Software & Apps > Backup & Utilities 153 153 people found this article helpful 10 Best Free System Information Tools Reviews of the Best Free System Information Utilities by Tim Fisher VP and General Manager, Lifewire.com Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the VP and General Manager of Lifewire. our editorial process Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Tim Fisher Updated on October 02, 2021 reviewed by Jerrick Leger Lifewire Technology Review Board Member Jerrick Leger is a CompTIA-certified IT Specialist with more than 10 years' experience in technical support and IT fields. He is also a systems administrator for an IT firm in Texas serving small businesses. our review board Article reviewed on Mar 05, 2020 Jerrick Leger Tweet Share Email Backup & Utilities File Types Apps Windows MS Office Linux Google Drive Backup & Utilities Design Cryptocurrency View More System information tools are software programs that gather all the important, but hard to come by, details about the hardware in your computer system. This sort of data is very helpful to someone helping you with a problem with your computer. Miguel Co / Lifewire There are other great uses for system information 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. We've only included free system information tools in this list. Please let us know if one of these programs is no longer freeware and is now charging, and we'll remove it. 01 of 10 Speccy What We Like Shows detailed information on lots of components Lets you copy text out of the program Results can be shared via the web and exported to a file Works as a regular and a portable program What We Don't Like A report can't be made of specific sections of information Hasn't been updated since 2018. Our Review of Speccy Piriform, creators of the popular CCleaner, Defraggler, and Recuva programs, also produce Speccy, our favorite free system information tool. Speccy's layout is nicely designed to provide all the information you need without being overly cluttered. 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 Speccy 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. Speccy works with all versions of Windows from Windows 10 through Windows XP. Download Speccy 02 of 10 PC Wizard What We Like Lets you see a summary of everything in one section Provides lots of detail Supports copying and exporting results What We Don't Like Buttons aren't labeled, which can be confusing It's often slow when scanning the computer Setup tries to install another program Another free system information tool that shows detail on a huge variety of components is PC Wizard. It's easy to save a report detailing any or all parts of the program, and you can even copy out single lines of data to the clipboard. Out of all the system information tools we've used, PC Wizard 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. Download PC Wizard 03 of 10 ASTRA32 What We Like Info from every category is summarized on one page Reveals detailed information on computer hardware It can be used without installation What We Don't Like Functions as a demo program Some information gets truncated Doesn't let you copy text out of the program Shows ads to buy the full program ASTRA32 is another free system information tool that shows amazing detail on numerous devices and other parts of the system. 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. Download ASTRA32 04 of 10 HWiNFO What We Like Easy to use Results are detailed Lets you copy specific results A one-page summary of all the details is available Supports extensions Works in Windows, as a DOS program, and in portable mode Supports alarms What We Don't Like Missing information found in some similar programs Our Review of HWiNFO HWiNFO shows nearly the same details as these other free system information tools, like for the CPU, motherboard, monitor, audio, network, and other components. 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 HWiNFO doesn't include as much information as some of the other applications from this list. Though the data it does display is still very helpful. HWiNFO runs on Windows 10, 8, 7, and older ones, through Windows 95. Download HWiNFO 05 of 10 Belarc Advisor What We Like Runs quickly Shows unique information not found in other programs Includes basic information on lots of hardware components The setup file is really small Software information is shown, too What We Don't Like You have to install the program to your computer Our Review of Belarc Advisor Belarc Advisor isn't as detailed as some of these other free system information tools. However, basic information on the operating system, processor, motherboard, memory, drives, bus adapters, display, group policies, and users are shown. In addition to the above, a unique feature in Belarc Advisor 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. Belarc Advisor 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. Download Belarc Advisor 06 of 10 Free PC Audit What We Like Easy to read and use Completely portable with a small download size Supports making reports Lets you copy text from the program Includes features not found in other programs What We Don't Like Information on some components aren't included in reports Isn't as detailed as similar tools Our Review of Free PC Audit Free PC Audit includes all the features you'd expect to find in any system information utility, including the ability for a report to be saved as a simple text file. For example, you can see information on all the hardware, like the motherboard, memory, and printers. In addition, Free PC Audit 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 Free PC Audit in Windows 10, 8, and 7, but it should also work fine in Windows 11 and older versions. Download Free PC Audit 07 of 10 MiTeC System Information X What We Like Has a tabbed user interface Free for personal and business use Includes very detailed information on lots of components It's portable Supports copying and making reports What We Don't Like Reports don't include information on some hardware details MiTeC System Information X is a free system information software program that's licensed for both private and commercial use. The tool is portable, easy to use, and can create a summary report. 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. MiTeC System Information X can be used with Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, and 2000, as well as with Windows Server 2019 through 2008. Download MiTeC System Information X 08 of 10 EVEREST Home Edition What We Like Lets you favorite components for easier access Condenses everything into several categories It's a portable program Reports can be made of some or all of the data What We Don't Like The program no longer gets updated It's not as detailed as other similar tool EVEREST Home Edition is a portable free system information tool that scans very quickly and organizes everything it finds into nine categories, including one for a summary page. 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 in EVEREST Home Edition to have instant access to any hardware component from the menu bar. Unfortunately, EVEREST Home Edition 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. Download EVEREST Home Edition 09 of 10 System Information Viewer (SIV) What We Like Shows detailed information There's a summary page Monitor system resources Reports can be made for all the info or just some of it No need for installation (it's portable) What We Don't Like Results are hard to read The interface is cluttered Searching doesn't work well SIV is another free system information tool for Windows that runs as a portable program (i.e., no need to install). 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. SIV is designed for Windows 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP, and 2000, plus older versions like Windows 98 and 95. It also works with Windows Server 2019 and some older versions. Download SIV 10 of 10 ESET SysInspector What We Like Has lots of features that make it unique Results are centered around security It's portable Can make reports about what the program finds What We Don't Like Isn't built to show as much info as similar tools ESET SysInspector is dead simple to use because of its search utility and well-organized interface. 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 ESET SysInspector 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. Download ESET SysInspector Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up! Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit