In this article, I will talk about my three favorite computer benchmark programs and how to use them. I will not go into detail on how to improve the scores, as that is a completely different topic.
When I ran the benchmark on my computer, it scored 43 percent, which was quite low. After some tweaks in the BIOS related to XMP, overclocking, and other optimizations, I got to 76 percent! So, hardware and operating system setup can make a big difference during the test. The results shown below are from a non-gaming PC.
NovaBench
Novabench – a small program for Windows that allows you to test your computer’s performance in just a few minutes. I like that it’s very easy to use and gives clear results. There’s also a paid version for $19 that allows you to monitor temperatures and other parameters, but you probably won’t need that if you’re a casual computer tinkerer.
Launch the program and click "Start Tests". It will perform six tests, which can take up to several minutes depending on the power of your system.
The results window will show you the Novabench score, which isn't very meaningful on its own unless you benchmark several times before and after upgrading, overclocking, and otherwise speeding up your hardware. If you click the "View performance charts and comparisons" button at the bottom of the window, a web page will load that will give you the CPU and other components' performance index.
You can also click the "Score & Stats" button at the top of the page, which will show all the scores in descending order. This is a good way to see how far you are from the fastest and best computer that Novabench has tested.
UserBenchmark
Another really good program is this UserBenchmark. Download it from the official website and run the EXE file to start the performance test. I like that UserBenchmark doesn't even require any installation.
To start the tests, simply click "Run". They will take a few minutes, and then the results will be displayed in the browser window.
You'll see a performance score for gaming, desktop, and workstation. If you scroll down, you'll get an overall score and a breakdown of components, which can give you some hints about what you need to tweak or replace to get a speed boost.
It is worth noting that the overall percentage is compared to other computers with the same components. The above computer is not ranked 72nd among all those tested by other users using this utility. It is ranked 72nd among all personal computers with the same assembly.
FutureMark 3D Mark
Another tool you should use if you really want to do a proper benchmark done for your gaming computer is FutureMark 3D MarkThe basic version is free and includes four free performance tests.
I suggest running it only on a real gaming computer, with good specs, because you'll have to download 3 gigabytes! Basically, these are just big files to play high-resolution graphics for testing, but they eat up a lot of space. Of course, you can run the test and then uninstall the program to get the free space back. To test a laptop, use other programs from the article.
Once you install and launch 3DMark, you will see that it loads the Time Spy test first. Click Run to begin the test. This will take the longest time as it is the most complex.
Once completed, you will receive statistics that mean little until you compare them with other results. Click the "Compare Result Online" button to see the comparison results.
As you can see, my old PC is better than the 4% of everyone else! My gaming PC was better than the 91%, which is not bad at all.