Often there is a situation where a user buys, for example, a small powerful laptop, but a first look at the model being purchased is not enough for him. I would like to know information about all the stuffing that is installed in it (both software and hardware). It is clear that the seller will tell you which laptop it is, the manual also contains basic information about all the components. But the user himself wants to make sure that everything claimed is true. There are several basic techniques that allow you to get information about absolutely all device parameters in literally a couple of seconds, and regardless of which OS modification is installed in each specific model.
Notebooks: characteristics of models. What should I look for?
Naturally, in the first place, a visual inspection plays a role. Whether it's a small powerful laptop or a game system of quite impressive size, a potential buyer first pays attention to the screen. It is important to know the diagonal and screen resolution.
Then questions begin about the installed processor, the amount of RAM, the graphics adapter, the sound system, etc. The most inquisitive buyers try to get to the bottom of what connectors are in the device, which software components are installed, etc., etc. So it turns out that the technical specifications of the laptop include information about both software and hardware. The following is a few methods that allow you to get comprehensive information about all the parameters of any model of laptop or desktop computer. All of them are applicable to systems, starting with XP and ending with 10.
How to see the characteristics of a laptop in a simple way?
The simplest method that most users are accustomed to using is to look at the minimum specifications with a definition of the model and type of processor, RAM and installed version (modification) of the operating system.
You can find out such parameters of the laptop in the standard way, which consists in invoking the context menu by right-clicking on the computer icon (or on the corresponding line in the "Explorer" for Windows 10) and using the properties section. But there is only a minimum of basic information. The detailed characteristics of this section, as they say, can not be squeezed out.
Using System Information
Speaking about how to see the characteristics of a laptop in an advanced version, you should use the special system utility Msinfo32.
This section can be called by the command of the same name, which is entered in the special “Run” console, and it is completely optional to run it as administrator. There is more information here. Here are presented not only the basic parameters of the laptop, but also some additional information, including the system build number, BIOS version, information about the motherboard, Hyper-V mode, etc. Separately, the categories of hardware resources, components and software environment are highlighted in which you can even get information about device driver files. True, for the most part, few people pay attention to this. However, you can immediately recommend looking at the device section with problems. In it, you can even identify some problems before purchasing a laptop.
But as a rule, such technical specifications of the laptop are needed only by specialists who are knowledgeable about computers, who can immediately indicate the compliance of the wilted parameters with the actual ones or predict how well this model will behave in operation.
View installed devices
In the matter of how to look at the characteristics of a laptop or a stationary PC, viewing the installed hardware components (roughly speaking, computer hardware) plays an important role.
In this sense, the “Device Manager”, which is called from the “Control Panel”, the computer administration section, or through the devmgmt.msc command in the Run console (Win + R), is an indispensable assistant.
It must be said right away that not all components are displayed in the main list, so you should use the command to display hidden devices. In the presented list, you can not only browse devices by name, but also determine some of their characteristics, including conflicts or installed drivers. In addition, it is noteworthy that all components that for some reason do not work or function incorrectly, you can immediately determine by highlighting them in the list with a yellow marker. As they say, you do not need to be seven spans in the forehead to realize that there are problems with such devices, and they will have to be eliminated.
DirectX Platform Tools
A few ordinary users are aware that in solving the problem of how to look at the characteristics of a laptop, invoking the DirectX bridge dialogue (dxdiag in the application runtime menu) can be invaluable.
The base page provides information on the processor and RAM, installed OS and its assembly, version of DirectX, etc.
The screen tab looks more interesting. Only with its help, unlike other standard tools, you can find out the amount of allocated memory of a discrete video card (such models are mainly installed on laptops of the middle price category). You can immediately see the screen resolution with the current settings for the refresh rate and color depth, not to mention the version and name of the driver.
Command line
Finally, you can get the necessary configuration information even using the command line (cmd) when entering the systeminfo command.
In this case, the information presented to the ordinary user will not say anything special, but people who know such information can be very useful.
Third-party utilities and online monitoring
You can also use some third-party programs to view the characteristics of a laptop or PC.
Among the most popular are CPU-Z / GPU-Z, Speecy, HWMonitor, AIDA64, PC Wizard, etc. The information is broader and includes parameters such as the temperature of the processor, the speed of rotation of fans (coolers), etc. .
Many laptop models also have online support. For example, DELL devices with an active Internet connection can be fully tested on a special page. By the result, it will be possible to immediately determine whether changes have been made to the configuration and whether it complies with the standard of the model being produced.
Finally, some important information can be viewed even in the BIOS settings (processor and hard drive model , RAM size, hard drive operating mode and much more).
Thus, you can get information about the characteristics of some model of laptop or desktop PC using any of the above methods. But for the picture to be the most complete, you should not be limited to just one method, you need to apply them together.