3DMark adds storage benchmark to its test suite

3DMark is adding a new benchmark to its already vast suite of testing tools. Developed to benchmark storage devices, 3DMark's Storage Benchmark aims to bring a better correlation between benchmark results and real-world performance.

Most storage synthetic benchmarks were developed back when HDDs were the superior storage solution. However, SSDs are now the go-to storage solution for PCs, available as cheap SATA drives, blazing-fast PCIe NVMe M.2 drives, and everything in between.

Unlike older benchmarks,  3DMark Storage Benchmark focuses on real-world gaming performance, using traces recorded from games and gaming-related activities. Some examples of these activities are loading Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 or Overwatch from launch to the main menu and copying the Steam folder for Counter-Strike GO from an external SSD to the system drive. More examples include recording a 1080@60 gameplay video at 60 FPS with OBS while playing Overwatch, installing The Outer Worlds from the EGS launcher and saving game progress in The Outer Worlds.

3DMark's new test is compatible with any modern storage device and can be used for internal and external drives. To put scores into perspective, 3DMark shared some results of popular drives:

• Intel Optane SSD 900P 280GB (PCIe 3.0) – 4,241 points
• Samsung SSD 980 Pro 500GB (PCIe 4.0) – 2,858 points
• WD_Black SN750 NVMe 500GB (PCIe 3.0) – 2,014 points
• Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB (SATA III) – 1,193 points

The Storage Benchmark is available for free for all 3DMark Professional Edition owners. 3DMark Advanced Edition owners can buy it on Steam and the UL Benchmarks website for $2.99.

Discuss on our Facebook page, HERE.

KitGuru says: Will you be testing your storage devices with the 3DMark Storage Benchmark? Don't forget to share your results with us.

Become a Patron!