How to Check Your Computer Specifications: Find Your CPU, GPU, Motherboard, & RAM

Whether you want to upgrade your PC and need to know what the specs of your current PC are so you can choose the right hardware or if you’re planning to sell your PC, knowing the specs is pretty easy if you know what you have.

We’ll walk you step-by-step through this easy-to-follow guide to help you find out your computer’s specifications so that you can get the information you need.

How to Check Computer Specifications

In Windows 10, you can check your system specs by clicking the Start button, followed by the Settings gear-shaped icon. Within the Windows Settings menu, click System. Scroll down and click About. You’ll find a detailed summary of your system’s specifications here.

1. Click the Windows Start button – On your desktop, click the Windows Start button. This button is where the Windows logo sits at the bottom left of your screen.
2. Then click Settings – Then click the Settings icon right above the power button.
   
3. Next, click System – After that, click System.
4. Scroll down and click About from the left sidebar- The left sidebar has a drop-down menu titled About. It has information about your CPU, RAM, and other system settings.

How to Find Out What Graphics Card (GPU) You Have

You can find out what graphics unit you have by typing Device Manager into the Windows search bar and pressing enter. You’ll see an arrow next to Display adapters.

The process for finding out what graphics card you have is similar to finding out what CPU you have. However, order to find out what GPU you have in your system is 50% more work than determining what CPU you have. (You have to click 3 times instead of two.)

1. Type Device Manager in the Windows search bar – Windows will display search results even before you finish typing the search term if you type Device Manager in the search bar.
2. Hit Enter or click on the Device Manager app icon that appears – The Device Manager app icon should appear as a camera beside a printer. Once you click the Device Manager app icon, the app should launch. When you click or press Enter, the Device Manager window will appear.
3. Finally, click the arrow next to Display adapters to see what GPU you have –  Last but not least, click the arrow next to Display adapters to find out what GPU you have. The entry below Display adaptors indicates which GPU you have.

Note: If the manufacturer name is not displayed, do the following:

1. Select the GPU name – Select the graphics card’s name. This will highlight it in blue.
2. Right-click the GPU – Choose the GPU by right-clicking.
3. Select Properties on the menu that appears – select the Properties menu option. The General tab will be displayed by default when the Properties window appears.
   
   
4. From the General tab, look for a field labeled Manufacturer – You’ll find a field labeled Manufacturer under the General tab.
   

However, there might be two options on the Display Adapters tab, meaning your laptop may have integrated graphics as well as a dedicated graphics card.

A dedicated graphics card is the one you need because it is the more powerful one (and the one your system uses).

With an Intel processor, you will have an integrated graphics module named something like ‘Intel HD Graphics 4000.’ If that is the case, you will want the second option.

Just note that if you have AMD processors with integrated graphics you will likely be using AMD Radeon (or HD) R9 M470, but in that case, just stick with the 2nd option, since that is likely your dedicated graphics.

How to Find Out How Much Memory or RAM You Have

Moreover, it is very straightforward to find out how much RAM is in your computer. In fact, you can find out how much RAM you have right on the screen where you can see what CPU you have.

Searching RAM in the Windows search bar is the easiest way to discover how much RAM you have. A search for RAM Info should return a result in the results box. Check the Installed RAM box in the Device Specifications section of the System Settings window.

1. Click on the magnifying glass icon in the lower left-hand corner of your screen.
2. Next, type RAM in the Windows search bar.
3. From the search results, enter Enter or click View RAM Info. 
4. Check the Installed RAM information – Using the Device Specifications section in Windows, you can see how much RAM is installed and how much has been used up so far.

For more information about Random Access Memory, as well as how much RAM you need, take a look at this article.

How to Find Out What Motherboard You Have

In order to find out what kind of motherboard you have (and, really, who made your motherboard and what chipset it runs), the process is a little different.

Type system information in the Windows search bar and hit enter to see what kind of motherboard you have. You will then see the manufacturer and model of your motherboard in a field labeled System Manufacturer and System Model.

Of course, you could open up your desktop (if you’re using a desktop and not a laptop) and find out who built your motherboard and what model it is.

Although motherboards can have names like ASUS Z370-A, MSI B350M, and Gigabyte GA-AX370-Gaming5, they are typically made by manufacturers, which in turn can suggest the motherboard chipsets.

The most straightforward option likely is going with an easier option if you’re unfamiliar with who the major motherboard manufacturers are and what string of letters and numbers to look for that designates the chipset and motherboard name.

Several users may find the following useful:

1. Type system information on the Windows search bar – Windows will display search results even before you finish typing the search term in the Windows search bar.
2. Hit Enter or click on the System Information app icon – System Information can be accessed by pressing Enter or clicking the icon for System Information. The icon looks like a computer with a blue screen and the letter “i” in the middle. By default, by pressing Enter or clicking System Information, the System Summary section is displayed.
   
3. BaseBoard Manufacturer, Product, and Version are located in these fields – The information next to the Motherboard/BaseBoard Manufacturer, Motherboard/BaseBoard Model, and Motherboard/BaseBoard Name should indicate what you need about the motherboard/baseboard-the information you seek.

In some cases, you’ll find information in these tabs that’s a bit vague. In my case, the manufacturer of my desktop is ‘ASUSTek COMPUTER INC.’, the model of the desktop is ‘Not available’, and the name of the desktop is ‘Base Board’.

It doesn’t say much in terms of who manufactured the motherboard, but at least you know who does. In addition, the manufacturer’s name might make it easier to locate the information you need when you’re opening up the computer to check it.

Check if you still cannot find them. 4 Ways to Find out Which Motherboard Do You Have?

How to Find Out What CPU You Have

In two clicks, you can find out how powerful your processor is with a Windows 10 computer.

Your CPU will show up in the upper right-hand corner of the Performance tab on your Task Manager window. Press Ctrl + Alt + Delete on your keyboard to open Task Manager.

1. Right-click on your taskbar – This is the bar that always appears at the bottom of your screen.
2. Then select Task Manager – This will display a list of all running programs in the Processes tab.
3. Open Task Manager and click Performance – To view the Performance tab, make sure you click More Details.
4. The CPU section can be found on the left panel – By doing so, the selection will be highlighted in blue.
5. In the upper right corner of the window, you will see the type of CPU you have.

Anouther way to know what CPU you have, do the following:

1. To open the start menu of Windows, simply right-click on it.
2. In the menu that appears, click ‘System’.
3. You will find your CPU type next to ‘Processor’ on your computer.

Tools provided by third parties

These methods will help you verify your computer’s specifications more easily, however, you can also find information about your system using third-party hardware monitoring tools.

To make sure your computer is running smoothly and will tell you how much RAM you have, we recommend the following tools:

• CPU-Z
• Speccy
• Core Temp (CPU only)
• HWInfo

Now You Know Your Computer’s Specifications

After knowing what specs your computer has, you can decide whether you should upgrade it. However, if you intend to upgrade your components, you should keep in mind that it doesn’t matter whether you just pick out a new component and put it into your system.

What new components you can buy will depend on the components you have now. In the case of an older motherboard, it is not a good idea to just buy the latest processor and put it on it, because they won’t be compatible.

Likewise, you should not go out and buy the biggest and most powerful graphics card available if your existing power supply is insufficient to accommodate the new GPU.

It makes more sense to purchase or build a brand new system in many cases if you have an older system since your outdated system might not have anything worth keeping around. For those looking for a cheap PC, you might want to check out our buyer’s guide on buying/building a cheap PC, and for those looking more for a high-end computer, our buyer’s guide on buying/building a high-end computer.