How to Check Your PC Specs – A Windows 10 Guide

While you may not need to know how to check your PC specs for the daily operation and use of your computer, knowing when they are needed, how to read them, and how to find them does come in handy for certain situations.

For instance, you may need to know if your computer’s specs meet the minimum requirements to run a video game, or you may need to troubleshoot one of the components. You may also need to pull them up if you are considering updating your computer and need to check compatibility between an older component and a new one you’re planning on purchasing.

Luckily, Windows makes it incredibly easy to look up your PC specs, which is what we are covering in this guide. We will explain how to find your basic specifications, as well as, your CPU, RAM, motherboard, GPU, HDD, SSD (and free space available), Ethernet link speed, operating system type, and Windows edition through easy methods that involve just a few searches or clicks.

Brief Term Glossary

Before we jump into explaining how to check your PC specs, here is a brief rundown of some of the terms referred to in this guide.

• Specs = specifications. This is the technical information about your computer.
• CPU = central processing unit. This is the main processor or brain of your computer.
• RAM = random access memory. This is a type of computer memory that stores and reads data on a short-term basis.
• Motherboard = main circuit board. This is the board that houses your physical components and allows communication between them (CPU, RAM, GPU, and peripherals).
• GPU = graphical processing unit. This is what creates, manipulates, and altars memory to create images intended for you to see. A GPU can be a video card or it can be embedded on the motherboard as part of the CPU.
• HDD = hard drive disk. This is a storage device that stores and retrieves data using magnetism. These have large volumes and are the dominant storage device used in computers.
• SSD = solid-state disk. This is a storage device that stores data persistently with flash memory and often functions as a secondary storage in computers. However, those who build or purchase computers with just SSD’s will have these as their main storage device.
• OS = operating system. This is your computer’s system software. Microsoft Windows 10 is the OS we will be referring to in this guide.

How to Find Your Device and Windows Specifications

If you are looking to get an overview of your computer’s basic specifications, which includes device information and Windows information, then you will need to navigate to the “About” System Window, which is located in your settings. This “About” section is going to outline the following for you:

Device Specs	Window Specs
Device Name	Windows Edition
Processor (CPU)	Windows Version
Installed RAM Amount	Installation Date
Device ID/Product ID	Operating System Build
System Type	Experience Pack Version
Pen/Touch Availability

To navigate to this “About” window, here is what you need to do.

1. Click on your Windows Start button.
2. Click on the “Settings” button which is the “gear-shaped” icon above the power option.

3. Click on “System” which is the first option in the Settings Window.

4. In the left-hand sidebar, scroll down until you see “About” – click it.

You can also just simply type “Settings” into your computer’s search and click on “System” that way.

How to Check What Your Computer’s Processor (CPU) Is

If you’ve gone through the above steps to find out your computer’s basic system information, then simply repeat the steps to find out what your “processor” is. It will read something like: Intel(R) Core(™) i7-7700HQ CPU @ 2.8Ghz. However, there is another way of finding it, which we will outline below.

1. Make sure your monitor is set to the desktop (have nothing open).
2. Use the CTRL + ALT + Delete computer command to open the Windows Security Window. Click on the “Task Manager” from the available options. Another way to do this is to right-click your taskbar and choose “Task Manager” from that list.
3. In the Task Manager which opens up to the “Processes” tab and shows off the list of running programs, find the “Performance” tab at the top. If you don’t see this tab at the top, you may need to click on “More details”.
4. In the left-hand sidebar, click on “CPU” to highlight the option. Now in the top right-hand corner, you will see your CPU.

How to Check What Your Computer’s Random Access Memory (RAM) Is

While you can see what the installed RAM is from the “About” section for your basic computer specifications, instead of repeating the steps outlined above, we have a quicker way for you to get to the information.

1. In your computer’s search (magnifying glass), bottom-left corner, type in RAM.

2. In the “best match” search results, click on the “View RAM Info” option.
3. This will bring you to the “About” section in your settings.
4. In the device specifications section, you can see your installed RAM.

How to Check What Your Computer’s Motherboard Is

To find out what kind of motherboard is installed in your computer, you will need to access your “System Information” window and look for the system manufacturer and system model, which tells you the make and model of your motherboard.

1. In your computer’s search (magnifying glass), bottom-left corner, type in system information.

2. In the search results, click on the System Information app. This looks like a computer monitor with an “i” in the middle.
3. This will open up the System Summary window.
4. On the right-hand side, scan the list for: Baseboard Manufacturer, Product, and Version.

In this window, you can also see your operating system, operating system version, operating system manufacturer, your CPU, total installed physical memory and the amount of memory available.

How to Check What Your Computer’s Graphics Card (GPU) Is

If you are looking for your graphics card (GPU), you can find this by navigating to your device manager and looking under the display adapters option.

1. In your computer’s search (magnifying glass), bottom-left corner, type in “device manager”.
2. In the search results, click on the Device Manager app. This looks like a printer & camera sitting side by side.

3. In the device manager window, scroll down to display adapters and expand the arrow.
4. Now the GPU you have will be displayed to you.

If you want further information on your graphics card (GPU), right-click it and choose “Properties” from the window. In the general tab, you will find the manufacturer and location of the GPU. You can also view the driver information, “event” information, and the resources it is using.

How to Check What Your Computer’s HDD and/or SSD Are

To find out the detailed information about your computer’s HDD or SSD, you will want to navigate to the “System Information” app. We have outlined how to do this in the motherboard section above, so please repeat those initial steps. If you’d like a different way of reaching the “System Information” window, you can do the following:

1. In the computer’s search bar, type in “Run” and open the “Run Dialogue Box”.
2. Type in msinfo32 and hit Enter.
3. Now that you have the System Information App/Window open again, find “Storage” in the left-hand sidebar.
4. Expand the menu and click on “Disks” to view information about your HDD and SSD.

This window will tell you what kind of disk it is, whether there is media on the disk, and it will provide information about location, size, sectors, and more.

How to check your available free hard drive space

If you find yourself having trouble reading through all of the numbers available in the System Information window for your HDD or SSD, you can find the total remaining space available another way.

1. Open up File Explorer.
2. Scroll down the left-hand sidebar till you find your HDD or SSD.
3. Right-click on the drive and choose “Properties”.
4. Under the general tab, you will see “Used” and “Free” space.

How to Check Your Ethernet Link Speed (Connection Speed)

There are several methods you can use to find out what your Ethernet link speed is, which include: settings, control panel, and command lines. In this section, we will just be covering the “settings” method as this is the easiest for most individuals to use.

1. In your computer’s search menu, type in “settings” or in the Windows Start Menu, click on the gear-shaped icon.
2. In the Settings window, click on the “Network & Internet” option.
3. In the left-hand sidebar, click on “Status”.
4. Under “Advanced network settings” click on the “View hardware and connection properties” link.
5. Find “Ethernet” in the list and browse down to find the “Link speed” which will tell you the speed of your Ethernet connection.

How to Check What Windows Edition You Have

Finally, if you are looking for your operating system type or Windows edition, you can find these listed out in the “About” section of your System Information.

1. Type “settings” into your Windows Search Bar, and open the Settings app.
2. Click on System.
3. Scroll down in the left-hand menu until you see the About option. Select it.
4. Scroll through your system information until you find the Windows specifications section.

Your operating system type, Windows version, and current OS build will be all visible there.