Properly understanding what’s happening on your PC – monitoring hardware, assessing performance, diagnosing errors – normally requires you to navigate a host of Control Panel applets and third-party tools.
The alternative are PC monitoring suites like AIDA64, which include a library of PC management and information tools.
AIDA64 provides detailed reports on your motherboard, BIOS, RAM, hard drive, sound card, network adapters, PCI and USB-connected devices, their resource use and more, so you can get a feel for your system setup without having to open the case.
A System Stability Text will exercise your CPU, memory and hard drives to see how they cope. AIDA64 can also monitor your system temperature, fan speed and voltages. If you plan to push your PC beyond its usual limits then an Overclock report can help, detailing CPU stepping, clock, multiplier, FSB, memory timings and CPU clock.
AIDA64 provides detailed reports on your system
AIDA64 also reports on your installed programs. It lists the software licences of some supported programs (including Windows and Microsoft Office), handy as an easy way to back them up. Tools such as the Event Log will help to diagnose problems, and there are reports on your startup programs, scheduled tasks, installed Sidebar gadgets and file associations.
There are individual settings reporting on your network setup, multimedia configuration (including installed codecs), and security (key patches, installed settings. A Benchmarks section lets you assess your RAM and CPU performance. Reporting options mean you can save any of these details for future reference, which will also help to highlight changes.
To obtain your free copy of AIDA64 Extreme Edition 1.85, listed on the Download Crew site as being worth $39.95, first visit the Downloadcrew Giveaway site on Thursday March 29th, between 00:00 and 23:59 CET. Log in – creating a free account if you don’t have one already – and download the installation file. The Download Crew site will provide you with a coupon code which you can then redeem for a free licence key (check the Giveaway page on Thursday for the full instructions).
This article originally appeared at softwarecrew.co.uk
