AIDA64

AIDA64 [6] is only available in various commercial versions. AIDA64 Extreme (around $60, EUR60, £38) is a diagnostic and benchmark tool for home users. The AIDA64 Engineer license ($200, EUR200) offers, among other things, to automate processes by entering data at the command line. The Network Audit and Business versions specialize in network and IT statistics, respectively, but AIDA64 Extreme is the core product; you can download it directly from the website as a 30-day trial version (you need to email the manufacturer for all other versions).

The provider specifically points out that the software can monitor more than 250 sensors in real time. An OSD (on-screen display) entry in the menu draws a plain-looking window on your screen that continuously shows the values of free memory, mass storage, and temperatures and voltages of the motherboard and CPU. These values can also be displayed by clicking on an icon in the system tray or using various other devices, such as the LCD display on some keyboards. AIDA64 is certainly a good recommendation for IT professionals who keep a constant eye on the data of individual systems.

Conclusions

In small businesses, Windows on-board tools such as msinfo32 are a good starting point. Because the software also provides values from other computers in the network, you can quickly gain a general overview of your Windows computers. If a system then requires a more detailed analysis, you can use free programs such as CPU-Z during troubleshooting to discover precisely which CPU type and which memory modules are installed.

If you want to go deeper, you can benchmark your systems with programs such as Sandra Lite and benefit from optimization tips. The more sophisticated tools, of which AIDA64 is an example, impress with support for the latest hardware and display values and data that might not be covered by freeware. Even extreme stress tests can be carried out with this category of analysis programs.

Ultimately, no panacea can solve all problems, and we can only advise that you test the various applications on the devices on your own networks first. In our opinion, it is essential for the software to support reporting – although most free programs we looked at can do this without breaking a sweat.