What's the best way to benchmark a Windows PC?
I have an older Windows 7 machine that I want to turn into a gaming PC, and since it is going to be a "play" device, I want to experiment with it. What's a good benchmarking tool so I can see objectively whether each thing I do is helping or harming my computer's performance? Free is better, but I guess I would pay a few bucks. Thanks!
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This article might be useful.
How to Benchmark Your Windows PC: 5 Free Benchmarking Tools
http://www.howtogeek.com/111733/how-to-benchmark-your-windows-pc-5-free-...
"Whether you’re overclocking your computer, comparing different systems, or just bragging about your hardware, a benchmark can help you quantify your computer’s performance. Windows has a large ecosystem of useful benchmarking applications, and many of them are free.
Before performing any benchmark, ensure that nothing else is running on your computer – if something is crunching away in the background, it will slow down the benchmark and skew the results."
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You won't even have to pay a few bucks. It appears there are many free Windows benchmarking tools, and many articles listing the authors' favorites. Here are some...
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-free-benchmark-programs/
http://www.howtogeek.com/111733/how-to-benchmark-your-windows-pc-5-free-...
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Benchmarking-Tools-Free-Best-Benchmarki...
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If you are going to build a gaming machine, I suggest you use 3DMark and PCMark 7. They aren't free though - 3DMark costs ~ $25 and PCMark 7 is ~$40. www.futuremark.com