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You might not know the exact specifications of your computer. If you've bought a laptop or pre-built PC then the specs might not be in the forefront of your mind. 

Learning your specs can be handy to find out if you're planning to install a specific app or upgrade some parts. We've written before about which parts you should upgrade first, as well as how to upgrade your CPU and how to upgrade your RAM but maybe you just need to know for something you're planning to buy. 

The good news is there are ways to discover your PC specs without opening it up and looking at the actual hardware. 

How to find PC specs in Windows

There are a number of different ways to find your PC specs with just a few clicks in Windows. You can get a lot of information really quickly without even downloading any additional software. 

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About your PC

In Windows 10 and Windows 11, you can access a few quick details including what CPU you're running, how much RAM you have installed, your version of Windows and more. To do this:

  1. Click the start button or press the Windows key on your keyboard
  2. Type about 
  3. Click on "About your PC" under the system settings option that appears

From there you can then see a lot of what you need to know at a glance. 

These are just the basic specs of your computer, but you can not only see that at a glance here, but you can also copy them by clicking the button in this app if you need them for troubleshooting. 

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How to find PC specs using the DirectX Diagnostic tool

Windows also gives you another easy way to see your PC specs. This method also gives you more details including information about your graphics card and connected peripherals (mouse, keyboard and such). 

You can access this information via the DirectX Diagnostic Tool. DirectX is an intelligent technology that lets your various computer components communicate with each other in order to work effectively. DirectX is essential for PC gaming but it's also just an important part of how your machine runs. 

The DirectX Diagnostic Tool (aka dxdiag) is usually used for finding problems or reporting issues. But you can also use it to find out your PC specs with ease. Here's how:

  1. Click the start button or press the Windows key on your keyboard
  2. Type dxdiag 
  3. Click on the icon that says "dxdiag run command"
  4. Let it run and check the results

Your system specifications are then split into different sections. The basic specs of your machine are displayed on the main page but you can also click on the "display" tab at the top to see your graphics card and click on "sound" and "input" to find out more about important connected devices. 

This tool can be used for all sorts of things including finding out what BIOS version your PC is running. At the bottom of the app, there's a button marked "save all information". If you click that all the data is saved into a text document. You can then see that all at a glance. 

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PC specs via Nvidia GeForce Experience

If you own an Nvidia graphics card then the chances are you've downloaded GeForce Experience, especially if you've updated your graphics drivers or just tried tweaking your gaming PC to get more FPS and a smoother experience. 

GeForce Experience is a great tool for doing all sorts of things, including capturing gameplay footage to use on YouTube or to stream on Twitch. But it also allows you to easily update your graphics drivers and do other things like finding out the specs of your PC. 

To see your specs, open up GeForce Experience by right-clicking the icon in your taskbar and clicking to open it or by finding it via your apps list in the start menu. Then head over to the "general" tab. From there you should see your PC specs listed under "My Rig" on the right-hand side of the app.

This will show you your current graphics card, CPU, RAM and driver version as well as the resolution your screen is running at.