How to Identify the Hardware in Your Computer
By Timothy Tibbetts |
At some point, you might need to identify the hardware on your Windows desktop or laptop. You might need to know what graphics or sound card you have, what type of motherboard, and more. There are a few ways you can identify all of your hardware in minutes.
1: Windows System Information (GUI)
The System Information tool that comes with Windows can provide most details, but it's not what you'd call intuitive. Still, give it a try first.
Press the Windows Key + R and type in msinfo32. You can also type System information in the search bar or press the Windows Key + S.
You will see three main categories:
Hardware Resources
Components
Software Environment
You're looking for the Components section. Click on the hardware you'd like to identify. In some cases, you have to expand a category. One example would be Input to choose the mouse or keyboard.
As we mentioned earlier, System Information rarely finds everything you need. In our case, the Windows System Information didn't recognize our adapter, which is sad, considering we have a brand name onboard wireless adapter.
2: Windows System Information Command Prompt
Open a Command Prompt and type in systeminfo and press Enter.
You will see some information that wasn't available using the GUI. As you can see, at least it found my network cards this time.
3: Third-Party Apps
Third-party apps do it best. Since you're on MajorGeeks and the best apps are what we do, here are our top 6 choices taken from our Top Freeware Picks.
Tweaking.com - System Information
Tweaking.com is the same guy from PCWinTech.com, and all of his utilities are free and 5-star programs, so this is no exception.
SIV (System Information Viewer)
SIV is an app for displaying lots of useful Windows, network, and hardware info.
Belarc Advisor
Belarc Advisor can be found in use by most techs. It shows all of your system information into a web page.
Speccy
Another solid app from the CCleaner guys. It will offer to install Ccleaner so watch for that. A portable version is available.
HWiNFO32
HWINFO is more of a system information tool but has benchmarking, monitoring, and more. Driver Updates tab in the program is an advertisement, so don’t fall for that. 64-bit available, but 32 bit runs just fine.
Open Hardware Monitor
Under one MB, open-source and can report back on your fans, CPU, video card temperatures, and more. If you’re looking to see if heat is an issue, this is a good choice—also, an excellent system information tool.
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1: Windows System Information (GUI)
The System Information tool that comes with Windows can provide most details, but it's not what you'd call intuitive. Still, give it a try first.
Press the Windows Key + R and type in msinfo32. You can also type System information in the search bar or press the Windows Key + S.
You will see three main categories:
You're looking for the Components section. Click on the hardware you'd like to identify. In some cases, you have to expand a category. One example would be Input to choose the mouse or keyboard.
As we mentioned earlier, System Information rarely finds everything you need. In our case, the Windows System Information didn't recognize our adapter, which is sad, considering we have a brand name onboard wireless adapter.
2: Windows System Information Command Prompt
Open a Command Prompt and type in systeminfo and press Enter.
You will see some information that wasn't available using the GUI. As you can see, at least it found my network cards this time.
3: Third-Party Apps
Third-party apps do it best. Since you're on MajorGeeks and the best apps are what we do, here are our top 6 choices taken from our Top Freeware Picks.
Tweaking.com is the same guy from PCWinTech.com, and all of his utilities are free and 5-star programs, so this is no exception.
SIV is an app for displaying lots of useful Windows, network, and hardware info.
Belarc Advisor can be found in use by most techs. It shows all of your system information into a web page.
Another solid app from the CCleaner guys. It will offer to install Ccleaner so watch for that. A portable version is available.
HWINFO is more of a system information tool but has benchmarking, monitoring, and more. Driver Updates tab in the program is an advertisement, so don’t fall for that. 64-bit available, but 32 bit runs just fine.
Under one MB, open-source and can report back on your fans, CPU, video card temperatures, and more. If you’re looking to see if heat is an issue, this is a good choice—also, an excellent system information tool.
Similar:
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