An nameless reader shares a Tom’s {Hardware} report: Sadly, a default setting in Home windows 11 Professional, having its software program BitLocker encryption enabled, robs as a lot as 45 % of the pace out of your SSD because it forces your processor to encrypt and decrypt all the things. In line with our exams, random writes and reads — which have an effect on the general efficiency of your PC — get damage essentially the most, however even massive sequential transfers are affected.
Whereas many SSDs include hardware-based encryption, which does all of the processing instantly on the drive, Home windows 11 Professional force-enables the software program model of BitLocker throughout set up, with out offering a transparent technique to decide out. (You’ll be able to circumvent this with instruments like Rufus, if you would like, although that is clearly not an official answer because it permits customers to bypass the Microsoft’s intent.) In case you purchased a prebuilt PC with Home windows 11 Professional, there is a good likelihood software program BitLocker is enabled on it proper now. Home windows 11 Residence would not help BitLocker so you will not have encryption enabled there.
To search out out simply how a lot software program BitLocker impacts efficiency, we ran a sequence of exams with three eventualities: unencrypted (no BitLocker), software program BitLocker (the Home windows 11 Professional default), and with {hardware} BitLocker (OPAL) enabled. Whereas the software program encryption elevated latency and decreased switch charges, {hardware} encryption and no encryption in any respect had been principally tied. If in case you have software program BitLocker enabled, it’s possible you’ll wish to change your settings.
