| Software | Focus | Portable? | |----------|-------|------------| | Cinebench R23 | CPU multi/single core | No (installer) | | Geekbench 6 | Cross-platform CPU/GPU | No | | PassMark PerformanceTest | Full system | Paid, portable option available | | UserBenchmark | Quick component testing | No (runs from web but not fully portable) | | Heaven / Superposition | GPU (DX11/12, Vulkan) | Portable ZIP available for Heaven | | CrystalDiskMark Portable | Disk speed (sequential/random) | Yes |
No extraction or installation is needed. Simply double-click NovaBench.exe. The interface loads in under two seconds.
NovaBench is a proprietary benchmarking tool developed by Novawave. Unlike synthetic benchmarks that test isolated components (like Cinebench for CPU or 3DMark for GPU), NovaBench runs a series of rapid tests designed to measure the overall system performance. It produces a single, unified score (the "NovaBench Score") that allows you to compare vastly different systems, from an old netbook to a modern gaming rig. NovaBench 3.0.4 Portable
The standard version of NovaBench requires installation, but the Portable variant—specifically version 3.0.4—has gained a cult following in the tech community for its simplicity and utility.
| Score Range | Performance Level | |-------------|-------------------| | < 500 | Very low – office/web browsing only | | 500–1500 | Basic – older laptops, netbooks | | 1500–3000 | Moderate – mid-range desktops (Core 2 Duo / early i3) | | 3000–6000 | Good – Core i5/i7 (2nd–4th gen) with dedicated GPU | | > 6000 | High – High-end systems from 2012–2014 era | | Software | Focus | Portable
Note: Modern gaming PCs (2020+) often score 10,000–20,000, but the test maxes out or becomes non-discriminatory due to outdated workloads.
The software creates a temporary file on the selected drive (default is the system drive) and measures write speed. This is useful for spotting failing hard drives or confirming that an SSD is performing as expected. No extraction or installation is needed
The CPU test performs millions of mathematical operations, including floating-point calculations and integer logic. It’s multi-threaded, meaning it will stress all available cores. The score roughly correlates with raw processing power.