Have you ever wondered about how your PC performs? Or if you notice there might be some issue with your rig during your work or gaming session and want to perform a basic diagnostic to see whether something is wrong?
If that is the case, then you might want to give hardware monitoring software a shot. It is a tool that is meant to help us users communicate with the hardware on our PC and provide a handful of information such as temperature sensors, fan speeds, voltages, load, and clock speeds of a computer.
Some users might call hardware monitoring software hardware maintenance software.
Here are our 3 recommendations for free hardware monitoring software for PC:
HWiNFO
HWiNFO is a powerful system information tool for Windows and has been trusted by big companies such as NASA, Intel, and AMD. It helps users provide comprehensive hardware information about their devices which is useful for obtaining a detailed hardware inventory report or checking various hardware-related parameters.
HWMonitor
HWMonitor is a hardware monitoring program that helps read your PC system information and monitor its main health sensors. That information includes: voltages, temperatures, powers, currents, fans speed, utilizations, and clock speeds.
This software is also capable of monitoring CPU and GPU-level hardware monitoring, SSD / hard disks via S.M.A.R.T., and battery conditions for those who are running a laptop.
HWMonitor is available for Windows-based PCs and is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
AIDA64
AIDA64 is another powerful hardware monitoring software that offers unique features ranging from hardware diagnostics and benchmarking to remote control and change management.
However, what separates AIDA64 from other monitoring software is that the software is targeted more toward enthusiasts and enterprises. The software also supports far wider operating systems including Linux and iOS, Android, and even Windows Phone.
While AIDA64 does not offer a free version except for its mobile version, it offers a free 30 days trial for its software which is more than enough for those who just want to perform a quick diagnostic on their hardware.
Honorable mentions
We would also like to mention 2 hardware monitoring software that has been around for some timeー one even predates the listed monitoring software above.
The software in question is Open Hardware Monitor and SpeedFan. Both software is completely free software that helps read and monitor CPU and GPU temperatures as well as other hardware that is connected to the motherboard.
Open Hardware Monitor is available on the Windows platform starting from Windows XP up to Windows 10 and Linux while SpeedFan is only available on the Windows platform starting on Windows 9x.
Summary
If you are looking for hardware monitoring software for PC or even mobile devices, our several recommendations are HWiNFO, HWMonitor, and AIDA64 which have been around for some time and have been recommended on various online forums such as hardware monitoring software Reddit.
The listed software is also considered as best hardware monitoring software for gaming.
