AIDA64 Extreme Review

AIDA64 Extreme Review

Almost everyone owns a computer but chances are many know less about them then they think. There are some who simply do not care much while others that want to know everything about them.  By means of this very popular program AIDA64 is an ideal choice and solution. You can view detailed information about all your computer components, for example, the operating system, motherboard, multimedia, network, perform different tests relating to system stability, memory, CPU, and much more.

AIDA64 Extreme is created to fill wide gaps in computer knowledge. With the help of it you will become a real IT professional and manage even very hard problems concerned with computers.

Installation and Download

The program can be downloaded from the official AIDA website. The program is available in four different versions – Extreme, Engineer, Network Audit and Business. The complete comparison list and differences can be found on the screenshot below.

The Extreme version contains all the features which are necessary for ordinary users therefore we have chosen it for our review. In addition it does not require a business license and it has got a very acceptable price.

You can download both portable ZIP package and self-extracting EXE package. We have chosen the former for our review because it does not require boring installation processes and you can use the program immediately after downloading.

Interface

The main interface of the program is very simple and extremely easy to use. It consists of Menu Bar (which includes six buttons- File, View, Report, Favorites, Tools and Help) and Commands Toolbar. The main window is divided into two parts. On the left side there are the main categories- Computer, Motherboard, Operating System, etc., and on the right you can view detailed info about each computer component fully.

The main features of the program

Motherboard

It is a central part of the program because it holds information about the main part of the computer- Motherboard. Here you can find and view info about:

a) CPU (short for Control Processing Unit) properties, physical info, manufacturer, etc.

b) CPUID (short for Control Processing Unit identification) properties, security features, virtualization features, etc.

c) Motherboard properties, physical info, manufacturer, etc.

d) Memory 

e) SPD (short for Serial presence detect), i.e. RAM.

f) Chipset 

g) BIOS (short for Basic Input / Output system)

h) ACPI (short for Advanced Configuration and Power Interface).

Operating System

In this section of the program is gathered information about:

a) Operating system properties, license information, features, etc.

b) Processes (you can view all processes running in the system, their names, types and used memory.

c) Drivers– here are listed all installed drivers with information about name, version, type and state.

d) Services– it contains a list of running Windows services; their names, versions, types, state and account.

e) AX Files– here are listed AX files, i.e. those files which used by video programs to process video data.

f) DLL Files (short for Dynamic-Link Library), i.e. a list of all Windows library files.

1. g) Certificates– it contains various certificates with thorough and full details about each one.

h) UpTime– here you can get statistical info about Windows first boot and shutdown, total UpTime, and so on.

Server

In this section you can view account security properties, Logon information, a list of users and local and global groups.

Display

Here is collected info about installed video device, monitor, GPU (short for Graphic Processing Unit), Desktop properties and effects, OpenGL, Fonts, etc.

Multimedia

This section provides you with information about Windows and HD Audio, Audio and Video codecs, MCI and SAPI.

Storage

This section contains detailed information about Logical, Physical and Optical drives of the system. It is divided into seven sections and they are as follows:

a) Windows Storage– here you can view a brief description of each device and their properties. The program displayed thorough details about all my devices. I was able to get detailed info about my HDD (driver date, version and provider; device manufacturer and product web address), SSD (manufacturer, SSD family, formatted capacity, controller type and so on) and optical device (writing and reading speed, product information and firmware download links).

b) Logical Drives– it contains info about logical drives and their type, file system (FAT, NTFS), total size, used space, free space and volume serial.

1. c) Physical Drives– it contains info about drive partitions, partition type, drive letter, start offset and partition length.

d) Optical Drives– here the user can find full info about optical drive properties (serial number, firmware, interface, etc.), writing and reading speed, supported disk types, optical drive features (for instance, LightScribe or SMART function, etc.) and device manufacture (which contains links to product information page and driver download).

e) ATA– it contains info about HDDs and SSDs, i.e. ATA device properties (model ID, device type, parameters, etc.), ATA device features (hardware feature control, hybrid information feature, etc.), SSDs and HDDs features (extended power conditions, advanced power management, etc.) ATA Commands (read or write buffer, etc.), ATA device physical info (interface, buffer size, etc.).

f) SMART is short for Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology. All modern drives are equipped with this self-diagnostic feature which monitors performance and health of the drives. By the means of it you can view the following info: raw error rate, temperature, program fail count, and so on. (see the screenshot below).

Network

This section provides you with information about the Network status and configurations. Here you can get details of your network adapter, connection type and speed, MTU (short for Maximum Transmission Unit), DHCP (short for host Configuration Protocol); view in real time received and sent bytes, network adapter addresses (IP, Subnet Mask, Gateway, DNS) and network adapter manufacturer (company name, links to the manufacture website and driver download). Additionally you can find info about your Internet settings, proxy status, routes, Internet Explorer cookies and browser history.

Direct X

This section contains information about installed Direct X files, display driver, sound driver and Direct X input devices, i.e. mouse and keyboard.

Devices

This section provides you with thorough information about peripheral devices connected to the computer, for example, printers, USB or keyboard. It is divided into seven groups:

a) Windows Devices– it contains the full list of all installed peripheral components- DVD drives, imaging devices, network adapters, etc. with details about each one. Below on the screenshot is shown information about my Microsoft LifeCam HD-300 provided by AIDA64 Extreme.

b) Physical devices– in this section are simply listed PCI (short for Peripheral Component Interconnect), PnP (short for Plug and Play) and USB devices.

c) PCI Devices– it contains full info about each PCI device connected to the system. The program gives details of properties and features of each device, namely, its bus type, ID, class, etc.

1. d) USB Devices– it contains info about USB ports of the system.
2. e) Input– here you can find Input HID (short for Human Interface Device) devices connected to the computer, such as keyboards. Mice, game controllers, etc. You can get the full description of them, their properties and features.

f) Printers– it contains a list of all virtual and physical printers attached to the system. Below on the screenshot is shown info about my HP Printer provided by AIDA64 Extreme.

Software

Thorough and detailed information about startup, installed programs, etc. are displayed in this section. You can view a full summary of

All programs which start up with the Windows; their properties, start location and application command;

Scheduled programs (their name, status, application name, etc.)

Installed programs and Windows updates (i.e. program version, size, GUID- short for Globally Unique Identifier, Publisher and installation date). AIDA64 allows you to uninstall any program without opening Windows Control panel; just double click on the program and uninstallation process will start.

Software Licenses (i.e. the license keys of Windows and any other applications).

File Types (in this section are listed all file types which are present in the system with their description).

Desktop Gadgets (here you can view installed desktop gadgets; their names, short description, version, author, etc.).

Security

In this section of the program you can view thorough and detailed info about the security status of the computer. It is divided into six sections. They are:

a) Windows Security– it contains information about the operating system properties (OS name, OS service pack, UAC, i.e. User Account Control and some others) and Data Execution Prevention (i.e. that feature which can help to keep computer free from viruses and other threats).

b) Windows Update– it contains a full list of the installed Windows updates sorted by update type and installation date.

c) Antivirus– here you can find information about installed antivirus program and view its version and virus database date.

d) Firewall– it contains info about installed firewall, its version and status.

e) Anti-Spyware, Anti-Trojan– it displays info about any installed anti-spyware and anti-trojan program.

Config

Here is gathered information about regional settings of the computer (i.e. time zone, language, country, currency, etc.), system files and folders, event logs, etc.

Database

I think that this section is only for experienced users. Here are listed database drivers, BDE and ODBC drivers.

Benchmark

This section contains benchmark tools for measuring relative computer performance, i.e. memory read, write, copy, latency, etc.

Additional Tools

The program offers some tools for testing system performance, CPU, etc. They are as follows:

Disk Benchmark Test contains 11 different tests:

Linear Read

Random Read

Buffered Read

Average Read Access

Max Read Access

Linear Write

Random Write

Buffered Write

Average Write Access

Linear Write + Verify

Random Write + Verify

Cache and Memory Benchmark 

GPGPU Benchmark 

Monitor Diagnostics 

System Stability Test 

CPUID Test 

Conclusion

It is no doubt that computer diagnostics plays a very important role. Using reliable and useful programs we can find many hidden and unknown to us settings and configurations of the computer, test its functionality and performance.

AIDA64 Extreme is a powerful program to diagnose and test personal computers. The program offers a wide range of tools to control and manage every computer components. The program has got a set of unique and different tests for CPU, RAM, HDDs and SSDs.

AIDA64 Extreme contains more than 150 tools allowing you to monitor temperature, voltage, fan speed, etc. With the help of the program you can get detailed information about the hardware (processor, motherboard, monitor, etc.) and software (operating system, drivers, hotfixes, etc.)