Question 1

What is Novabench and what does it test?

Accepted Answer

Novabench is a free benchmarking, stress testing, and monitoring application for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It tests the core components of your computer — CPU, GPU, memory, storage, and NPU — using workloads designed for modern hardware. Each test produces a score that represents real-world capability, not just theoretical throughput. Beyond benchmarking, Novabench includes network speed testing with download, upload, latency, and jitter measurements, real-time sensor monitoring for temperatures, power draw, and battery health, and configurable stress tests to push your system under sustained load. Results are presented with clear explanations and can be compared against millions of validated results in the Novabench database, giving you immediate context for how your system performs relative to similar hardware.

Question 2

Is Novabench free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Novabench Free includes the full benchmark suite — CPU, GPU, memory, storage, and NPU tests — along with network speed testing, comparison reports, and sensor monitoring. There is no time limit, no trial period, and no account required to run tests and view your results. Novabench Plus adds features for users who want more depth: extended stress testing modes, detailed historical sensor logging, advanced comparison charts, and priority access to new features. Novabench Pro is designed for power users and professionals who need persistent monitoring, batch testing, and deeper data export capabilities. All tiers share the same benchmark engine, so your scores are always consistent and comparable regardless of which version you use.

Question 3

What platforms does Novabench support?

Accepted Answer

Novabench runs natively on Windows 10 and 11, macOS 12 (Monterey) and later, and most recent Linux distributions. Each platform version is built to take full advantage of platform-specific hardware and APIs — including Apple Silicon on macOS, DirectX and Vulkan on Windows, and OpenCL and Vulkan on Linux. The benchmark tests produce comparable scores across platforms, so you can directly compare a Windows desktop against a Mac laptop or a Linux workstation. Novabench also supports virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) environments for IT teams that need to benchmark virtualized endpoints.

Question 4

How accurate are Novabench benchmark results?

Accepted Answer

Novabench tests are designed to produce consistent, repeatable results that reflect real-world performance. Each benchmark workload targets a specific component — CPU integer and floating point, GPU compute and 3D rendering, memory bandwidth and latency, storage read and write — using operations that mirror how modern software actually uses hardware. Scores are normalized and validated against reference hardware to ensure comparability across different systems and configurations. To get the most accurate results, close other applications before testing. Novabench will flag common issues that can affect accuracy, such as thermal throttling, background processes, or power management settings that limit performance.

Question 5

What is the Novabench score and how is it calculated?

Accepted Answer

The Novabench score is a single number that summarizes your system's overall performance across all tested components. It is calculated by combining weighted sub-scores from each benchmark category — CPU, GPU, memory, and storage — with each category contributing based on its impact on typical computing workloads. Higher scores indicate better performance. The scoring system is designed so that scores are directly comparable: a system scoring 2000 is roughly twice as capable as one scoring 1000 in the tested workloads. You can compare your overall score and individual component scores against similar hardware configurations in the Novabench database, which contains millions of validated results from users worldwide.

Question 6

How does Novabench compare to other benchmark tools?

Accepted Answer

Novabench is designed to give you a complete picture of your system in one tool. Where most benchmark utilities focus on a single component or a single type of test, Novabench covers CPU, GPU, memory, storage, NPU, network speed, stress testing, and sensor monitoring in a single application. Tests run in minutes rather than hours, and results include plain-language explanations alongside the numbers. The comparison database with millions of results means you get immediate context — not just a score, but an understanding of where your system stands. Novabench is also cross-platform, so you can compare results across Windows, macOS, and Linux using the same test suite and scoring methodology.

Question 7

Can I compare my results with other systems?

Accepted Answer

Yes. After running a benchmark, Novabench generates a comparison report that places your results in context against millions of validated results from other users. You can see percentile rankings for each component, compare against specific hardware configurations, and identify which components are performing above or below expectations. The comparison database includes detailed system information — processor model, GPU, RAM configuration, storage type — so you can find systems similar to yours or evaluate hardware you are considering. Comparison reports are available in Novabench Free and include additional detail and chart options in Plus and Pro.

Question 8

Does Novabench include stress testing?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Novabench includes stress testing that puts your CPU, GPU, and memory under sustained load to test stability and thermal performance. Stress tests are useful for verifying that a new build, overclock, or hardware upgrade is stable under prolonged use, and for identifying thermal throttling or cooling issues that only appear under heavy load. During stress testing, Novabench monitors and logs temperatures, clock speeds, and power draw in real time, so you can see exactly how your system responds to sustained workloads. Extended stress testing modes and additional configuration options are available in Novabench Plus and Pro.

Question 9

Can Novabench test my network speed?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Novabench includes a built-in network testing suite that measures download speed, upload speed, latency, and jitter. You can also run traceroutes to visualize the path your traffic takes across the network and benchmark DNS resolvers to find the fastest option for your location. Network tests run alongside your hardware benchmarks in the same application, so you get a complete picture of system and network performance in one place. This is particularly useful when diagnosing whether slow performance is caused by hardware limitations or network issues.

Question 10

Does Novabench monitor system health?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Novabench includes real-time sensor monitoring that tracks temperatures, power draw, fan speeds, and battery health. You can view live readings as well as historical charts that show how these values change over time — useful for spotting trends like gradual battery degradation, intermittent thermal throttling, or cooling problems under specific workloads. Sensor logging runs in the background and stores data locally, so you have a record of system health even when you are not actively benchmarking. Detailed historical logging and extended retention are available in Plus and Pro.

Question 11

What are NPU benchmarks?

Accepted Answer

NPU (Neural Processing Unit) benchmarks test the AI acceleration hardware built into modern processors from Intel, AMD, Apple, and Qualcomm. These dedicated chips are designed to run machine learning workloads more efficiently than a general-purpose CPU or GPU. Novabench NPU tests measure how quickly your hardware can execute common AI inference tasks, giving you a concrete score that indicates how well your system handles AI-powered features in applications like image processing, voice recognition, and real-time translation. As more software relies on on-device AI, NPU performance is becoming an increasingly relevant factor in overall system capability.

Test, compare, and understand
your system performance

Benchmark Test

Benchmark Test

Compare

Explain

Network Test

Stress Test

Monitor

Test full system performance in minutes

Put your test results in context

Measure the quality of your connection

Track system health over time

Building & Upgrading

Gaming & Graphics

General Use

Novabench for Work

Frequently Asked Questions

One test suite for every platform

Test, compare, and understand your system performance

Benchmark Test

Benchmark Test

Benchmark Test

Compare

Explain

Network Test

Stress Test

Monitor

Test full system performance in minutes

Put your test results in context

Measure the quality of your connection

Track system health over time

Building & Upgrading

Gaming & Graphics

General Use

Novabench for Work

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Novabench and what does it test?

Is Novabench free?

What platforms does Novabench support?

How accurate are Novabench benchmark results?

What is the Novabench score and how is it calculated?

How does Novabench compare to other benchmark tools?

Can I compare my results with other systems?

Does Novabench include stress testing?

Can Novabench test my network speed?

Does Novabench monitor system health?

What are NPU benchmarks?

One test suite for every platform

Test, compare, and understand
your system performance