AJA System Test vs Novabench
AJA System Test
aja.com
Novabench
novabench.comSide by side
| Figure | AJA System Test | Novabench |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $3/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 5 |
| Spec score · PC Benchmark Software | 8.6 (#5) | 8.5 (#7) |
| Spec score · PC benchmark tools | 8.0 (#32) | 8.6 (#9) |
| Company | AJA Video Systems makes products for broadcast, cinema, proAV, and post-production markets. | The maker identifies itself as Novabench Inc. and says it is registered in Canada with its registered office in Vancouver, British Columbia. |
| Comparison database | No | Yes |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Headquarters | Grass Valley, California, United States | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada |
| Intended users | AJA describes the tool as useful for production and postproduction workflows that need drive bandwidth sufficient for their demands. | Novabench describes its free plan as for personal use and Novabench for Work as an endpoint performance suite for IT professionals. |
| Operating systems | macOS; Windows | Windows,macOS,Linux |
| Platforms | The product page links to Mac and Windows downloads and identifies them as standalone System Test Lite v16.0 versions. | Novabench offers downloads for Windows 10 or 11, macOS 12 or higher, and most Linux distributions from 2022 onward. |
| Security | AJA's site links to security advisories, but the opened product page does not state a System Test security certification or compliance claim. | Novabench says it has completed a SOC 2 Type 2 audit covering Security, Confidentiality, and Availability. |
| Support | AJA says technical support is available free of charge to answer questions or help resolve issues. | Support is available through documentation, support chat, and [email protected]. |
| Workload areas | Drive read/write performance and throughput; PCIe bandwidth; AJA-device DMA; combined disk and device I/O | CPU,GPU,RAM,disk |
Plans
In their own words
AJA System Test
AJA System Test evaluates drive performance so users can estimate whether a drive system can record and play back different resolutions and codecs. It measures read and write speed and overall throughput, including on network mapped drives. In its graphical interface, users select a test type, drive, video size, frame rate, file size, and connected video device. Results can appear in MB/sec or FPS with graphs. The report generator produces text results that users can copy into spreadsheets or other software, and result exports include text report, PDF, and SPX formats. Custom test profiles are supported. Workload areas also include PCIe bandwidth, AJA-device DMA, and combined disk and device I/O; PCIe bandwidth testing is part of the full version included in AJA Desktop Software downloads. The standalone Apple Store and Windows versions are listed as AJA System Test Lite v16.0 at free. The software runs on macOS and Windows, and AJA offers a download path that does not require signing up.