PC Speed Test - Test your computer’s speed

Your PC is probably infected with adware & spyware if: You have downloaded music online Your PC is running extremely slow You are pestered by those horrible popup ads Your homepage keeps changing

PC speed testing, or benchmarking, tests many aspects of a computer system. It's useful when making purchasing decisions to show what hardware needs upgrading. Many aspects of a PC need individual testing to determine where possible bottlenecks may occur.

Important tests include video card performance, processor speed, ram access speed and hard disk access speeds.

The importance of each of these varies depending on the system task being performed. For example, gamers may require high end video cards, while a banker would need very basic display functionality.

Test performance on Every Level

Some of these pereformance tests should be carried out at a very low level. While perfectly reasonable to test a video card using benchmarking software within Windows, testing RAM works best when nothing else puts demands computer resources. Running benchmarking software which boots from a disk before loading the operating system gives the best results.

Many people assume that a 200Mhz processor runs faster than a 166Mhz processor. Differences in processor design from one manufacturer of a 166Mhz processor run the same speed as a 200Mhz processor from another manufacturer. Running PC speed test programs give you the only way to know for sure.