How to Check Computer Specifications

How to Check Computer Specifications

How to Check Computer Specifications

Got a new program that you can’t wait to use? Before you install it, you should ensure that your computer can handle it. If your computer’s specs don’t meet the recommended specs of the program, it may not run very well. See Step 1 below to learn how to find the information for the operating system you are running.

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Method1 :- For Windows

1.Open the System window. This can be accessed by pressing the Windows key + Pause, or by right-clicking on Computer/My Computer and selecting Properties. In Windows XP, this is called System Properties.

2.Find your system specs. They are located in the “System” section of the Properties window, or the “Computer” section in Windows XP. You will see the following information:

• Processor - This is the speed of your CPU. Virtually all processors will be Intel or AMD. If you are unsure what the processor model means, do a web search to see the details.
• Memory (RAM) – This is the amount of memory you have on your computer. If you have a 32-bit operating system, you can only have up to 4 GB of RAM, even if you have more installed.
• System type – This will tell you what version of Windows you are running. Newer versions of Windows will also tell you if you have a 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.

3.Check your installed graphics card. Click the Device Manager link in the System window. Expand the “Display adapters” section of the list. Your installed graphics adapters will be shown.

4.Check your free hard disk space. Open Computer/My Computer/This PC. Newer versions of Windows will show a bar of the amount of free space available, as well as list the numbers. If you are using Windows XP, right-click on the drive and select Properties. The free space will be represented by a pie chart.

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Method2 :-For Mac OS X

1.Click the Apple menu. Select “About This Mac”.

2.Click “More Info”. This will open a new window that lists your Mac system specs. You will be able to see the following system information:

• Processor - This is the speed of your CPU. Virtually all processors will be Intel. If you are unsure what the processor model means, do a web search to see the details.
• Memory (RAM) – This will show the amount of system memory you have installed. The more memory you have, the greater your capability to run multiple programs at once or memory-hungry programs like Photoshop.
• Graphics Card – This will display your installed video adapter, if any. You can do a web search on the make and model for more details on what kind of capabilities your adapter has.
• Software version – This is the version of OS X you are running. Both the name (Lion) and the version number (10.7) will be displayed.

3.Check your free hard disk space. Click the Storage tab at the top of the About This Mac window. Your hard drives will be listed, along with the space that you are using and the amount of space you have remaining.

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Method3 :-For Linux

1.Open your distribution’s graphical system monitor. Most modern Linux distributions have a graphical interface that can display your system specifications much like Windows. For example, the program is called System Monitor in Ubuntu. Programs such as these will display:

• Operating system – Your operating system (Ubuntu) and version number will be shown at the top.
• Memory – This is the amount of RAM you have installed on your system. More RAM means your ability to run multiple programs is increased.
• Processor – This is the CPU you have installed. If there are multiple identical processors listed, each one represents one of the cores on your processor. Do a web search for your processor model to see detailed specs.
• Available space – This is the amount of free space you have on your hard drive.

2.Download a more detailed program. You can get programs that give you much more details about all of your installed hardware. These are typically available from your distribution’s repository. For example, on Ubuntu you can install a program called HardInfo.

3.Use the terminal. As with virtually everything on Linux, you can check the specs of your computer from the terminal. There are several ways you can go about this, and they are similar for virtually all Linux distributions.

• The folder/proc/ contains information about your system setup. Each aspect of the system has a separate file. Use the cat command to read the files you need. The most useful ones include:
  • cat /proc/cpuinfo - This will show you information about your installed processor.
  • cat /proc/meminfo - This will show information on your installed RAM.
  • cat /proc/partitions - This will show information on your hard disk partitions.
• Use lshw to display your system specs. You may need to install it before you can use it. To install lshw, use the following command: sudo apt-get install lshw. Run lshw by typing sudo lshw to display a full list of your hardware, orsudo lshw -short for a brief list.