchmarking tool, its internal testing will normally give you the best indication of how a particular title will perform on your system. 3DMark is still great for providing you with basic hardware results that you can then compare to other online systems. But to directly measure FPS performance, in-game benchmarks are the way to go.
Open world runner Forza Horizon 6 has a very comprehensive tool that measures GPU performance and CPU usage, while also offering FPS charts covering maximum, minimum and average frame rate performance. Cyberpunk 2077 also features a useful in-game benchmark that runs through a crowded Night City scene, allowing you to quickly adjust and measure the impact of graphics settings to achieve a stable frame rate.
Of course, many games lack benchmarking tools. If you’re curious to see real-time performance metrics and there’s no in-game option, both Nvidia and AMD apps have the ability to display in-game FPS. Steam and Windows 11 (via Xbox Game Bar) also offer this. As a fallback, the classic FRAPS still exists although it has not been updated since 2013, and benefits from reliable (although not in-depth) comparative analysis.
Can benchmarks help me detect problems with my PC?
Absolutely, although it’s important to note that real-world issues like classic blue screens of death will provide a clearer indication of whether something is wrong with your PC than the odd worrying sign a benchmark may give. Still, benchmarks can point you toward potential system-wide issues.
What benchmarking issues should you pay attention to? The most important thing is that your test results are consistently (and significantly) lower when you compare them to similar hardware configurations on 3DMark. Poor results could suggest that you are using wrong power settings in Windows or running too many applications in the background. Alternatively, your material may be undercooked for your needs. If you’re disappointed with gaming performance according to benchmarks, your graphics card may not have enough VRAM.
Benchmarks can also help you identify cooling issues in your system. When you run Cinebench, if you see that rendering performance continues to drop as the test continues, this may suggest that your system is experiencing thermal throttling. The same goes for slow benchmark results in CrystalDiskMark. Monitoring and regulating the temperature of your PC’s main components is essential to maintaining optimal performance. Switching to liquid cooling for your PC may be worth it if heat is a problem for your system.
