Hard drive operation is important to the system. The device helps the device to function, saves user data and is a kind of computer flash drive. But the hard drive can be very different, so many people want to learn how to check the speed of the hard drive.
Device operation
What is a hard drive for, and how does its speed affect performance? A storage device stores data and gives free access to them. The mechanism is built on magnetic recording.
Outwardly, it will be difficult to understand how to find out the speed of a hard disk. Magnetic disks and a reading head are placed under the plastic case. In working condition, it does not touch the plates. The minimum distance between the parts provides a process of reading and writing information due to the flow of air.
Now the hard drive is getting more and more criticism from users. Especially after the appearance of a solid state drive. Thanks to the SSD, users learned that the system can have a faster disk that can easily cope with the most demanding tasks.
But for the time being, SSDs are very expensive, so most use only a combined version or even prefer to do without an SSD.
Hard disk specifications
Before you understand how to check the speed of a hard disk, you need to understand what other hard drive parameters are that would affect the performance of the device.
The railway interface is now universal. SATA III is the most common option for the interaction of two devices, in our case, the hard drive and the PC. Thanks to the interface, you can connect the HDD to the computer, and they will interact correctly. In addition to SATA, eSATA, SAS, FireWire, etc. are also available.
When choosing a hard drive, the user pays attention to capacity. For many, this is the most important parameter, because you need to calculate how much information can be saved. Now the most optimal is a 500 GB - 1 TB HDD. This is enough to install games, resource-intensive programs and download movies.
The following setting affects performance. Random access time indicates the average time taken to position the head for reading and writing.
This parameter can have indicators from 2.5 to 16 ms. The smaller it is, the faster the device will work. For comparison: all SSDs have a random access time of less than 1 ms. Hence the lightning-fast loading of the system and resource-intensive programs that work with SSDs.
The following option also affects the overall speed of the hard drive. How to check the number of spindle rotations? Here you can use the information on the Internet or install the appropriate utility.
This indicator gives information about the spindle speed. The characteristic affects access time and average data rate. In this case, it is better to choose a hard drive that would have an indicator of 7200 rpm. Although a device with speeds of 5400 and 5900 may be suitable for home PCs. But you need to be prepared for the fact that system loading and resource-intensive programs will load slowly.
For servers and workstations, hard drives with 10,000 and 15,000 rpm are chosen.
The data transfer speed can also be found during the test hard drive. This indicator directly affects the performance of the hard drive. The higher the data transfer rate, the faster you can transfer files to the hard disk.
Check
How to check the speed of the hard drive? Of course, the first thing that comes to mind in this case is special utilities. Thanks to the program, you can find out any parameters of the hard drive, as well as scan the device for errors.
But not only software can help you learn how to check the speed of your hard drive. Thanks to the computer software components, it is also possible to analyze the parameters of the device.
Software components
To check the read and write speeds of the hard drive, you must use a special command. But for this you need to run the "Command Line". In the "Start" you need to select the "Utilities" section, and then Windows. In the new window you can find the "Command Line". Next, right-click (RMB) you need to start the service as administrator.
You can also use the key combination Win + R, where “Win” is the operating system icon on the keyboard. In the line "Run" you must enter the command "cmd".
To test the hard drive, you must enter the command "winsat disk", without using quotation marks. The system will collect all data about the device and display it in a dialog box. What do you need to pay attention to?
Disk Random 16.0 Read, Disk Sequential 64.0 Read, and Disk Sequential 64.0 Write. The device performance index, which can also be found in the system properties, will be immediately indicated.
To get additional data about the railway, you must enter the necessary commands without leaving the "Command Line". For example, to determine the read speed, enter “-read”, write “-write” (without quotes).
Programs
But the best thing is to test the hard drive with the help of auxiliary programs. For example, CrystalDiskMark is a simple and intuitive software that will help to collect data about the hard drive and solid state drive. It can be installed on a computer with an operating system version of Windows XP or higher. From the official site you can download the utility for free and with a Russian interface.
You can also use AS SSD Benchmark. This utility is similar to the previous one, it has a similar interface. She quickly collects data about the hard drive or SSD and organizes it into a simple table. Despite the English interface, you can still sort out the report and find the necessary data.
Configuring CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD Benchmark
Before starting a program scan, you must configure it. The first step is to choose the number of cycles. Many recommend leaving the default value. Next, you need to set the file size that will contain the test results. Enough will be 1 GB.
Below you need to specify the drive that you want to analyze. It all depends on which section the user is interested in. Finally, you need to click the "All" button and start testing.
Overclocking
Experienced users know that almost any component of the system can be improved. Therefore, it is not surprising that many want to know how to increase the speed of a hard disk.
Of course, you can delve into this issue, understand the technology of overclocking the hard drive, but there is a big risk that an inexperienced user can ruin the device, which will lead to system crashes. Therefore, many suggest regularly performing some operations that will help, albeit slightly, but still accelerate the work of railway.
It is advisable to regularly check the disk. To do this, go to "My Computer", select one of the sections and click on it with RMB. Then select “Properties” and go to the “Service” tab. You can immediately defragment the disk.