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CrystalDiskMark what is this program and is it needed? CrystalDiskMark - a short guide to the program

In the last article on the site, we looked at a utility that informs about all the data on a computer’s hard drive. In this article we will get acquainted with a related utility (the programs have the same developer) - CrystalDiskMark. It is designed to measure the performance of hard drives.

1. About CrystalDiskMark

Program for Windows CrystalDiskMark is able to measure the average speed of reading and writing data from conventional hard drives with magnetic platters, both external and connected via USB, SSD drives and flash drives. Unlike many analogue programs, CrystalDiskMark allows you to determine the read and write speeds of individual disk partitions.

CrystalDiskMark is a free, multilingual program that has no functionality other than testing the performance of hard drives.

You can download CrystalDiskMark on the developer’s website. The program is presented in a regular version, which requires installation, and a portable version. CrystalDiskMark Shizuku Editions are versions with a program background in the style of Japanese anime.

If CrystalDiskMark is selected in the normal version, which requires installation, you must carefully monitor the installation process so as not to install unnecessary software into the system along the way.

2. Testing hard drives

After launching the program, we will see a small window in the form of a table of values. The last cell of the row at the top allows you to select a specific disk partition or connected device (flash drive, USB-HDD, USB-SSD).

The cells to the left are cycles of reading and writing a reference file with a certain size, which the program will temporarily place on the disk partition or device being tested. The number of cycles of 5 with a file size of 1000 MB, set in the program by default, can be left for regular HDD hard drives.

To avoid unnecessary wear and tear on the SSD drive, when testing it, it is recommended to reduce the number of cycles to 3 with a file size of 100 MB.

Select the disk partition to be tested or a connected USB device and start the process of measuring the speed of reading and writing data with the “ All».

« All" - as we can see from the name, this is the launch of all the data reading and writing tests presented below. They can also be launched individually with the corresponding button:

  • « Seq» - testing of sequential data reading and writing starts;
  • « 512K» - testing of random reading and writing of blocks, the size of which is 512 KB, starts;
  • « 4K» - testing of random reading and writing of blocks is started, the size of which is 4 KB with a queue depth of 1;
  • « 4K QD32"- starts testing random reading and writing of blocks, the size of which is 4 KB with a queue depth of 32.

Of all these individual tests, in the grand scheme of things, the only thing that matters is “ Seq" It is the sequential measurement of reading and writing data that is considered an indicative parameter, since it is precisely its values ​​that manufacturers indicate in the characteristics of storage media. And if the purpose of measuring the performance of a new hard drive or flash drive is to check whether the manufacturer or seller lied, promising better speed indicators, you can only run testing " Seq».

After a short test in the CrystalDiskMark table we will see the average speed of the hard drive - in the cells of the column “ Read"data reading speed, and in the cells of the column " Write", respectively, the speed of their recording.

3. Other program functionality

CrystalDiskMark allows you to copy test results into text format. The testing data saved in a text file can later be used for analysis and comparison.

The CrystalDiskMark program provides the ability to increase the scale of its window, as well as change the colors of the interface.

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Just recently I praised you ssd drives in which the speed of reading / writing information is one of the main advantages. I even started a new section on the site on the topic of these drives. So, today I’ll tell you how to find out disk speed.

As always, I took a responsible approach to searching for information before writing this article and tried several programs for measuring disk speed, choosing the most convenient and best, in my opinion, program - CrystalDiskMark.

I “tested” this program on all my home computers with different types and generations of drives - you will find out the results by reading the article.

I will not repeat that the overall performance of your computer depends on the disk speed, but I will simply tell you how to easily and simply measure disk speed, and any type of disk (hard or solid-state).

U same manufacturer as CrystalDiskInfo ( I already told you about her), so there is no reason to doubt the quality of the program.

This is, of course, not the only free computer program that can measure disk speed. There are, for example, HD Speed ​​or HD Tune, but CrystalDiskMark is the most understandable and even... the most beautiful, because it supports replacing skins!

Download CrystalDiskMark



When installing the CrystalDiskMark program, be careful and careful - be sure to uncheck this box...

This is the only nuance when installing the program - do not be offended by the authors, they are good.

Installed? Let's launch...

Don't be alarmed - everything is very simple here. First we need this line...

Let me decipher it for you... “5” is the number of cycles (read / write) of a reference file, the size of which is 1000 MB, and the program will temporarily “throw” it onto a disk partition called “C”, which is 53% occupied (15 GB of 29 GB possible).

You can leave everything as it is, but for SSD drives I still recommend reducing the number of cycles to 3, and setting the file size to 100 MB, so as not to reduce drive service life, because it is limited in the number of cycles of writing and reading information.

Specify the disk whose speed you want to measure (this is if you have several of them).

Click the “All” button to start the full testing process.

"Seq" - Runs a sequential read/write test. It is this test that is considered indicative and it is this speed that manufacturers indicate in the characteristics of their disks.

“512K” - run a random read/write test for blocks of 512 KB in size.

“4K” - run a random read/write test of 4 KB blocks (with queue depth = 1).

“4K QD32” - run a random read/write test of 4 KB blocks (with queue depth = 32).

Personally, I tested the disk speed only with a sequential test. Here's what I got…

This is the result of measuring the speed of an SSD drive on my old laptop with a SATA2 bus. The first number is the speed of reading information from the disk, and the second is the speed of writing to the disk.

The result is so-so - this drive can work more than twice as fast! I’ll install it on a new motherboard in my wife’s computer (with a fast, modern bus) right here in the comments and I’ll tell you about the results of the new measurement.

And this is the speed of the disk (hard and 1 TB in size) on my children’s powerful gaming computer. It’s already more fun, but you might also want to think about buying an SSD drive, because this machine has a SATA3 bus!

And here it is - the slowest, oldest hard drive (living out its last days as a system drive), measuring only 160 GB, installed on the oldest computer in our family...

JAPANESE GOD!!!

Here they are, in all their glory - the technology and speed of the last century!!!

Now attention! Especially those comrades who buy SSD drives and connect them as external ones via USB. The fact is that I remembered my external hard drive, which I removed from the laptop, replaced it with an SSD and connected it like a regular flash drive via a USB 2.0 port.

This is what came out of it...

Are you also throwing away money by buying an SSD drive and connecting it via USB? Then we are coming to you... with pills!

Equipment also suffers from illnesses, wear and tear during use, and force majeure circumstances in the form of a cup of tea thrown over the keyboard, and then a person comes to the rescue. Of course, it is impossible to foresee everything, but the owner is still able to optimize the software and protect the computer from viruses. How do I use CrystalDiskInfo, a program used to protect my computer? We will talk about this in the article.

general information

CrystalDiskInfo for Windows, distributed free of charge, is one of the most well-known tools for monitoring the health of hard drives. The software is used by both beginners and experienced professionals. This is because CrystalDiskInfo is not only convenient, but also a visual tool with many options. An inexperienced user can use it to monitor the status of the hard drive, and the programmer will find the drive's ratings based on many parameters.

The software determines the technical condition of the computer’s hard drives, displays their temperature on the screen, and specifies the S.M.A.R.T. level. All data is presented in a clear and visual form, the criteria that determine the general condition of the disk (good - green, satisfactory - yellow, bad - red, unknown - gray) are highlighted in colors. But how to use CrystalDiskInfo?

Program functions

The CrystalDiskInfo program notes signs that may affect equipment failure, which makes it possible to take the necessary measures in advance. CrystalDiskInfo regularly monitors and checks various information media, including monitoring hard drives and solid-state drives. This utility views a large number of disk indicators using S.M.A.R.T. technology, analyzes them and displays them on the screen in an understandable form.

Where and how to download?

How to use CrystalDiskInfo? Where to download and how to install the software on your computer? The program can be freely downloaded from the official website of the company that developed the hard drive health monitoring tool, completely free of charge. The developers also explain in detail and in simple language how to use CrystalDiskInfo.

You can download the software in several languages, including a Russian version. On the download page you can choose one of several versions of the program: there is a regular version and Shizuku Edition. Shizuku Edition offers several visual themes to choose from.

You can also download the source code of the tool to your computer, but this is only suitable for advanced users who are interested in the program from a technical or professional point of view. Both the standard program and Shizuku Edition are downloaded as an archive.

Program installation

How to use CrystalDiskInfo? The portable version can be used immediately after the download is complete: you just need to unpack the zip archive materials into any folder and open the necessary file (DiskInfo32.exe for a 32-bit operating system or DiskInfo64.exe for a 64-bit operating system, respectively). If you used an exe installer, carry out the installation according to the simple instructions of the program, which are listed in the ReadMe.

S.M.A.R.T. technique

The status check is carried out using a special technology called Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology, which in Russian means “technology of self-monitoring, analysis and reporting”. Therefore, as the name already suggests, the role of the S.M.A.R.T. - researching the condition of the disk and transmitting information about those malfunctions that the user may encounter in the near future.

The system checks a large number of different signs and, combining the indicators, makes an overall assessment of the condition of the hard drive. The computer owner does not necessarily need to understand all the variables, since S.M.A.R.T. independently analyzes the data and transmits it to the screen in an understandable form.

Software interface

After installing and launching the program, the workspace will open. The tool's interface is intuitive. The program's working window can be divided into five areas:

  1. Disc selection area. This location displays all the media that the software has detected on the device. Information is displayed about their general position and some characteristics.
  2. Leading disk characteristics. Here you can see some parameters of the disk: firmware version, serial number, interface version, material transfer level, as well as rotation speed (only for HDD), number of starts and total operating time.
  3. A condensed summary of disk health. In this area, the position will be characterized by one of the colors - from blue to gray. In addition, in this part of the program window you can see the temperature of the disk. The operating temperature will also appear on a blue background, and the dangerous temperature on a red background. The status is constantly analyzed by CrystalDiskInfo. The alarm is declared immediately. High temperatures will most likely lead to severe damage to the hard drive, so in such cases it is necessary to understand and eliminate the cause of overheating as quickly as possible. Experienced programmers can independently disassemble the equipment and thoroughly clean the ventilation structures from dust, but for a beginner it is better to contact a specialized center.
  4. The most extensive part of the program window is S.M.A.R.T materials. Here is information about the parameters that are checked using this technology.
  5. S.M.A.R.T. parameter level indicators They are characterized by the same colors as the general position or temperature. By moving the mouse cursor, you will be able to see a tooltip with detailed information about the reasons for the loss of performance.

Checking the condition of the equipment

If the CrystalDiskInfo program is already running, how to use it? Anxiety increases among insufficiently experienced users. However, for professionals, the program is a wide field of study.

For the greatest effectiveness of using CrystalDiskInfo, you need to constantly support remapped sectors on your hard drive with CrystalDiskInfo treatment. This is very simple to implement: you need to activate “Service - Autorun”, and the program will determine the automatic loading of the element when you turn on the operating system, and “Service - Launch Agent” will put program icons, which will make it possible to view the disk temperature in real time at any time.

You can also set up immediate alerts about dangerous disk conditions. The tool works with audio alerts, email messages, and can also analyze the event log.

Remapped sectors

Finally, CrystalDiskInfo is installed and running. “Reassigned sectors” - this is what appeared on the monitor screen. What it is? Remapped are bad sectors that were detected on the disk surface. Information from such areas is copied to the backup area. They have not yet become damaged, but a large number of them slow down the functioning of the hard drive. The unexpected appearance of a significant number of such sectors may indicate problems with the security of the drive.

Damage indicates that the hard drive is gradually losing its resource - this is not yet critical, but it is still better to copy the information to an external drive. The hard drive will obviously work for a limited period of time - maybe a month, or maybe even a year. In any case, you need to transfer the data to an external storage device.

Unstable sectors

We continue to learn how to use CrystalDiskInfo. Are unstable sectors found in significant numbers? HDD hard drives are safe and durable mechanisms, but they also break. Over time they fail. Damaged areas appear on the disk. They are usually detected when examining the disk with programs like CrystalDiskInfo.

Most often they arise precisely because of failures or unexpected shutdown of the computer. If the controller encounters some difficulties when processing a sector, it marks it as unstable. If errors are repeated, the controller performs a sector remap. The occurrence of such problems is not yet a reason for repair, but the disk still needs to be monitored. Although there were cases when information on disks was read without difficulty with 1000 or more unstable sectors.

However, if the problems continue to worsen, you need to make a backup copy of the received files. If CrystalDiskInfo indicates the presence of not just unstable sectors, but serious damage, then, of course, you need to take active action.

As a result, it can be noted that this utility is very necessary for almost all computer owners, since the performance of the device as a whole depends on the “health” of the hard drive. And this is not yet talking about the safety of information.

Testing methodology

Testing is carried out in the Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise x64 Build 10586 operating system, which correctly recognizes and services modern solid-state drives. This means that during the testing process, as in normal everyday use of the SSD, the TRIM command is supported and actively used. Performance measurements are performed with drives in a “used” state, which is achieved by pre-filling them with data. Before each test, the drives are cleaned and maintained using the TRIM command. There is a 15-minute pause between individual tests, allotted for the correct development of garbage collection technology. All tests use randomized, incompressible data unless otherwise noted.

Applications and tests used:

  • Iometer 1.1.0
    • Measuring the speed of sequential reading and writing data in blocks of 256 KB (the most typical block size for sequential operations in desktop tasks). The speeds are estimated within a minute, after which the average is calculated.
    • Measuring the speed of random reading and writing in 4 KB blocks (this block size is used in the vast majority of real-life operations). The test is carried out twice - without a request queue and with a request queue with a depth of 4 commands (typical for desktop applications that actively work with a branched file system). Data blocks are aligned relative to the flash memory pages of the drives. The speed assessment is performed for three minutes, after which the average is calculated.
    • Establishing the dependence of random read and write speeds when operating a drive with 4 KB blocks on the depth of the request queue (ranging from one to 32 commands). Data blocks are aligned relative to the flash memory pages of the drives. The speed assessment is performed for three minutes, after which the average is calculated.
    • Establishing the dependence of random read and write speeds when the drive operates with blocks of different sizes. Blocks ranging in size from 512 bytes to 256 KB are used. The request queue depth during the test is 4 commands. Data blocks are aligned relative to the flash memory pages of the drives. The speed assessment is performed for three minutes, after which the average is calculated.
    • Measuring performance under mixed multi-threaded workloads and determining its dependence on the ratio between read and write operations. The test is performed twice: for sequential read and write operations in 128 KB blocks, performed in two independent threads, and for random operations with 4 KB blocks, performed in four threads. In both cases, the ratio between read and write operations varies in 20 percent increments. The speed assessment is performed for three minutes, after which the average is calculated.
    • Study of SSD performance degradation when processing a continuous stream of random write operations. Blocks of 4 KB in size and a queue depth of 32 commands are used. Data blocks are aligned relative to the flash memory pages of the drives. The test duration is two hours, instantaneous speed measurements are carried out every second. At the end of the test, the ability of the drive to restore its performance to its original values ​​is additionally checked due to the operation of garbage collection technology and after running the TRIM command.
  • CrystalDiskMark 5.0.2
    • A synthetic test that provides typical performance indicators for solid-state drives, measured on a 1-gigabyte disk area “on top” of the file system. Of the entire set of parameters that can be assessed using this utility, we pay attention to the speed of sequential read and write, as well as the performance of random read and write of 4 KB blocks without a request queue and with a queue depth of 32 commands.
  • PCMark 8 2.0
    • A test based on emulating real disk load, which is typical for various popular applications. On the drive being tested, a single partition is created in the NTFS file system for the entire available volume, and the Secondary Storage test is run in PCMark 8. The test results take into account both the final performance and the execution speed of individual test traces generated by various applications.

File copy tests

This test measures the speed of copying directories with different types of files, as well as the speed of archiving and unzipping files inside the drive. For copying, a standard Windows tool is used - the Robocopy utility; for archiving and unzipping, the 7-zip archiver version 9.22 beta is used. The tests involve three sets of files: ISO - a set that includes several disk images with program distributions; Program - a set that is a pre-installed software package; Work - a set of work files, including office documents, photographs and illustrations, pdf files and multimedia content. Each set has a total file size of 8 GB.

We did not expect any performance records from another drive based on TLC memory. Three-bit memory is slower than the usual MLC NAND, and therefore SSDs using it cannot compete for places in the upper or middle market segment. However, several circumstances spoke in favor of the fact that the Crucial BX200 could be a very remarkable new product in the lower price range. And it was especially encouraging that this drive replaced the very successful Crucial BX100 model, and its official specifications indicate very competitive characteristics. Therefore, when preparing to get acquainted with the BX200, we expected to see another attractive and inexpensive SSD model for which the Crucial brand is famous. This seemed more than realistic also because we had encountered TLC drives capable of delivering good speed more than once. Such are, for example, SanDisk Ultra II or Samsung 840 EVO. In other words, there was no reason to expect any trick from Crucial.

But in reality everything turned out differently and the Crucial BX200 turned out to be a real disaster. Not only did it show amazingly low random and sequential write speeds, but it also lagged behind all other consumer drives in random read tests. We saw more or less acceptable results only with sequential reading and with a mixed load, but this is clearly not enough for the Crucial BX200 to be seriously recommended for at least some PC configurations.

The main problem of the BX200 lies in the new Silicon Motion SM2256 controller, which, due to its low power, works extremely inefficiently with the TLC NAND array. As a result, all accesses outside the SLC cache are processed very slowly. Moreover, clearing the cache once filled takes a significant amount of time, which further reduces the speed of all subsequent operations.

All this means that Crucial's new budget SSD model is so weak that even low prices are unlikely to save it. Crucial has brought us brilliant products time after time over the past few years, but the BX200 is a real flop. And there is no doubt that the vast majority of other cheap SSDs on a controller other than the SM2256, even if stuffed with TLC NAND, will be able to offer noticeably higher performance.

In conclusion, it should be said that such an unsuccessful debut of the Crucial BX200 is driving Micron into an extremely difficult situation. The popular and sought-after model BX100 is being discontinued in order to give way to a new product that is more profitable for the manufacturer. However, it is clear that sales of the BX200 will be low in any case. Micron, meanwhile, has already launched large-scale production of 16nm TLC NAND, which now risks remaining unclaimed. Therefore, in the near future we will either witness a serious drop in the price of the BX200, and especially for high-capacity versions, or some other TLC drive with more acceptable characteristics will soon be released under the Crucial brand. Fortunately, there are plenty of suitable platform options on the market.

Any electronic storage medium must have high read and write speeds. This largely determines the performance of the PC and the device with the memory card.

Of course, manufacturers provide information about the speed of their drives, but the reality is that this data is not always true. Whether it’s an HDD or a regular flash drive, everything can be tested using the CrystalDiskMark program.

How to use CrystalDiskMark

What is this utility for?

CrystalDiskMark is designed to qualitatively test the read and write speed of any storage device. Typically this program is used to boot a hard drive.

Indicators are measured using sequential and random recording. CrystalDiskMark is useful not only for recording the actual speed of the disk, but also during the hardware overclocking procedure, so that you can compare the results.

Interface

All speed measurement actions will take place in one window. At the top there is a familiar panel with the necessary functions, below it there are 3 drop-down lists for setting up testing. The buttons that launch the test are located in a column on the left, and the remaining space is occupied by the columns “ Read " And " Write ", where the results of each test will be displayed.

You can change the color of the buttons and the background design of the window. To do this, click " View " and mark the new skin. There you can set the window scale.

After downloading and installing CrystalDiskMark, it should automatically detect the language used in Windows. If this does not happen, open the menu « Language » (5th in a row), move the cursor to " O — Z » and select Russian language.

Setting up testing parameters

In the first drop-down list you can select the number of checks. The higher this value is, the more accurate the results will be. If you cannot decide, then leave the value "5" – this is quite enough for the reliability of the test.

The following list is for selecting the file size that will be written and read. Here you should be guided by what volumes of information you work with most often. For hard drives, for example, it is optimal to specify 1 GB, and for MicroSD cards – 50-100 MB.

Please note that the total testing duration directly depends on the specified number of checks and file size.

All that remains is to select the storage device in the third list. If the program does not detect it, then you can try to find it through Explorer by checking the box « Select Folder » .

Running the test

CrystalDiskMark has 4 types of testing. Those marked " Seq" imply writing and reading in sequential mode, " 4K" – random with 4 KB blocks.

Designation "Q32T" means that for 1 thread the queue depth is 32, without this designation the depth is 1.

You can run the desired test separately by clicking on the corresponding button, or click « All » to run all tests.

The disk being checked must have at least 15% free space. Also, to get correct results, close resource-intensive programs, especially those that work with disk content.

The progress of testing can be tracked in the window title area. When the program name appears there again, testing is complete.

Reading results

As a result, in the columns " Read " And " Write » disk speed values ​​will appear in accordance with each type of test. Naturally, the higher these indicators, the better.

If you check your computer's drive, first of all pay attention to the result " 4K Q32T1 " And " 4K " The fact is that about 80% of disk activity is due to random read/write processes, and it is these indicators that will be more significant.

The results can be simply copied to the clipboard or saved to a TXT file. To do this, click " File » and select the desired option.

Advantages:

  • works regardless of OS version;
  • portability;
  • multilingual;
  • light weight;
  • does not affect the speed of the PC;
  • easy setup.

Flaws:

  • lack of a full scale of testing progress.

Conclusion

The best way to determine the actual speed of a drive is to use CrystalDiskMark. This way you will understand whether the manufacturer has overestimated this indicator or not.

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