HWiNFO32

HWiNFO32 is the latest version of a freeware system information utility that we've been familiar with for some time, and it's gotten better through constant updates. Its mission is simple: extract and display the maximum amount of information about your system that anyone can think of. We think every user ought to have a decent system information tool to help them keep an eye on their PC's critical processes and performance. HWiNFO32 is more than a decent tool, though; it's an excellent one.

HWiNFO32's download includes both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, and its installation process finishes with a system scan. The program has a two-part interface: a floating System Summary box and an Explorer-style window with a left-side tree view displaying all of our system's hardware by category. There's no minimize button on the summary page, just an X and a Close button, but we could open it at any time from the main window's toolbar. This toolbar also let us save reports, configure and display all our PC's many sensors and their values, run and log a variety of benchmark tests, and access a nice Help file. Expanding any of the headings in the tree view filled the main window with an amazing amount of data extracted from our hardware. For instance, the CPU info included at least five entries on the Halt State. HWiNFO32 also displayed information about our BIOS, ports, mainboard slots, and even System Enclosure, when it's available. We ran the benchmarking tests on our CPU, RAM, and disk. The Results include a really neat Compare option that displays similar hardware with our results in ranked graphs.

The System Summary collects all the important stuff in one compact, efficient view, including CPU and RAM use, graphics, drives, and clock timings. Aside from drop-down lists for selecting CPU or GPU cores or RAM modules, there are no controls on the System Summary, only data displays. The split view lets you move each interface separately, which can be handy for tweaking or troubleshooting with multiple open windows. If you're looking for a system information tool, we can recommend HWiNFO32.