Knowing your PC’s hardware specifications

This happens all the time, when someone calls and ask  me about a computer problem, I always ask them what is the hardware specifications of their PC. Most of them would just let their nose bleed because they wouldn’t know what I am talking about, while most of them would just say that “I don’t know”.

Its important that you have details about your computer because you will need it:

• If you are going to upgrade your computer, or buy a replacement part for your PC
• If you are migrating into another Operating System
• If you are going to install a software (games, photo editor, etc) into your PC so that you will be able to know if the software will properly work on your computer

There are a few ways to get your computer specifications, without getting your hands dirty.

SYSTEM PROPERTIES

This one has the most simplest details of your computer, if you want to know what processor are you using, what is its speed and how much RAM (Random Access Memory) is installed on your computer.

To open System Properties on your computer:

• Right click the My Computer icon on your desktop
• Click Properties

Or you could:

• Press Windows Key + Pause/Break on your keyboard

DxDIAG

Direct X Diagnostics – “is a diagnostics tool used to test DirectX functionality and troubleshoot video- or sound-related hardware problems.  These files are often posted in tech forums or attached to support emails in order to give support personnel a better idea of the PC the requester is using in case the error is due to a hardware failure or incompatibility.”

source: http://wikipedia.org

Like System Properties this also has details about your computer, it has your processor, processor speed, RAM, the model of you video card and sound card, and the model of  your computer’s Motherboard.

To open DxDiag:

• Click Start Menu
• Click Run
• Type dxdiag and press enter

CPU-Z

This is a free tool that you can download and run without installing, this has the most extensive details about your computer’s;

• Processor and its speed
• Memory, its type, and how much memory is installed on each slot.
• Motherboard model, and its BIOS
• Graphics card model and its memory.

Once you download the file, just run it and voila! Click on the tabs to check out the other details about your computer.

To download CPU-Z click here

After getting your computer make sure that you have this details so that you would be able to know, what to buy, or what to tell your tech support.