All the data your MacBook uses to operate is stored in a single location: the drive. For many users, this specifically means a hard drive (HDD), which is a physical disk the spins at very high speeds to access chunks of data.
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If you’re using a newer Mac, you probably have a solid-state drive (SSD, or flash storage), which is completely electronic with no mechanical parts and thus does not spin.
To check whether your MacBook is with an HDD or SSD, click on the Apple icon on the top left of your screen, select About This Mac, and select Storage.
Hard drive performance is measured in two categories: read speeds and write speeds. The former is a measure of how fast you can open something that already exists, while the latter is how fast you can add something new to your computer’s drive.
Why Should I Test Hard Drive Speed?
Measuring your hard drive speed is one of the easiest and most effective ways to benchmark your MacBook. The data you get by testing will provide a standard to measure customizations such as added extra RAM or drive replacements against, and will also tell you if you need an upgrade in the immediate future.
Knowing your hard drive speed can also help you determine if you’ll be able to run certain programs (such as heavy creative software) effectively or if you don’t have the necessary read and write speeds.
How to Test Hard Drive Speed on a Mac?
To test your HDD, you’re going to need a third-party program, since this functionality isn’t built into macOS. Two of the most popular are BlackMagic and NovaBench, so we’ll show you how to use both.
For context, most modern hard drives have read speeds averaging 120 Mbps and write at 128 Mbps.
Blackmagic Disk Speed Test
First, you’ll need to download BlackMagic from the Mac App Store (it’s completely free!). Once it is installed, launch the app.
If you only have one hard drive (if you’re not sure, then you probably just have one), all you have to do is hit “START” since the program only has one window.
If you do have more than one drive (such as an external drive), you can navigate to FILE > SELECT TARGET DRIVE to choose which one you would like to test, and how strenuously. You can also CTRL + CLICK or right-click with a mouse to bring up a small menu.
Whichever you choose, your results will be shown on the two large gauges at the top of the window. Since Blackmagic was created for video editors, underneath the main measurements is a series of tables for those creative professionals who need to know what their computer is capable of. If you’re not in that business, however, you can ignore these and focus on your overall speeds instead.
NovaBench
First, download Novabench from the official website or the Mac App Store. The basic version is free, but you can also upgrade to Pro to access more tools if you like the application.
Once you’ve downloaded and installed, open the program and choose “start tests” from the splash screen. There may be a pop up advising you to close other applications, and then NovaBench will proceed with testing.
Once completed, the test results will be saved with the date and time in the application, and you can view them at any time from the NovaBench start screen.
What to Do If My Disk Speed is Slow?
If your hard drive doesn’t seem to be performing up to par, there are a few things you can do to keep your data safe and your MacBook running at its best.
1. Replace the drive
This is the most effective way to get your computer back in order, but it isn’t the best option for everyone. If your MacBook was made after 2013, you probably don’t have this option at all since models made after this point cannot be opened without voiding the warranty. Additionally, the MacBook Air has never been able to be modified.
If you want to replace your drive, you have two options: buy another HDD, or upgrade to an SSD. A new HDD will be cheaper and get you more space for your money but will eventually face the same problems as your current drive. An SSD will offer significantly faster speed and you can consider one of these SSD upgrades for MacBook we listed.
2. Supplement Your Drive
Not sure about replacing the entire drive or physically can’t do it? You can get an external HDD or SSD that plugs in with USB. It will work in tandem with your existing drive and can be a great fall back in case your drive fails or needs a little extra help.
If this sounds like the right solution for you, check out our list of the best external drives for MacBook Pro.
3. Backup Your Data
Since slow read/write speeds could be a sign of the impending death of your hard drive, it’s a good idea to make sure your computer is completely backed up. You’ll need at least as much storage space on the cloud platform (we recommend Google Drive or Dropbox) or an external drive of your choice as you’re currently taking up on your computer.
Then, you can copy your entire library of files, images, videos, and more to this backup location. Many cloud services also offer an automatic backup service, so you never have to worry about accidentally missing your recent files in the event of a hard drive failure. Additionally, getting excess files off your overworked hard drive could help increase its speed.
Final Words
Testing your MacBook hard drive is something everyone should be doing at least occasionally. It provides valuable data for future reference, helps you understand how your computer is functioning and is a good indicator of when it may be time to upgrade a few things.
How has testing your MacBook’s drive speed turned out? Leave us a comment below and tell us what you’ve done with the information you discovered!
Oct 13, 2020 • Filed to: Answer Hard Drive Problems • Proven solutions
Do you want to carry out a hard drive speed test for your Windows or Mac? You are probably wondering which hard drive speed tester is the best for your Mac or your Windows. Below is top selections software to test your hard drive speed. You can choose the best hard drive speed tester from the top 6 hard drive speed test software for Windows and the top 4 for Mac. If you meet problems of data lost due to hard drive, go looking at our solutions for Windows and Mac.
Part 1. Top 6 Hard Drive Speed Test Software for Windows
1. HD Tach
If you want to perform a hard drive speed test for your windows device, the HD Tach is here http://www.techspot.com/downloads/6714-hdtach.html
The main features of this hard drive tester include:
It reads from all areas in the hard drive
Provides an average speed report
It logs read speeds to a text file for loading in a spreadsheet
Performs sequential as well as random reads
It also tests the burst speed of the drive
How to use HD Tach to test hard drive speed?
Download the application and install it into your device
Open the installation folder and then right-click on HD Tach
On the Compatibility tab, select Windows XP ( Service Pack 3) and then click Run this program as administrator
Run the application and click run test
When the test is complete, you will see the screen appearing in this manner
2. ATTO Disk Benchmark
Features of ATTO Disk hard speed tester includes:
It can transfer sizes up to 64 MB and lengths up to 32 GB
Supports overlapped I/O
Its time mode provides room for continuous testing
It supports several queue depths
You can get this app from http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Benchmarks/ATTO-Disk-Benchmark.shtml
How to use ATTO Disk Benchmark to test hard drive speed on Windows?
Download the hard drive speed tester install it
Run the Benchmark.exe
Select the drive and hit Start
Wait for the test to complete then check the results
3. Anvil's Storage Utilities
Features of Anvil's hard drive speed test includes
Performs complete read/write tests using random and sequential operations
Provides a full set of results which include response time
It comes with three IOPS tests
How to use Anvil's Storage Utilities to test hard drive speed?
Download this hard drive speed tester and install it in your device. Simply go to http://as-ssd-benchmark.en.softonic.com/
Unpack the app. It will detect and display the information related to the computer in its interface
Check the settings to ensure that everything is configured correctly.
Click start for the test to start.
4. roadkill Speed test
Features of RoadKil hard drive speed test includes:
Provides details on how fast your drive can transfer data
Allows you to compare different drive speeds
How to use the software to test your hard drive speed?
The usage of this app is very straight forward.
Download and install the app. To download, click http://www.roadkil.net/program.php?ProgramID=13
Run the program and select the disk to be tested
Hit begin the test and wait for it to complete.
5. Parkdale
Features of Parkdale speed test for Windows hard drive includes:
Measures speeds of hard disks, network servers, and Cd Rom devices
Transfers are measured in kb/s or MB/s
Available for both Mac and Windows
Has 3 different modes; FileAccess, QuickAccess, and BlockAccess
To use this Speed tester to test hard drive speed, follow these simple steps:
Download the app
Run the up, select the drive, and choose one of the three modes that you would like to use to speed test the hard drive.
Click start and let the process run
6. CrystalDiskMark
This is a freeware utility that is used to check hard disk performance.
Some of its features to test hard drive speed are:
Runs both sequential and random read/write tests
It can test any drive. This means you can perform an external hard drive speed test.
To download this app, go to http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalDiskMark/index-e.html
Steps on how to use CrystalDiskMark to perform hard drive speed test
Download CrystalDiskMark and then install it
Run the program
Select the following setting in this step
Number of runs 1
Size to test 50 MB
The disk you would like to check
Click ALL to start the test.
Part 2. Video Tutorial on Hard Disk Speed Test
Part 2: Top 4 hard drive speed test software for Mac
1. BlackMagic Disk Speed Test
This is one of the best apps that you can use to perform a hard drive speed test on Mac.
The features of the hard drive speed tester are:
It has only one window
Requires a few simple settings
Compatible with OS X 10.10 Yosemite
It shows write/read speeds in MB/second
Interested in this app? Well, go to http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/38019/blackmagic-disk-speed-test to download the app for your Mac.
How to use BlackMagic Disk Speed Test to speed test hard drive on Mac?
It is just one simple step. Click the Start button and the app will write test your drive.
To access files use the File and Stress menu to choose the right hard drive to be tested.
2. NovaBench
This is another popular speed test app for Mac that you can use for hard drive speed test on your mac.
Features
Comes with 3D graphic speed tests
Tests the floating-point arithmetic speed of CPU
Tests write speed of the selected or primary hard drive
To download this app, go to https://novabench.com/download.php
Here are the steps about how to do a hard drive speed test by using NovaBench
Download NovaBench app into your Mac
Startup the Program
Close all other applications before you run the speed test.
Run the Speed test process. Go to Tests>> Run All Tests
When it is completed, you will receive something like this:
3. Parkdale
The features of this hard disk speed tester include:
Transfers are measured in kb/s or MB/s
Measures speeds of hard disks, network servers, and Cd Rom devices
Has 3 different modes; FileAccess, QuickAccess, and BlockAccess
It is available for both Mac and Windows
To use this Speed tester, follow these simple steps:
Download the app from http://run.to/sz
Run the up, select the drive, and choose one of the three modes that you would like to use to speed test the hard drive.
Click start and let the process run
4. Geekbench
This is a hard disk speed test tool which has the following features;
Benchmark: Measures Speed and performance
It measures how your computer manages tasks and applications.
It determines the stability of the computer system.
It supports Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android.
Hard drive speed test using Geekbench
Just follow these simple steps to perform a hard drive read-write speed test using Geekbench. It can also do an external hard drive speed test.
Download Geekbench into your device. You can get it from http://www.primatelabs.com/geekbench/
Switch all the applications on your computer to get maximum results.
Launch the Geekbench application
Click on Run benchmarks. If you are using a free trial version then you will be limited to 32-bit mode. If you purchase it then you can use 64-bit mode.
Blackmagic Disk Speed Mac
Once the progress is complete you will see your results as in the figure below.
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