There are other great uses for these tools, too, like providing data on the type of RAM you have so you buy the right upgrade or replacement, creating a list of hardware when selling a computer, keeping tabs on the temperature of your important components, and lots more. A summary page gives you brief, but very helpful information on things like the operating system, memory, graphics, and storage devices. A more detailed look at each category is organized in their respective sections. Our favorite feature is the ability to send system specs from the program to a public web page to easily share with others. Exporting to a file, as well as printing, are additional options, making saving a list of all your hardware details really easy. This tool should work fine for all versions of Windows. Out of all the system information tools we’ve used, this one is certainly the most informative. It includes not only the basic and advanced information on internal and external hardware, but also useful operating system details. PC Wizard can be installed on all versions of Windows, which includes Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP. There are several categories to separate the information it gathers on hardware, like that of a motherboard, storage, and monitor information. A system summary section is perfect for seeing an overview of all the hardware and operating system details. Also, a dedicated section for live monitoring is included to show the temperature and current usage of various hardware components. ASTRA32 works as a demo program, but it doesn’t really mean much because it still provides lots of useful information. It can be used on Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, 2000, and Windows Server 2008 and 2003. A sensor status window is included to monitor the current and average speed/rate of the memory, hard drive, and CPU. HWiNFO can also run a benchmark against these areas. Report files can be created for some or all of the system components, and you can also set up automatic reporting that sounds an alarm when a sensor exceeds a particular threshold. Unfortunately, we found that this program doesn’t include as much information as some of the other applications from this list. Although, the data it does display is still very helpful. It runs on Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and older ones. There’s an installer, portable edition, and a download for DOS. In addition to the above, a unique feature is the ability to list all the security updates Windows is missing. You can also view software licenses, installed hotfixes, program usage frequency, and version numbers for select Microsoft products. Results of a scan open in a web browser and can be viewed on a single web page. The program is quick to download and doesn’t try to install additional programs during setup, which is always nice. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP are supported. For example, you can see information on all the hardware, like the motherboard, memory, and printers. In addition, it displays the Windows product key and ID, a list of installed software, and all the currently running processes, among many other things. Free PC Audit is completely portable, making it perfect for a flash drive. We tested it in Windows 10, 8, and 7, but it should also work fine in Windows 11 and older versions. Among many other categories, you’ll find all the standard details like audio, network, and motherboard, information. More specific information can also be shown, such as drivers and processes. The tabbed interface makes MiTeC System Information X really easy to navigate through if you’re viewing more than one report at once. This program is said to be compatible with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, and 2000, as well as with Windows Server 2019 through 2008. All the standard hardware details are included, like that of the motherboard, network, storage devices, and display, with the ability to create an HTML report of everything. You can create favorites to have instant access to any hardware component from the menu bar. Unfortunately, this program is no longer being developed. This means if it’s still not being developed in the future, the new hardware devices that are released will likely not be recognized by the program. Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, and XP users can install this program. In addition to USB, hard drive, adapter, and basic OS details, SIV also includes a live sensor to show CPU and memory utilization. The interface is a bit hard to look at—the details are too difficult to read. However, if you have the patience to look closely enough, you’ll find all the information you’d expect. It’s designed for Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, and 2000, plus older versions like Windows 98 and 95. It also works with Windows Server 2022 and some older versions. Results can be filtered to show information based on a risk level between one and nine. You can find basic information like available memory, system uptime, and the local time. More advanced details include things like environment variables, installed software, hotfixes, and an event log. This program can also view a list of running processes and current network connections, active and disabled drivers, and a list of important registry entries and system files. We like this tool because it is the only program in this list that is centered around providing detail regarding the security of the computer. However, it doesn’t show exhaustive details like the higher rated system information tools in this list. It should work in 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, and 2000. Server operating systems are also supported, including Windows Home Server. There are several parts to this app. The Diagnostics tab lets you run system scans to check on the health of the motherboard, keyboard, hard drive, video card, etc. This is also where you can run BSOD troubleshooting if the app has detected a Blue Screen of Death. In here are also shortcuts to various Windows tools, like to configure network adapter settings or edit the Windows Firewall. My Device is a summary page showing the current CPU usage, free space left on the hard drive, your local IP address, and a few other things. Selecting anything from that screen points you to the Information tab. The Information tab is where all the system information is held. Lots of detail is included here about the OS, motherboard, hard drives, optical drives, audio, printers, memory, security, drivers, USB devices, and more. All of it can be packed neatly in an HTML file. There’s also an area in this tab for listing detected app crashes.
