3DMark adds new SSD benchmark for gamers

For more than 20 years, 3DMark has been gamers' first choice for benchmarking the latest graphics cards and processors.

Today, we're taking 'The Gamer's Benchmark' into a new area with the 3DMark Storage Benchmark, a dedicated component test for measuring the gaming performance of SSDs, hybrid drives, and other storage devices.

Introducing the 3DMark Storage Benchmark

With fast modern SSD storage, loading times are shorter, levels restart faster, and there are fewer interruptions to your gameplay. PC gamers can now choose from a wide range of high-performance storage options from the fastest PCI Express 4.0 and NVMe devices down to cheaper SATA SSDs and high-capacity hybrid drives.

Unfortunately, many of the tools for measuring storage performance were developed when HDDs were the most common drive type. And it's hard to relate results from those synthetic benchmarks to real-world performance.

The 3DMark Storage Benchmark is a dedicated component test that measures the gaming performance of the fastest modern PC storage hardware. It supports all the latest storage technologies and focuses on practical, real-world gaming performance.

Real-world gaming performance

The problem with many storage tests is that they use artificial, synthetic workloads to measure performance under ideal conditions. Results from these tests are hard to relate to practical, everyday needs, which is why the 3DMark Storage Benchmark focuses on measuring real-world gaming performance.

Storage activity consists of input and output operations. It is possible to record these operations while the storage device is performing a task. These recordings are called traces.

The 3DMark Storage Benchmark uses traces recorded from popular games and gaming-related activities to measure real-world gaming performance, such as:

• Loading Battlefield™ V from launch to the main menu.
• Loading Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4 from launch to the main menu.
• Loading Overwatch® from launch to the main menu.
• Recording a 1080p gameplay video at 60 FPS with OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) while playing Overwatch®.
• Installing The Outer Worlds® from the Epic Games Launcher.
• Saving game progress in The Outer Worlds®.
• Copying the Steam folder for Counter-Strike®: Global Offensive from an external SSD to the system drive.

Compare the performance of the latest SSDs

The 3DMark Storage Benchmark is compatible with all modern storage devices and can be used to test both internal and external drives.

The test produces a 3DMark Storage Benchmark Score as a measure of performance. As usual with 3DMark, a higher score means better performance. Here are a few reference scores for context.

Storage device	3DMark Storage Benchmark score
Intel® Optane™ SSD 900P 280 GB (PCI Express 3 M.2)	4,241
Samsung® SSD 980 PRO 500 GB (PCI Express  4 M.2)	2,854
WD_BLACK™ SN750 NVMe 500GB (PCI Express 3 M.2)	2,014
Samsung® SSD 860 EVO 1 TB (SATA III)	1,193

The test also produces bandwidth and average access time metrics. You can read more about the benchmark in the 3DMark technical guide.

Start testing SSD performance today

3DMark Advanced Edition

The 3DMark Storage Benchmark DLC, purchased separately, extends 3DMark with a dedicated test for benchmarking your SSD. The Storage Benchmark DLC is available now for USD $2.99 on Steam and the UL Benchmarks website.

3DMark Professional Edition

The 3DMark Storage Benchmark is available as a free update for 3DMark Profesisonal Edition customers with a valid annual license. Customers with an older, perpetual license will need to purchase an annual license to access the new test. Contact us for details.