Find System Specs

Knowing what your computer's "specs" (specifications) are can help you make informed software and hardware purchases. It can also help you narrow down technical problems when you know the exact model of all of your hardware. You can quickly find your system specs in any operating system.

Steps

Windows

  1. Open the Run dialog. You can find this in the Start menu or by pressing ⊞ Win+R.
  2. Type .msinfo32 and press ↵ Enter. This will open the System Information window.[1]
    • It may take a few moments for the window to open.
    • There are several ways to check your system specs in Windows, but the System Information provides the most comprehensive report in one place.
  3. Review the System Summary to find your basic information. There are several notable entries in the System Summary screen, which is the default view when you launch the System Information window.
    • OS Name - This is the version of Windows that you are using.
    • System Manufacturer/Model - This is the manufacturer of your computer and the model.
    • System Type - This indicates whether you are running a 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) version of Windows.
    • Processor - This is the model and speed of your processor. The speed listed is the advertised speed of the processor. If your processor has multiple cores, they will be displayed here. Note that if you have overclocked your CPU, the new results likely will not appear here. Check-CPU-Speed.
    • Installed Physical Memory (RAM) - This is the amount of RAM that you have installed in your computer.
    • Baseboard Manufacturer/Model - This is the manufacturer and model of your motherboard. The model may not always be properly reported.
  4. Expand the "Components" section. The Components section will let you see details about your graphics card and hard drives.
  5. Select "Display". This will show the graphics card that you have installed. If your motherboard has integrated graphics and you have a graphics card installed, you'll see two different sets of specifications.
    • When looking up the specs of your graphics card, the most common things you'll need to know are the Name and Adapter RAM. The Adapter RAM is displayed in bytes, but is usually listed in system requirements lists as gigabytes (GB). There are about 1 billion bytes in a gigabyte (Windows will report different numbers than the manufacturer).
  6. Expand the "Storage" section and select "Drives". This will display the amount of free space and total storage space on all of your installed drives and partitions.
    • Select the "Disks" option to see your physical disks and the different partitions each one contains.
  7. Explore the other sections. The above information should allow you to determine your specs when referring to the system requirements for software or hardware. These are just the basics though, and you can find a lot of detailed information in each of the entries.
    • The "Software Environment" section will show all of your drivers, running processes, and startup programs.
  8. Export the file for troubleshooting. If you're working with a technician to troubleshoot your computer, they may want to see a document of your computer specs. You can export your system specs by clicking the "File" menu and selecting "Export". Give the file a name and it will be saved as a text file.

Mac

  1. Click the Apple menu and select "About This Mac". This will open a window displaying your OS X version and a summary of your system specs. This includes your processor speed, memory (RAM), and graphics adapter (if installed).
  2. Use the tabs at the top of the window (Yosemite). The newest version of OS X has tabs along the top of the About This Mac window that allow you to quickly jump between the different categories of hardware. If you are using Mavericks (OS X 10.9) or earlier, skip down to the next step.
    • The Overview tab gives you a brief rundown of your most commonly-searched for specs. This page should be enough to determine whether or not you can run a program.
    • The Displays tab will show all of your connected displays.
    • The Storage tab will show your drives and how much space each one of them has.
  3. Click . (Mavericks or earlier). This will open a new window with detailed hardware information. Use the navigation tree on the left to find the hardware you want to inspect.[2]
    • The Hardware section will display detailed information for all of your hardware components. When you select "Hardware", you CPU information will be shown in the right frame. If your CPU has more than one core, they will be listed here.
    • Note: This shows the advertised speed of the processor, which is fine when determining if your computer meets the requirements to run a program. It will not, however, show the results of any overclocking. Check-CPU-Speed.

Linux

  1. Open the terminal. You can use a lightweight hardware listing program that is included in many Linux distributions. If you don't have it, it can be easily installed. You can quickly open the terminal in most distributions by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T.
  2. Install lshw (if necessary). Many Linux distributions, including Ubuntu and Mint, include lshw. Use one of the following commands to install lshw. If you already have it, you'll be informed that it's already installed.[3]
    • Debian - sudo apt-get install lshw
    • Red Hat/Fedora - sudo yum install lshw
  3. Run lshw to see a readout of your installed hardware. Use the following command to cut out most of the clutter and display the items that most people are looking for:
    • sudo lshw -short.[4]
  4. Find the items your looking for. Use the "Class" column to find the item you want. You can find the processor, the memory (RAM), the graphics card ("display"), and disk volumes.
  5. Create a text file of your hardware specs. This can be useful if someone is helping you troubleshoot, or you want to sell the computer.
    • Type sudo lshw -short > specs.txt. You can rename the file to whatever you'd like. You'll find the text file in your /home folder.
    • You can also type sudo lshw -html > specs.html. This will create an HTML file that may be easier to read when opened in a web browser.
  6. Install the GUI (graphical user interface). This will allow you to view your hardware in a graphical window that you can navigate through. This can be more comfortable for users coming from Windows or OS X.
    • Type sudo apt-get install lshw-gtk (Debian) or sudo yum install lshw-gui (RH/Fedora).
    • Type sudo lshw -X to launch the GUI for lshw. The GUI uses the "3-frame" layout. When you expand something in the left frame, the sub sections will appear in the frame to the right. Expand the different categories to find your specs.

Android

  1. Download a terminal emulator. While you can use your Settings menu to find basic information about your phone, you won't be able to see any detailed information about your processor or memory. With a terminal emulator, you'll be able to perform Linux commands to display your system specs.
    • If you have access to the Dev Tools on your device (Settings → Developer Tools), you can launch the Terminal Emulator from there. If you don't have access to these tools, you can download a terminal emulator app. The most popular free terminal emulator is "Terminal Emulator for Android". You can download it from the Google Play Store. This method does not require root access.
  2. Open the Terminal Emulator. You'll be taken to a Linux-style terminal prompt.
  3. Type .cat /proc/cpuinfo and press Enter. This will display information about the mobile processor in your Android device.
  4. Type .cat /proc/meminfo and press Enter. This will display information about the memory (RAM) on your device, including the total memory and the amount being used.[5]

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ http://www.thewindowsclub.com/system-information-tool-msinfo32
  2. ↑ http://www.macworld.co.uk/how-to/mac/how-check-specs-of-your-mac-3594298/
  3. ↑ http://www.ezix.org/project/wiki/HardwareLiSter#Installation
  4. ↑ https://chrisjean.com/how-to-find-hardware-devices-in-ubuntu-with-lshw/
  5. ↑ http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/6372/how-to-get-hardware-specs-of-android-device
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