Knowing the hardware of your computer is important, not only for professional systems engineers but also for simple users who are not computer experts . The reason why I want to underline the need to have this information lies above all in the fact that, when buying an assembled or pre-assembled PC, we must immediately check that the pieces of the computer correspond to those listed on the invoice, so as to immediately unmask the shopkeeper or the computer chain that is smart, changing new pieces with old and worn ones.
Another important thing to check is the performance of the computer, to understand what you have and to be able to describe to others the technical characteristics of the hardware, so you can immediately find the cause of the problem on specialized forums but also in chat with technicians of whom we are friends. .
In this guide we will therefore show you the best programs to know the computer hardware and the individual pieces of the Windows PC, so that you can get all the necessary information on the fly.
READ ALSO: What components are in a computer "> Speccy, also available in a portable version.
Starting this program we will get all the information on the main components of the computer, with the possibility of obtaining detailed technical information using one of the menus on the left side. The program is free and translated into Italian.
Another very useful program for obtaining component information is SIW.
SIW is a valid and free program with a good peripheral recognition database, so you can also view the new components. Users can run the program directly from a USB flash drive, a CD, a network drive or a portable hard drive without any installation.
SIW (System Information for Windows) scans the computer and reports all the required information : we can also find very useful details on software, hardware and the network.
Siw manages to give detailed and complete information about the current operating system, which programs have been installed, the network information, the directory system, the passwords hidden behind the asterisks, the regional settings, the loaded DLLs, the drivers, the sensors of temperature, Ram, processor, motherboard, video and audio cards, and much more.
This small program also offers a tool for testing the monitor and viewing the video.
Another program that we can test to know the PC hardware is Open Hardware Monitor.
With it we can see all the pieces of the computer flanked by graphs that show the detections of the sensors regarding the CPU temperatures, the power and load of the processors, the fan speed on the video card and much more, before, during and after the use of the tool.
Open Hardware Monitor is an open source program whose development is continuous and updates as new models and new hardware technologies come out. For example, it has all the updated information and supports the control and monitoring of Intel Core i3, i5, and i7 motherboards and CPUs, and Nvidia and ATI graphics cards.
If we are looking for a free portable program to analyze in detail the software, processes and tasks active on our computer we can use PC Hunter.
This small tool shows all the software information of the computer and all its components.
It is possible to view running processes, startup services, log files and so on.
The information of each of the system areas can be found under its tab, in order to keep things organized.
For the more experienced we recommend using the WinAudit program.
It provides a complete overview of the computer, showing you all the hardware components, going through the details on the software, operating system and peripherals possibly connected to the system.
Always on the subject we can read our guides Find information on complete hardware and computer devices and Measure computer power and hardware performance with benchmark programs .
READ ALSO: How to find out which motherboard in the PC
Specific programs for CPU, RAM and video card
If we want to know specifically which processor we mount, what type of motherboard we use and which RAM banks we have, we can use a very powerful program like CPU-Z.
In the various program tabs we will be able to identify the processor with all the details, find out the cache inside it, see which RAM memory slots are occupied and find out the frequency and timing data of the RAM banks used, so that we can perform an upgrade of the targeted and precise memory, as seen also in the guide How to increase RAM and add new memory to the PC .
To identify the model of video card present we can rely on GPU-Z.
By downloading this small tool we will get valuable information on the graphics chip mounted on our video card including the amount of video memory, the clock frequency and support for the latest graphics technologies, so that we know in advance if we can hold a new video game or we must proceed with an upgrade.
This tool is useful if combined with the advice seen in our guide on How to change Video Card .
READ ALSO: Use System Information to find the complete technical specifications of the computer
Conclusions
Using one or more of the programs listed above, we will be able to find out immediately if the seller is honest or has cheated us, since the information retrieved cannot be modified or altered in any way. To carry out a check of the hard disk or the SSD there are specific tools illustrated in our guide on how to check the status of the disk (HDD and SSD) with tests on health, performance and speed .If, on the other hand, we need to update the drivers of the peripherals and components present on the computer, we recommend you read our article on how to quickly update the drivers .
To speed up the PC we can also use the tools to optimize and control the PC hardware .
