If you’ve used a PC extensively, you’ve probably noticed that components often fall short of manufacturer claims. This doesn’t mean you were scammed or bought low-quality hardware – performance can vary widely depending on usage and environment. This guide explains why the gaps exist, and how to find your PC components’ true performance.
Content
- SSD Speed and Endurance
- Laptop Battery Timing
- Mouse Total Clicks
- Power Supply Wattage
- CPU Clock Speed
SSD Speed and Endurance
SSDs, whether they are regular SATA SSDs or NVMe, are advertised with a maximum read/write speed and an endurance estimate. For example, a mid-range NVMe SSD could be advertised with 7000 MB/s read/write speeds with 600 TBW (Terabytes Written). However, in practical use, you may only see 3500-5000 MB/s speeds on average, with shorter life as well.
The manufacturer claims are usually based on ideal conditions, like powerful hardware with no bottlenecks and thermal issues. The data used for the test is also large sequential data blocks, which is easier for the SSD to transfer with minimum latency.
In real-world usage, you have to process both sequential and random data of different sizes. The SSD will have higher latency, as it has to process different types of data from different memory cells. Furthermore, the associated software, CPU power, PCIe lanes, and motherboard model can also create bottlenecks.
As for SSD life, even though 600 TBW is calculated under ideal conditions and practical use may yield less, it doesn’t matter for regular users. Most won’t reach 600 TBW, and SSDs typically start facing other issues before reaching 600 or even 300 TBW.
How to find true SSD speed
You can use a third-party SSD testing tool to learn how your SSD performs on different sets of data. We recommend the CrystalDiskMark program, which is a free Windows app that offers multiple sets of data to test.
Although you can change the test parameters for accuracy, the default parameters are fine for most users. Simply click on the All button, and let all four tests run. Check the results in the RND4K Q1T1 section, as it will be closest to day-to-day tasks, while SEQ1M Q8T1 will be closest to manufacturer claims.
Unfortunately, you can’t test the actual estimate for SSD TBW endurance. However, you can use a hard drive health-checking tool, like CrystalDiskInfo, to view current SSD health and overall read/write cycles to estimate how much has been used.
Laptop Battery Timing
Laptop manufacturers advertise laptops with battery time in hours, like 10h or 16h battery life. In reality, the battery lasts much less than that – almost half of the claimed time, or even less.
When testing, manufacturers typically play a 1080p local video on repeat, with the laptop power-saving features enabled, low screen brightness, and communication features disabled, like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
However, in real-world cases, you’ll probably have all communications enabled, the laptop on balanced power mode, the screen at least above 50% brightness, and running heavier tasks. This greatly decreases the expected battery time – which could be worse if you are gaming or running a resource-intensive program.
There could also be heating issues, due to the environment causing laptop fans to work harder to keep the laptop cool.
How to find true laptop battery timing
The easiest way to find the true battery timing of a laptop is to look at online reviews. Most laptops have well-covered reviews from popular review websites that almost always test the battery under real-world usage. Just search for the laptop’s model number, with keywords like “battery test” or “battery performance” to find reviews.
However, if you want to test it yourself based on your usage, use a battery-tracking app. While great for checking battery estimates, BatteryMon can also help you track complete usage to see how long the battery lasts.
Charge the battery to 100%, unplug the charger, and click on Start graphing in BatteryMon. It will have two lines on the graph, that show the current drop in battery and the estimated drop. Use the laptop as you intend to, and keep the app running until the laptop hibernates due to low battery. Plug it in, and check the graph in BatteryMon that shows how much time it took to reach a low battery level.
Mouse Total Clicks
Mouse durability is advertised using an average number of clicks that it can sustain, such as 50 million clicks. However, this test is done in a special environment, where the primary click is tested using an actuation machine. The environment is dust- and vibration-free, with the machine putting precise force at fixed intervals. In most cases, only the switch is tested and not the whole mouse.
In practical use, you’ll probably be using a mouse click with different forces applied from different directions, and you may even drop it. Dirt and handling will also increase wear and tear. Overall, it will give a much lower expected click life than the claims.
Theoretically, if a person clicks 5000 times per day (medium use), then a 50-million clicks mouse should survive 27 years of clicking. Most users report double-clicking issues or other problems with mice within three to five years, so 27 years is rather impossible.
How to find true mouse click endurance
Currently, no tool exists to accurately predict the lifespan of a mouse’s click switches. However, users usually talk about their experience with a mouse and how long it lasted on Reddit and other forums. Search for the mouse’s model, with keywords like, “click life issue” or “malfunctioning.”
Of course, they won’t be able to tell how many clicks it took to face issues, but they can give an estimate in months/years.
Power Supply Wattage
Power Supply Units (PSU) have a wattage value along with a supply rating, like 600W 80+ Gold PSU. Although PSUs deliver the advertised wattage, this doesn’t mean you can buy a PSU with the same wattage as your system’s power draw. The PC components may draw more power than expected under heavy load. Additionally, the PSU may deliver less power if the temperature is higher.
In practical use, this creates a gap between PSU power and the system’s power draw limit – preventing you from using the same PSU wattage as the system’s power needs. This is why it’s recommended to buy at least 20% to 30% higher wattage PSU compared to the system’s rated power draw. It will ensure PSU can handle unexpected load spikes, power inefficiency, upgrades, and overclocking.
How to test power supply
If you are concerned about your system power draw and PSU efficiency, use the OCCT app to test it. OCCT is a stress-testing app that can stress your PSU by forcing the CPU, GPU, storage drive, and RAM to work at maximum power.
In the app, go to Stability Test -> Power, enable both GPUs (if available), and click on Start at the bottom. Let the test run for at least 30 to 60 minutes to ensure no issues occur. If the system crashes/freezes, or OCCT gives an error, it could mean PSU wattage isn’t enough.
CPU Clock Speed
CPUs have a base and a turbo boost clock speed, like a 3.0 GHz base clock speed with a 4.4 GHz turbo boost clock speed. You can set the PC to maximum performance to make the CPU run at the maximum speed claimed by the manufacturer, but your programs won’t normally utilize all that power.
In reality, CPUs dynamically adjust their clock speed according to workload, which is why you see lower clock speeds than what the manufacturer claims. Even if you do run a program that can utilize such high speeds, other components can bottleneck the CPU.
The clock speed utilization depends on the programs you are running, not how fast your CPU can run. Additionally, the clock speed may not reach the maximum limits if the CPU temperature is too high.
How to check the current clock speed utilization
If you want to know how a program uses the CPU’s power, you can easily check it in the Task Manager. Press the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open the Task Manager, and move to the Performance tab.
You’ll find the current clock speed in the CPU section, along with a percentage showing how much of that clock speed is being utilized. For example, if the clock speed reads 3.0 GHz with 20% utilization, not only is the system running at a lower clock speed, but only 20% of it is in active use.
By understanding these differences between real-world results and the manufacturer claims of common PC components, you can make more informed decisions when optimizing the PC or buying a PC.
Image credit: Vecteezy. All screenshots by Karrar Haider.
Karrar Haider –
Staff Writer
Karrar is drenched in technology and always fiddles with new tech opportunities. He has a bad habit of calling technology “Killer”, and doesn’t feel bad about spending too much time in front of the PC. If he is not writing about technology, you will find him spending quality time with his little family.
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