BitLocker in Windows 11 Pro Slows Down SSD Speeds by 50%
The BitLocker Encryption Feature in Windows 11 Pro Slows Down SSD Speeds by Nearly 50%
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The BitLocker Encryption Feature in Windows 11 Pro Slows Down SSD Speeds by Nearly 50%
A security feature bundled with Windows 11 Pro could have a significant impact on the performance of solid-state drives.
Fortunately, it can be easily disabled, but some users may not be aware that it’s enabled by default.
The BitLocker encryption feature in Windows 11 Pro is designed to safeguard data security, ensuring that only authorized individuals can access data, but it also comes with a significant performance hit.
To gauge the extent of its impact, Tom’s Hardware recently conducted tests under three scenarios: unencrypted (no BitLocker), software-enabled BitLocker (Windows 11 Pro default), and hardware-based BitLocker.
The tests used a 4 TB Samsung 990 Pro solid-state drive running Windows 11 Pro (22H2 with all patches installed), paired with an Intel Core i9-12900K and 32 GB of DDR4 memory.
In PCMark 10’s storage benchmark test, the software-enabled BitLocker configuration was 20% slower than both hardware-based encryption and unencrypted configurations. Similar speed decreases were observed in Crystal Disk Mark’s random read test, and in the random write test, performance dropped by a significant 45%. In the 50 GB copy transfer test using DiskBench, the software-supported BitLocker settings were 11% slower.
The good news is that the hardware-based setup performed consistently with no encryption running. So, if you insist on using encryption, that is undoubtedly the best choice.
If you want to learn more, you can find the complete test results on Tom’s Hardware:
They also outline how to determine if encryption is running and how to disable it. In summary, if you are running Windows 10 Pro, encryption might not be enabled; if you are using Windows 11 Home, it definitely won’t be enabled; if you are using Windows 11 Pro, check, as it might already be enabled by default.
Additionally, it’s worth noting that the performance may vary depending on the hard drive and CPU you are using. Chips significantly less performant than the Intel Core i9-12900K used by Tom’s Hardware may exhibit even poorer performance.
