CrystalDiskMark is a special utility that allows you to collect all the information about the speed of the hard drives installed in the computer , as well as conduct testing. The software is completely free, so any PC owner can use it. Let’s figure out how to use the latest CrystalDiskMark.
Existing versions
The developer constantly updates the software and issues bug fixes. Currently, the current version is 6.0.2. You can download it for 32 and 64-bit Windows operating systems. You can choose between the full-fledged option that you need to install on your computer and the portable version. The second option is perfect for those who constantly repair other people's computers and test them after. You can download the portable version to a USB flash drive and run it from any PC without downloading or installing. Now we turn to the instructions on how to use CrystalDiskMark.
Interface elements
After starting, you can immediately change the language if the default is English. To do this, find the menu item "Language" and select the option you want. Also on the top panel are buttons for launching the file, a window for setting functional and appearance, as well as a help section.
Below are the most important elements - speed counters, a menu for selecting a hard disk and buttons to start testing. Initially, all points will have only zeros. For values to appear here, you need to start using CrystalDiskMark. To start one of the tests, just click on the green button with the name. Before clicking them, familiarize yourself with the meaning of each.
Types of tests
Consider the types of tests presented in this program:
- Seq Q32T1 is multithreading testing. The file is recorded in 128 Kb segments.
- 4KiB Q8T8 - random recording in one stream.
- 4KiB Q32T1 - random recording in multithreading.
- Seq - 1 Mb sequential recording.
If you do not want to understand the tests presented, you can start everything right away by clicking on the All button. Before that, opposite this button, you need to select the drive and its partition.
Test execution
During testing, Stop buttons will appear at the place of names, with their help you can cancel the procedure. Gradually, the speed counters will fill up. First, the application calculates the read speed from the hard drive or SSD - the left column Read. Then, the calculation of the write speed in each of the tests begins - this is the Write column. In both cases, the information is indicated in Mb / s taking into account the tenth share.
After completion, all fields will be filled in, and you can familiarize yourself with the test results. Please note that the write speed will always be lower than the read speed. It is also worth noting that SSD performance will be more impressive than classic hard drives.
Additional options
We figured out how to use CrystalDiskMark as part of the main functionality and purpose. Now provide some information about additional features:
- You can copy to the clipboard or save the file with the results through the "File" tab.
- In the settings, you can select the interval between the tests (in seconds). Here you can also change the color of the icons in the application and change the scale of the window as a whole.
- Before testing, you can determine the number of runs (from 1 to 9), as well as the size of the recorded file during the run (from 50 MB to 32 GB).
- In addition, the user can choose between a whole hard drive, a separate partition or even a folder within which testing will be carried out.
Now you know how to use CrystalDiskMark 5 and above, since the "fresh" versions do not change the interface and functionality for a long time. This utility is an excellent and simple tool for testing almost any information storage devices.