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How to check your PC specs in Windows 11 and 10

Updated October 30, 2026

Before buying any upgrade or deciding whether to replace a PC, you need to know what's inside it. Windows can tell you almost everything without installing anything. Here's where to look for each part.

The quick overview: Settings › About

Press Windows + I to open Settings.
Windows 11: System › About. Windows 10: System › About.

You'll see the Processor, Installed RAM, System type (64-bit) and, further down under Windows specifications, the edition, version (like 23H2 or 24H2) and OS build.

Processor (CPU)

The full name in Settings › About is what matters, e.g. “Intel Core i5-10400” or “AMD Ryzen 5 5600”. The number after the dash tells you the generation: for Intel, the first one or two digits (10 in i5-10400 = 10th generation); for AMD Ryzen, the first digit (5 in 5600 = 5000 series). Task Manager › Performance › CPU shows cores, threads and speed.

Memory (RAM)

Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) › Performance › Memory. Look for:

Total size at the top right.
Speed (e.g. 3200 MT/s).
Slots used (e.g. 2 of 4) — tells you if you can add memory without replacing it.
Form factor: DIMM (desktop) or SODIMM (laptop).

Task Manager doesn't always show whether it's DDR4 or DDR5. In Terminal or PowerShell, Get-CimInstance Win32_PhysicalMemory | Select Manufacturer,PartNumber,Speed,Capacity lists each stick's part number, which you can look up.

Graphics card (GPU)

Task Manager › Performance › GPU shows each graphics chip and its dedicated memory (VRAM). “Intel UHD” or “Radeon Graphics” with little dedicated memory means built-in graphics.
dxdiag: press Windows + R, type dxdiag and open the Display tabs.
Device Manager › Display adapters lists the card names.

Storage drives

Task Manager › Performance lists each disk with SSD or HDD and its drive letters.
Windows 11: Settings › System › Storage › Advanced storage settings › Disks & volumes shows each drive, its health and free space.
Disk Management (right-click Start) shows partitions and unallocated space.
File Explorer › This PC shows free space per drive.

Motherboard and BIOS

Press Windows + R, type msinfo32 and press Enter. System Information shows the System Manufacturer and Model, BaseBoard Product (motherboard), BIOS Version/Date, BIOS Mode (UEFI or Legacy) and Secure Boot State. The model name is what you search for to find the manual and upgrade options.

TPM (for Windows 11)

Press Windows + R, type tpm.msc. The Specification Version should be 2.0 for Windows 11. See our Windows 11 guide.

Laptop battery

Run powercfg /batteryreport in Terminal and open the HTML file it saves. Compare Design capacity with Full charge capacity. Details in our battery health guide.

Power supply

Windows can't read the power supply. On a desktop, the wattage is on a sticker on the power supply itself (open the side panel) or in the PC's spec sheet.

Which numbers matter for upgrade decisions

Is Windows on an SSD or an HDD? If it's an HDD, an SSD is almost always the first upgrade.
Installed RAM and free slots. 8 GB or less with a free slot is an easy win; soldered memory can't be changed.
Free space on C:. Below about 15% free, clean up before buying anything.
Processor generation. It decides Windows 11 eligibility and whether the PC is worth investing in.
Graphics and VRAM. Only matters for gaming and creative work.

Write these down or take a screenshot (Windows + Shift + S) before you shop, so you can compare them with a part's requirements.

Or let our scanner do it

Our free scanner reads the processor, memory sticks, graphics, drives, free space, TPM, Secure Boot and battery wear in about 20 seconds and explains what it means. It doesn't read files or personal information — see our privacy policy.

Download ComputerAdvisorScan.exe from our home page and open it from your Downloads.
Press Enter to allow the one-time check.
Your results open in the browser.

Seeing a blue “Windows protected your PC” warning?

If Windows shows a blue “Windows protected your PC” (SmartScreen) warning, or your browser says the file may be risky or was blocked: click More info, then Run anyway. In Edge or Chrome downloads you may need to choose Keep first.

This appears because the app is new and not yet code-signed. It only reads your hardware after you allow it (press Enter when it asks “Allow this one-time check?”).