How to Get Your Computer Specs

Microsoft Windows offers detailed system information about your computer, but the method by which you access it varies by the version of the operating system. The modern tool in Windows 10 was originally deployed in Windows 8, but the process is very different for Windows 7.

Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc. From the Task Manager, select the Performance tab. You'll see several important bits of information:

• Your processor type and speed (as well as the current processor load)
• Metadata about your processor, including the number of cores and logical processors, and whether virtualization technologies are in effect
• The amount of total and currently available system memory
• The current disk throughput for each attached physical disk
• The type of network connection and the current amount of network traffic
• The graphical processing unit and its present load.

Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 offered a similar Task Manager experience as Windows 10 offers. To open it, press Ctrl+Shift+Esc. The default view offers a simplified version. Select More details to reveal the full version of the Task Manager. The look-and-feel of the Performance tab is identical to Windows 10, as of version 19H2 released in the autumn of 2019.

Although Windows 7 is out-of-date and no longer supported, some people still maintain Windows 7 machines. To check the specs, use the systeminfo utility from the Command Prompt.

From the Command Prompt, type systeminfo to see the relevant information about your system's hardware and software.

Other programs offer detailed system information, too, but your mileage may vary. For example, to obtain precise information about your video card, you're probably better off using a tool from your card's vendor rather than relying on some other vendor's tool.