Disk Speed Testing

How to Test Hard Drive Performance: Windows, macOS & Linux

Testing your hard drive speed is a simple yet powerful way to monitor and optimize system performance. By measuring read and write speeds, you gain insights into how efficiently your storage device is working—directly impacting boot times, app responsiveness, and overall computer efficiency.

One major benefit is establishing a performance baseline. Speed tests help track whether your drive slows down after software updates, hardware changes, or years of usage. This makes it easier to spot problems like degradation, fragmentation, or hidden errors before they become critical.

Hard drive benchmarking also guides upgrade decisions. Traditional HDDs usually perform below 160 MB/s, while SATA SSDs reach around 550 MB/s and NVMe SSDs can hit speeds above 5,000 MB/s. By comparing results, you’ll know when it’s time to replace older drives and move to faster technology for smoother day-to-day performance.

Our Services
Electronics Recycling
IT Asset Disposition
Data Center Decommissioning

Secure Hard Drive Shredding & Data Destruction Services

Get rid of your obsolete hard drives the easy way! We offer free, convenient hard drives pickup and secure data destruction for businesses nationwide.
Get a Quote
Schedule a Pickup
Items We Recycle

How to Test Your Hard Drive Speed on Windows 10 and 11

To check hard drive speed on Windows 10 and 11, follow these 4 steps:

1. Open Task Manager

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc or right-click the taskbar to open Task Manager. This tool provides real-time monitoring of CPU, memory, disk, and network activity.

2. Navigate to the Performance Tab

Click on the Performance tab to view resource activity. This section organizes system metrics and makes it easy to track storage performance separately.

3. Select the Disk Option

Choose Disk from the sidebar. Here you’ll see specific metrics such as read and write speed, active time, and utilization rates.

4. View Disk Activity

Check the graphs and numbers to monitor transfer rates and response times. If speeds are consistently low, it may indicate an aging drive or other system bottlenecks.

How to Test Your Hard Drive Speed on Mac OS

Follow these steps to test disk performance on Mac OS:

  1. Open Terminal
     Launch Terminal via Applications > Utilities or Spotlight search.

     

  2. Test Write Speed
     Run:
    time dd if=/dev/zero bs=1024k of=~/testfile count=1024
    This writes ~1 GB of data to your drive. The time result shows your write speed.

  3. Test Read Speed

Run:
time dd if=~/testfile bs=1024k of=/dev/null
This measures how quickly your Mac can read the file.

4. Delete the Test File
 Remove the temporary file (testfile) afterward to free up space.

How to Test Your Hard Drive Speed on Linux

Here’s how to run a quick speed test on Linux:

  1. Open Terminal
    Press Ctrl + Alt + T or open it from the applications menu.

  2. Test Write Speed
    Run:
    time dd if=/dev/zero of=~/testfile bs=1G count=1 oflag=direct
    This writes a 1 GB test file while bypassing cache for accurate results.

  3. Test Read Speed
    Run:
    time dd if=~/testfile of=/dev/null bs=1G iflag=direct
    This checks raw read performance by reading the same file.

  4. Delete the Test File

    Remove testfile to recover disk space.

What is the difference between HDD read and write speed?

Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) typically achieve between 80 MB/s and 160 MB/s. Read speed measures how fast the drive retrieves existing data, while write speed shows how quickly it can save new data. Write speeds are sometimes slightly slower due to extra processes needed to record information. Hard disk drive speed depends on several factors.

  • Rotational speed (RPM): 5,400 RPM drives are slower (~80–120 MB/s), while 7,200 RPM models can reach ~120–160 MB/s.
  • Drive condition: Older drives often slow down due to mechanical wear.
  • Fragmentation: Data scattered across the platters reduces efficiency.

In contrast, SSDs provide far higher performance. SATA SSDs average ~500 MB/s, and NVMe SSDs can exceed 7,000 MB/s. With no moving parts, SSDs avoid delays caused by RPM or fragmentation, delivering faster and more consistent speeds.

Is an SSD drive faster than a HDD?

Yes, SSDs are significantly faster. For example

  • HDD: up to ~160 MB/s.
  • SATA SSD: ~500 MB/s.
  • NVMe SSD: 3,000–7,000 MB/s.

This speed difference is clear in everyday use. An operating system boots in 10–20 seconds on an SSD compared to nearly a minute on an HDD. Large file transfers that take minutes on HDDs finish in seconds with SSDs.

What are the main methods of testing speed on other storage devices?

  • USB Flash Drives – Use benchmarking tools like CrystalDiskMark (Windows), KDiskMark (Linux), or Blackmagic Disk Speed Test (Mac). Results depend on USB port type (USB 2.0 vs USB 3.0 vs USB-C), with speeds ranging from <40 MB/s to 400 MB/s+.

  • SD & MicroSD Cards – Test with tools like F3 (Linux), CrystalDiskMark (Windows), or AJA System Test (Mac). Performance depends on card class, with Class 10 reaching 10–30 MB/s and UHS-II cards exceeding 300 MB/s.

  • CDs & DVDs – Check with Nero DiscSpeed (Windows) or cdparanoia (Linux). Read speeds range from ~1 MB/s for CDs to ~22 MB/s for DVDs, but results are affected by disc quality.

  • SSDs – Test with CrystalDiskMark (Windows), fio or hdparm (Linux), or Blackmagic Disk Speed Test (Mac). SATA SSDs usually measure 500–600 MB/s, while NVMe SSDs range between 3,000 MB/s and 7,000 MB/s+.