{"id":250,"date":"2025-07-19T21:36:27","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T21:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/a.flowindsurfing.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/11\/how-to-benchmark-your-pc\/"},"modified":"2026-01-11T11:39:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-11T11:39:37","slug":"how-to-benchmark-your-pc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/19\/how-to-benchmark-your-pc\/","title":{"rendered":"How to benchmark your PC"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"post-content cf entry-content content-spacious\">\n<p><strong>There are multiple reasons why you might want to benchmark a PC. You may simply be curious about its performance, or maybe you want to find a bottleneck to see which part of your PC should be upgraded next.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We use multiple benchmarks on a weekly basis to evaluate the performance of the latest PC that we\u2019re reviewing. You can check out our benchmark scores in all of our laptop, desktop PC and component reviews.<\/p>\n<p>But if you\u2019d like to benchmark your own PC, and see how it compares to alternative options, then check out our step-by-step guide below.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-youll-need\">What you\u2019ll need<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A PC<\/li>\n<li>PCMark 10 (free)<\/li>\n<li>Geekbench 6 (free)<\/li>\n<li>3DMark (free)<\/li>\n<li>CrystalDiskMark (free)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the-short-version\">The short version<\/h2>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Test general performance with PCMark 10<\/li>\n<li>Test CPU performance with Geekbench 6<\/li>\n<li>Test GPU performance with 3DMark Time Spy<\/li>\n<li>Test SSD performance with CrystalDiskMark<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<section class=\"block video-player\"><\/section>\n<section class=\"block block-mobile-ad block-mobile-ad-double\" style=\"height: 620px\">\n<div class=\"ad-label\" style=\"height: 20px\">\n        Advertisement    <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-inner\" id=\"ad_mobile-in-article_1\"><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div class=\"schema-how-to wp-block-yoast-how-to-block\">\n<ol class=\"schema-how-to-steps \">\n<li class=\"schema-how-to-step\" id=\"how-to-step-1714489458112\">\n<div class=\"steps\">\n<h3 class=\"step-name\">Step  1.<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"schema-how-to-step-name\">Test general performance with PCMark 10<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><img class=\"lazy lazy-hidden\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/a3-lazy-load\/assets\/images\/lazy_placeholder.gif\" data-lazy-type=\"image\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/04\/Screenshot-19.png\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-how-to-step-text\">The first test we recommend is PCMark 10. This benchmark evaluates your PC\u2019s overall performance for a wide range of workloads, including day-to-day tasks, productivity applications, and more demanding work with digital media.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>PCMark 10 isn\u2019t an ideal benchmark for isolating a performance bottleneck, but it is useful for getting a quick general overview of your PC\u2019s performance. You can download the PCMark 10 demo for free on Steam, which offers unlimited runs with the main PCMark 10 test.<\/p>\n<p>PCMark 10 will give you a numerical score at the end of the benchmark, which is rather useless in isolation. However, you can compare the number with other scores online, including all of our reviews of the latest laptops and desktop PCs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"schema-how-to-step\" id=\"how-to-step-1714489471411\">\n<div class=\"steps\">\n<h3 class=\"step-name\">Step  2.<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"schema-how-to-step-name\">Test CPU performance with Geekbench 6<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><img class=\"lazy lazy-hidden\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/a3-lazy-load\/assets\/images\/lazy_placeholder.gif\" data-lazy-type=\"image\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/04\/Screenshot-20.png\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-how-to-step-text\">If you want to measure CPU performance specifically, then we recommend Geekbench 6. This determines both the CPU\u2019s single-core and multi-core performance. The former is important for overall performance and gaming, while multi-core performance is more important for multitasking and more creative workloads such as video editing and 3D animation.<\/p>\n<p>Geekbench 6 is cross platform, and so works on both Windows and Mac. You can download it for free <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geekbench.com\/\">here<\/a>. Again, it will provide a numerical score, which you can compare to our own results in each of our computing reviews.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Geekbench 6 is designed to simulate generic workloads such as basic word processing and browsing the web. If you want to test your CPU on a more intensive workload, then we suggest trying out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maxon.net\/en\/downloads\/cinebench-2024-downloads\">Cinebench<\/a> instead, which is also free to download and use.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"schema-how-to-step\" id=\"how-to-step-1714489498650\">\n<div class=\"steps\">\n<h3 class=\"step-name\">Step  3.<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"schema-how-to-step-name\">Test GPU performance with 3DMark Time Spy<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><img class=\"lazy lazy-hidden\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/a3-lazy-load\/assets\/images\/lazy_placeholder.gif\" data-lazy-type=\"image\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/04\/Screenshot-21.png\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-how-to-step-text\">If you\u2019re keen to find out how your PC can handle graphics-intensive workloads, such as gaming and content creation, then we recommend using 3DMark Time Spy. This evaluates the performance of your GPU specifically.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>3DMark Time Spy is free to run using the free demo of 3DMark over on Steam. Simply download the software and run the benchmark to get a numeric score, which you\u2019ll be able to compare to the results in our reviews. If you don\u2019t own a dedicated GPU\/graphics card, then it\u2019s likely you\u2019ll get a relatively low score here, but that shouldn\u2019t be an issue unless you do like to game on PC, or consider yourself a professional digital creator.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.blender.org\/download\/\">Blender<\/a> is a good alternative GPU benchmark if you want to evaluate performance specifically for content creation rather than gaming.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"schema-how-to-step\" id=\"how-to-step-1714489515878\">\n<div class=\"steps\">\n<h3 class=\"step-name\">Step  4.<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"schema-how-to-step-name\">Test SSD performance with CrystalDiskMark<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><img class=\"lazy lazy-hidden\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/a3-lazy-load\/assets\/images\/lazy_placeholder.gif\" data-lazy-type=\"image\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.trustedreviews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2024\/04\/Screenshot-22.png\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-how-to-step-text\">The SSD performance is often overlooked compared to other components, and yet its performance is incredibly important for several workloads, from booting up the PC to loading up applications and speeding through loading screens in a video game.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sourceforge.net\/projects\/crystaldiskmark\/\">CrystalDiskMark<\/a> is our go-to SSD benchmark, as it measures both sequential and random performance. If you just want a generic look at the SSD performance, then it\u2019s fine just to take the top two scores. The read performance determines how fast your PC is at loading up data (such as an app or game), while the write performance determines the speed of saving data onto your PC (such as installing software).\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-keystone-faqs\">\n<h2 class=\"faqs-title wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-troubleshooting\">Troubleshooting<\/h2>\n<div class=\"schema-faq wp-block-yoast-faq-block faqs-content\">\n<div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1714489539617\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">How can I benchmark my PC for free?<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">All of the benchmark software listed above are available for free. Many do have paid-for tiers that unlock extra benchmarks, but most people won\u2019t need that level of depth. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"schema-faq-section\" id=\"faq-question-1714490152551\"><strong class=\"schema-faq-question\">What is a good PC benchmark score?<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p class=\"schema-faq-answer\">This is subjective and differs between benchmarks. For example, PCMark 10 suggests at least a score of 4100 for basic tasks. Check each benchmark\u2019s website for their recommendations, but also compare with other systems using data found online, including our computing reviews. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"review-specs\">\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are multiple reasons why you might want to benchmark a PC. You may simply be curious about its performance, or maybe you want to find a bottleneck to see which part of your PC should be upgraded next.\u00a0 We use multiple benchmarks on a weekly basis to evaluate the performance of the latest PC [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-computing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":316,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250\/revisions\/316"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/piikla.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}