If you’re interested in how to view PC components or how to view laptop parameters, you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, we’ll break down in detail all the basic Windows tools and the best third-party utilities you can use to get into your computer’s specs.
How to view computer settings using Windows tools
Of course, to perform some actions online, you do not need to know the parameters of the computer. Except to know the battery capacity if you plan to play online, for example, World of Tanks or slots on Slotamia, or just sit down on YouTube. But in order to download your favorite game and play offline, you need to know a lot of computer characteristics. To know them, you do not have to download programs – just use the built-in functions of Windows. It all depends on whether you want a brief summary of the most detailed information.
System properties
The main PC information on all versions of Windows can be seen in a special tab, “About,” which opens in three different ways: Simultaneously press the Win and Pause/Break buttons on the keyboard (often just PB). The properties will open immediately. If the simple keyboard shortcut doesn’t work for some reason, open Explorer, look for the “This Computer” section, right-click on it, and select “Properties.”The last option to get to the “About” tab is to call the Control Panel. Press the Win and R keys at the same time, type “control” in the command window, and click “OK.” After that, open “System and Security” and then open “System”.
Device Manager
For more detailed and complex information, it is better to use the Device Manager, where you can find the device’s characteristics and hardware parts. But note that information about “parts” will be displayed only if you have drivers for these devices. However, it is quite likely that you will not need such information, and it will be more useful to read the same blogs about games from Vitaliy Klymenko, Editor In Chief in Slotamia, or to get bogged down in studying new cooking recipes.
Still, you can launch the Manager in several ways. First, open the “About” tab and scroll to the bottom. That is where the “Device Manager” is located. Expand the Start menu, scroll down to the letter “C,” open the “Utilities” folder, and click on “Device Manager.” The last way to find the Manager is to use the Control Panel. To do this, press the Win and R keys simultaneously and then type “devmgmt.msc” (without the quotes). Task ManagerAnother way to find out the characteristics of your computer is to look in the Task Manager. Yes, in it, you can not only interrupt unnecessary processes and close hung programs but also find information about the state of the processor, video card, RAM, and hard disk.
In Windows 10, to do this, just click PCM (right-click) on the taskbar, where you have “Start,” “Time,” “Language Layout,” and so on. In the menu that opens, select “Task Manager”. If this option doesn’t work, press the combination Ctrl + Alt + Delete on your keyboard and select the Manager in the list that opens. Detailed information about the components can be viewed in the “Performance” section, where the load on the hardware and data about the components is specified.
PowerShell Console
The built-in PowerShell console is the last way to see the characteristics of the PC without downloading additional programs. It is available on all versions, starting with Windows 10. To activate it, the easiest way is to use the search bar next to the Start icon. Type “Windows PowerShell” into it and launch the application. In the open window, paste the code “systeminfo” and press Enter. Next, the system will do everything by itself – you will need to wait less than a minute.
CPU-Z
CPU-Z is the simplest possible tool for viewing PC characteristics, created by the company CPUID. But let’s not go into the history, and go straight to the pros and cons of the program to make it easier for you to make a choice.
Installation
Open the official site, expand “View Details” at the very top, and download the installer by clicking “Setup English.” On the new page, select “Download Now” and open the file, waiting for the end of the download. Now follow the next steps: Check the box “I accept the agreement” and click “Next.” Select the installation folder and click “Install”.Launch the utility from your desktop and wait a bit – it collects information about the system. The first tab, CPU, is responsible for information about the processor: frequency of cores (Clocks Core) and cache (Cache). The second tab, Mainboard, shows all information about the PC motherboard: manufacturer, model, and BIOS version. The third and fourth tabs, Memory and SPD, open the parameters of RAM: size, frequency, and type. The fifth tab, Graphics, displays all the data about the video card, and the sixth tab – Bench – is used for performance and stress tests.
AIDA64
Extreme AIDA64, unlike the previous application, is a multifunctional utility that gives the most detailed data about programs and components. In addition, they can be uploaded as a separate file in the format of text or HTML documents. But there is a minor disadvantage – the price of $60. Just don’t hurry to scroll through: the utility has a free period of one month. Just enough for all the tests.
How to view laptop parameters
If you are interested in how to see the characteristics of the laptop, then everything is simpler here. All of the above methods work for personal computers and any laptop, except, perhaps, MacBooks. The main characteristics of any Apple-branded computer or laptop can be viewed in a special “System Report” window. To open it, go to the Apple menu, the “System Preferences” tab, the “Basic” section, and click “Description” on the right side of the screen. That’s where the “Report” you’re looking for is hidden.
In simple words, if you need to see only the basic characteristics of the PC, then use the built-in utilities. And if you need detailed information, component tests, or driver updates, then download AIDA. Yes, it’s only a month free, but it’s packed with features.