Revision as of 02:48, 8 March 2010

How do I find out my system specifications?

There are two parts to this.

• The first is a quick summary of your system.

This is often enough information to supply when asking fairly simple questions.

• The second is a very very detailed probe of your hardware.

This is useful for when you're asking about upgrade options.

Quick Summary

Explanation

When asking questions of a technical nature to do with any game, one of the most common replies is "What are your system specs?", which is usually quite a necessary question to help try and diagnose the problem.

The problem is, not many people know how to get their system specs, and those that do generally supply a full rundown including a lot of unnecessary stuff. This document helps you find just the relevant stuff.

How to

Click the Start Menu... Run and type dxdiag, then click OK:

(In Vista, the Search box functions as Run)

If the following message comes up, click Yes:

You will be shown a window that look similar to this:

Just below where it says "Check for WHQL..." in the bottom left, a blue or green bar will show while it's gathering information. This process will take a few seconds.

When you ask your question you will need to included what is written next to the following: Operating System, System Manufacturer, System Model, Processor, Memory, Page File, DirectX Version (...but don't worry about making notes right now as I've supplied a form you can use at the bottom of the page, to make it easier for you..)

You can also click on the Save All Information button and saved the .txt report onto your Desktop and then copy+paste the lines we require into the form template below. You need to do this step to include the Drives information we requested for below.

That will cover system basics. Click on the Display tab which is across the top of the window, and you'll be shown something like this:

Look in the top left where it says Device, the info you need is in that section..: Name:, Manufacturer:, Chip Type:, Approx. Total Memory:

Now, look to the top right where it says Driver. We need Main Driver:, Version: and Driver Date:

While we're here, click the Sound tab across the top and again look in the top left, what is the Device Name/Description:, Driver Name:, Driver Version: and Date:  ?

From the saved .txt DxDiag report on your Desktop, copy the Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives information for your C: drive where your Operating System is installed to, the drive your game is installed to (if not in the default C:) and the DVD drive where you pop-in the game disc (not necessary if you have a digital disc version).

Below is a sample 'form' you can use to help you out. You'll need to copy and paste the entire template below, and fill it in.

==System==

• Operating System:
• System Manufacturer
• System Model
• Processor:
• Memory:
• Page File:
• DirectX Version:

==Display==

• Name:
• Manufacturer:
• Chip Type:
• Approx. Total Memory:

• Main Driver:
• Version:
• Driver Date:

==Sound==

• Description:
• Driver Name:
• Driver Version:
• Date:

==Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives==

• Drive:
• Free Space:
• Total Space:
• File System:
• Model:

Detailed Summary

Explanation

Occasionally you may need to provide much more detailed specs. This is especially true if you're planning to upgrade your system. In order to advise on what you can do upgrade-wise, we need to know what your PC has in it, and what it would be able to handle.

For that, a much more detailed application is needed...

How to

• Step 1:

Download, unrar and install this application (it's the attachment). It's called Everest Home and it will delve into your PCs hardware specs.

After you've installed Everest Home Edition, load it up, which will take a few seconds.

• Step 2:

Rather than make you fill in lots and lots of fields which would take ages, I'm going to make it really easy. Click on Report which is circled below:

Click Next, then click Custom selection, then Next.

Now, if the box circled below is ticked, click to untick it. This will untick all the boxes:

You'll need to tick the following:

• Under Computer:
  • Summary
  • DMI
  • Overclock
  • Sensor

• Under Motherboard:
  • CPU
  • Motherboard
  • Memory
  • SPD
  • Chipset

• Under Display:
  • Windows Display
  • PCI / AGP Video
  • GPU
  • Desktop

• Click to tick the Multimedia box

• Under Storage:
  • Windows Storage
  • Logical Storage
  • Physical Storage (this one may not show on some computers)

In reality that kind of report is generally overkill and will provide masses of info. But it's a lot better to have too much you don't need than to keep coming back to pick up scraps.

What you should see now will look like this (I've shown it as a long list, you'll still have the scrollbar):

Click Next, select HTML, click Next.

It will take between 5 and 20 secs to complete. Once it's finished you'll be shown the report, which will be rather long. Click Save To File, which is circled below:

Click the arrow at the top, that's circled in blue. Then click Desktop. Then click Save:

• Step 3:

You can now attach that file to forums, or wherever you're asking. Please don't copy paste the entire file into a post, that's just rude. Instead, attach the file if you can. You will probably need to rar or zip the html file.

Download - please read all instructions before downloading any files!
everesthome200.rar

Related Pages

• Game_Help:System_Requirements/MTS2_Recommendations
• Game Help:TS3 System Requirements