How to Test the Speed of Your M.2 SSD on Windows: 3 Free and Proven Methods

Updated by

Linda 

Written by

Tracy King 

Last updated on April 22, 2024

Adding an SSD can speed up your system significantly. However, if you don't monitor the disk's health and fix issues promptly, your system speed will degrade. Thus, you must check your computer's hard drive speed regularly. If you have an M.2 SSD and don't know how to test M.2 SSD speed, this article will guide you.

Yes, you can test the speed of your M.2 SSD. Here's how to do it: 1. **下载基准测试工具**： - You can use tools like CrystalDiskMark, AS SSD Benchmark, or HD Tune Pro for this purpose. Download the one that suits you best. 2. **安装并运行软件**： - After downloading, install the software on your computer. - Launch the benchmarking tool. 3. **选择驱动器**： - In the software interface, select your M.2 SSD from the list of available drives. 4. **配置测试设置**： - Depending on the tool, you might have options to choose the test type (read, write, or both), test size (e.g., 512KB, 4KB, or custom), and other settings. Default settings usually work fine for a basic test. 5. **开始测试**： - Click on the "Start" or "Run" button to initiate the speed test. 6. **查看结果**： - The tool will display the read and write speeds of your SSD in MB/s or MB per second. Make sure to note down these figures for reference. 7. **分析结果**： - Compare the results with the manufacturer's claimed specifications to see if your SSD is performing as expected. Remember, actual performance may vary depending on your system configuration and the specific workload you're testing. If you encounter significantly lower speeds than advertised, it could be due to various factors such as the M.2 interface (PCIe Gen3 vs. PCIe Gen4), controller, or the quality of the SSD itself.

Yes, you can easily test the speed of your M.2 on a Windows computer. There are several built-in and third-party tools to test the speed of a computer's hard drive. Through these methods, you can check the speed of your M.2, NVMe, SSD, HDD, USB, or any external disk. Why would you need to test the speed of your M.2 SSD? Here are some situations where checking your disk speed can be beneficial:

• Freezing Screen: If your computer screen frequently freezes or lags, it might indicate a slow hard drive. Checking the M.2 speed can confirm if this is the root cause.
• Slow Boot Times: A lengthy boot-up time suggests a slow boot drive. If your M.2 drive is the system's boot drive, you should test its speed to uncover potential issues.
• Slow File Transfers: As one of the fastest hard drives, an M.2 SSD should not cause sluggish data transfers. If you experience slow file movement, it's evident that the drive's speed is compromised.
• Poor Software Performance: When an M.2 drive slows down, software performance will suffer. You may notice crashes, freezing, and breakdowns impacting your workflow.
• Game Lag: Are you experiencing lag, bugs, and screen latency in games despite using an M.2 SSD? This points to significant speed issues with your drive. Testing the M.2 speed can help identify underlying problems.
• System Crashes: If the M.2 drive can't handle system loads due to lower speeds, your system might start crashing. Frequent crashes warrant testing the M.2 speed before the drive becomes irreparably damaged.

How to Test Your M.2 Speed: 3 Free and Reliable Methods

If you're experiencing any of these, you might want to check your M.2 drive's speed. Before running the test, make sure the target drive isn't in use to get an accurate reading. To test M.2 speed, you have several options. Choose one of the following three guides to test the speed of your M.2 SSD on your computer:

#1. Test M.2 Speed with a Free Disk Speed Testing Tool

#2. Testing M.2 Speed with CMD

#3. Testing M.2 NVMe Drive Throttling with Task Manager

Wondering which one is the best and most accurate? We recommend using Method #1, as it's a straightforward way to get the most precise and detailed speed test results. This is not to say that the other methods are not suitable, but the comparison table below shows that this method performs much better:

Guide 1: Test the M.2 Speed with a Free Disk Speed Testing Software

The first method is to use a reliable third-party tool to test the M.2 speed. While many tools claim to be the most accurate, only a few make the cut. In our search, we found Partition Master Free to be the best free hard drive speed testing software out there. It has an amazing feature called "DiskMark" that can accurately test the speed of all disks.

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Steps to test M.2 speed using the tool Partition Master with UTF-8 encoding: 1. 下载并安装Partition Master软件。确保你下载的是UTF-8版本以支持多种语言。 2. 启动Partition Master。运行程序后，你会看到主界面显示你的电脑硬盘和分区信息。 3. 选择目标M.2设备。在左侧的磁盘列表中，找到并选中你要测试速度的M.2固态硬盘。 4. 执行速度测试。点击工具栏上的“硬盘工具”或“更多工具”，然后选择“硬盘速度测试”。这将打开一个新的窗口。 5. 在硬盘速度测试窗口中，确认已选中的硬盘是你要测试的M.2设备。点击“开始测试”按钮开始读写速度测试。 6. 程序将开始读取和写入数据到M.2硬盘，并显示实时的速度和性能指标。等待测试完成。 7. 查看测试结果。测试完成后，Partition Master将显示平均读取和写入速度。你可以参考这些数据来评估M.2硬盘的性能。 8. 保存报告（可选）。如果你需要保留测试结果，可以点击“保存日志”按钮将测试详情保存为文本文件。 9. 关闭测试并退出。完成测试后，点击“停止测试”关闭测试窗口，并返回Partition Master主界面。 请注意，测试结果可能因硬件配置、驱动程序和系统负载等因素而有所不同。为了获得更准确的结果，建议在无其他高强度读写操作的情况下进行测试。

The process of testing M.2 SSD speed with AOMEI Partition Assistant is simple and quick. Follow the steps below to test M.2 speed on your computer:

< strong > Step 1. Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant. Then click the Download button to activate the "DiskMark" feature under "Discover".

Step 2: Select the target drive, test data, and block size from the drop-down menus.

Step 3. Once all settings are configured, click on 'Start' to begin the disk test. You will then see the sequential or random read/write speed, I/O and latency data.

These are the drives that can be tested for speed with this NVMe speed test software:

• SATA hard drive
• SATA solid state drive
• M.2 solid state drive
• NVMe solid state drive
• SD card
• USB
• External HDD, SSD, USB

Aside from partition adjustment, Partition Master Free boasts other amazing features that can immediately address your concerns.

• Check SSD Health on Windows 10
• Resize/Move Partition
• Check and Fix Partition Errors
• Format Hard Drive

Guide 2: Testing M.2 SSD Speed with CMD

Using the Command Prompt is also an accurate way to check the M.2 SSD speed. You can try this method if you are familiar with CMD and how to run commands. In Command Prompt, you need to run a WinSAT command to test the disk speed. For example, you can use CMD to test M.2 speed as follows:

Step 1: First, run the Command Prompt as an administrator. You can do this by searching for "Command Prompt," then clicking "Run as administrator."

Step 2: Run the command "winsat disk -ran -write -drive X" in Command Prompt. Replace "X" with the name of your drive.

The command lines are complicated and difficult to grasp, especially when you want to check SSD speed in CMD. Most Windows beginners prefer to turn to alternatives to Command Prompt for help.

Guide 3: Checking M.2 NVMe Speed with Task Manager

The Windows Task Manager is another tool that can help you check your M.2 speed. Since it shows all currently running processes and apps, it can serve as a good indicator of drive health. You can use the Task Manager on Windows to check your M.2's dynamic speed by following these steps:

Step 1: Press the “Ctrl + Shift + Esc” keys to open the Windows Task Manager. Now, click on the “Performance” tab to view the performance of primary PC components.

Click the Performance tab.

Step 2: Here, find your M.2 SSD and click on it. You can view the read and write speeds of the M.2 drive in the window on the right.

Check Disk Speed

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Conclusions

If your computer is running slow, it can be concluded that testing M.2 speed is highly beneficial. This article introduces three simple ways to test M.2 speed to help you out. If you're new to disk testing, using the Partition Master tool is a good option. With its assistance, you can not only check disk speed and boost SSD read and write speed, but also fix potential disk issues.

Frequently Asked Questions About M.2 Speed Testing

It can be frustrating when your computer is still slow despite using an M.2 SSD. Testing the M.2 SSD performance can give you clues to what's causing the sluggishness of your system. To help you better understand this issue, here are some common questions and answers about M.2 speed testing:

**1. Can I check my SSD speed online?**

No, you cannot check the SSD speed online. While there are various tools available online to test disk speeds, you would first need to download and install them. One of the best free tools to test SSD speed is Partition Master.

**How to Run an SSD Speed Test on Windows 11?**

If you're using Windows 11, you can run an SSD speed test through CMD with these steps:

Step 1: Press the "Win + R" keys to open the "Run" feature, then type "cmd". Now, run it as an administrator by pressing "Ctrl + Shift + Enter."

Step 2: Run the "winsat disk -ran -write -drive Y" command to test the SSD's speed, where "Y" stands for your drive letter.

3. How to Run an SSD Speed Test Online?

There's no way to check your SSD speed online. Even if you see tools or websites claiming to do this, they're likely fake. You'll need to download a third-party tool, such as Partition Master, to run an SSD speed test. If you don't want to use CMD, Partition Master is a reliable free option.