You can test your SSD, HDD or USB easily with these command-line and graphical tools.

Table of Contents

hdparm

hdparm is a command to get or set SATA/IDE device parameters, but can also run benchmarks (read speed tests). Just add the parameters -t for testing device reads or -T for testing cache reads and the device name (it can be mounted or not). You need to run this command with superuser privileges.

hdparm -t /dev/sdb1

KDiskMark

It’s a graphical utility that can benchmark read and write speeds on mounted drives.

KDiskMark

GNOME Disk Utility (GNOME Disks)

gnome-disk-utility is the main disk management tool in GNOME, and it can run read and write benchmarks on unmounted devices. Select “Benchmark Disk” on the three-dot menu.

GNOME Disk Utility main window

Then, you can adjust the benchmark parameters and start the test.

GNOME Disk Utility benchmark tool

GNOME Disk Utility benchmark chart