The Official Computer Tech Support Thread

[Freebase Dali]

Originally Posted by toretorden

I wouldn't call it handy if it does something you don't need it for, but I haven't tried it so I won't say that the amount of info you get from it is not satisfactory ..

.. But I'd say the information you can get from dxdiag without the program is. There's a lot of info on those dx tabs! Only very rarely should anyone have a need for a lot more info about their hardware/system than you find there.

dxdiag will tell you basic information, which might help someone who just wants to know basic info about their system. In Kaleigh's case, dxdiag is fine.

Where CPUZ comes in handy is that it gives you VERY detailed information about your CPU, motherboard, caches, memory, memory slots and timing, graphics, etc. CPUZ is a must-have if you ever want to upgrade any parts in your computer and need a reference to details that actually matter when you're deciding what's going to be compatible.
For it being the very small, very free, and very detailed program it is, it's just worth it and is far easier to use than physically disassembling your computer and hunting for decals and information after you realize that dxdiag failed to provide important information and you, say, ended up buying DDR3 RAM when your motherboard doesn't even support it.

It's a good benchmarking tool and although a lot of the information given would probably go over most non-tech people's head's, at least they'd be able to use it when asked by someone who needs that information if they're reccommending upgrades or diagnosing problems/compatibility issues.

There really isn't a reason NOT to use CPUZ over dxdiag, unless your hard-drive is so full that you can't spare 1.68 MB of space for a straight up executable.