Imagine you've just assembled a new computer. Or perhaps you've purged your hard drives and reinstalled Windows with the latest updates. New drivers, updated software, maybe a bit of overclocking, underclocking, and undervolting. The point is you want to—need to—evaluate all of this. If something is misconfigured or a hint of latent instability is lurking, you must know. To that end, we'll share a list of the best programs every PC requires, especially high-performance ones.
Microsoft released a new update for Windows 10, build 1809. As expected, the update began deleting personal files due to a bug. Redmond pulled the build, fixed the error, and republished it. The number of incidents was low, but no one can deny the quality control crisis that is eating Microsoft alive.
Many users get tired of half-baked updates, and the best option is... the nuclear one. Tabula rasa, clean slate. With the computer at zero, why not take the opportunity to do a complete job? It's never a bad idea to clean its interior, and the same goes for getting updated installers of our favorite software. And how about a slight overclocking? Just a few extra MHz on the CPU and GPU, a frequency jump in memory, and manual timings.
It's about performance "sleeping" in the system, and without touching voltages, it's relatively safe. But how can we know everything is fine? Opening a game or watching a movie is not enough. You need basic information, sensor data, temperature, fan RPM, stress tests, and more. Fortunately, all that software is free and easy to find. Let's see:
The best programs every PC requires
To form our list we established three general categories: Information, benchmarking, and stress testing. I say "general" because more than once they overlap, and a single tool can offer all three, but that doesn't make it a wildcard.
CPU-Z
CPU-Z is an undeniable classic at this point, and it should be one of our first downloads. This application lets us know our processor in depth, determine its current frequency in case of over/underclocking, get details about the motherboard, and something no less important: know the frequency, the mode (single-dual-triple-quad), and the timings of RAM. Available in portable version.
GPU-Z
Here we could say "the same as CPU-Z, but dedicated to graphics cards." However, that would be a big mistake. GPU-Z presents a complete report on a graphics card's specifications, and enters a different category thanks to its excellent sensor reading. If you hit a performance limit due to voltage, temperature, and/or frequency, GPU-Z will let you know. Available in portable version.
CrystalDiskInfo
When buying/selling a used hard drive or eliminating suspicions about its performance, it is essential to get an accurate SMART reading. Several utilities can provide that reading, but we keep coming back to CrystalDiskInfo again and again. It brings several aesthetic functions (there are even builds with... waifus?) and advanced modes if it doesn't detect all drives. Available in portable version.
CrystalDiskMark
Logically, a point comes when we must measure the speed of our drives. The offering is huge in that space, and we have already explored alternatives, but following the Crystal line we find CrystalDiskMark. It works very well with solid-state drives, and we can schedule up to nine benchmarks in series. It offers theme, scale, and language settings, although that's not critical. Available in portable version.
Heaven / Valley / Superposition
The people at Unigine Corp. are known for their graphics engine, but also for their set of free benchmarks. The latest three are Heaven, Valley and Superposition (the fourth is Sanctuary, recommended for retro systems). The score is not so relevant for our case: We want it for the stress test. Heaven is more than enough, but you can download any. The direct alternative of YouTubers is 3DMark, however, you have to pay for it...
MSI Afterburner
Each manufacturer has its own overclocking tools. The difference is that MSI Afterburner works wonderfully on all brands, its OSD system compatible with RivaTuner Statistics Server presents a ton of data, and its voltage curve enables ultra-precise control. Its development is very active, and the latest betas support the new Nvidia Scanner API for automatic overclocking.
Prime95
Yes, it's time to make life difficult for the processor, and few things are better out there than Prime95. Small FFT prioritizes heat generation. Large FFT puts pressure on power consumption. Blend is the mode that bombards everything. When in doubt, start with Blend. How long Prime95 should be run is one of the hottest topics on the Web. In the end it depends on your situation, but you'll need 30 minutes as an absolute minimum. Available in portable version.
OCCT
Another very frequent discussion on the web is whether OCCT is superior to Prime95. Personally, I've seen systems chew through Prime95 for a couple of hours without problems, and last less than 25 seconds in OCCT. The problem is I've also seen the opposite. So the answer is simple: Download them both. The main advantage of OCCT is its sensor reading. Usage percentage, frequencies, memory, voltages, and temperature are all there. Available in portable version.
HWiNFO / HWiNFO64
The definitive source of information about any computer. While other developers ask a fortune, HWiNFO delivers a formidable platform free of charge. Its OSD system fits into MSI Afterburner like a ring on a finger, and if you don't need the data section, you can limit the load to sensors. Do you want to build a super-retro PC with DOS? HWiNFO has a build compatible with that operating system. Available in portable version.
And that's all for now. The question for our readers is: What am I forgetting? What is your selection of programs that every high-performance PC should have? Comments are open. Good luck!
