We rely on a complex mesh of hardware and software for work and play, and any issues that arrive can affect our income and cause hours of stress. We spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on our desktop PCs or the latest laptops, and it's worth adding a few more bucks to get troubleshooting software to ensure they remain in great shape.

Diagnostic apps can troubleshoot your storage, display, memory, and other PC components that might not be functioning correctly. They also let you monitor performance and provide statistics to avoid bottlenecks or detect failing hardware. If you're unsure how to protect your system, here are five reasons you should use Aida64 Extreme to troubleshoot your hardware issues.

5 Hardware Diagnostics

Stress-test your system

Aida64 Extreme can test your PC components to see if they function correctly. The System Stability Test feature can stress-test the CPU, cache, system memory, local disks, and GPU. It also provides statistics about the temperature, cooling fans, voltage, and other functions.

The tests will push your hardware to the limit to see how it performs and provide detailed graphs and statistics to record the results. You can also use the Preferences setting to customize the interface to show the relevant information you want to see and remove the rest. The System Stability Test is excellent for testing your hardware, but you should only use it when you're not busy because it uses all your system's resources and slows it down.

4 System monitoring

Real-time hardware information

The OSD and Sensor Panel tools make monitoring your system's performance easy. The OSD tool shortcut opens a window on your desktop that displays the CPU temperature, used and free space, and other real-time system information. Clicking on the window opens the configure menu, which allows you to customize the displayed information. You can then use the tick boxes to select criteria like the charging speed, free memory, and other information you'd like to see.

Another way to monitor your system's performance is with the Sensor Panel. The Sensor Panel shortcut is also located on the main menu and opens a desktop window displaying CPU and GPU performance meters, temperature, and other settings. Like with the OSD tool, you can customize the information displayed to suit your requirements and even change the colors or graph styles to make them more visible.

3 Display diagnostics

Test your monitor's capabilities

Aida64 Extreme offers 45 screen diagnostics tests to help find issues with your monitor. They include color, reading, grid, and calibration tests, and you can fine-tune the criteria with convenient tick boxes in each category. For example, in the focus tests, you can choose criteria like gamma, scope, and screen size in the calibration tests, as well as sharpness, dots, and more.

The diagnostics work on single or multi-display setups. On multi-display setups, you can run individual tests on each or a single test stretched across all. When running the tests, you can use the automatic setting to run them consecutively and set a timer for how long each will be displayed on the screen. Alternatively, you can use the manual mode if you'd like to scroll through each one individually.

2 Benchmark Tools

Detect possible performance issues

Finding bottlenecks and other performance issues is easy with handy shortcuts to Aida64 Extreme's benchmark features. The Cache and Memory Benchmark tool displays the read and write speeds, latency, and other critical information. The GPU benchmark tool can test your standard onboard and gaming graphics cards simultaneously to see how they perform and provide critical feedback.

Aida64 Extreme's Disk Benchmark test detects your drives and provides information on linear, buffered, and random read speeds and other data, such as average and max read access. The Benchmark section in the menu measures your system's performance against other hardware and can provide in-depth reports on how it compares.

1 System Information

Know what you're running

One of the best things about Aida64 Extreme is that it provides in-depth information about all your hardware components and installed software, so you know exactly what you're running. The CPUID feature displays a window with all your CPU details and motherboard information, like the chipset, memory type, and BIOS version.

You can also use the Network Tool to find the adapter type, current speeds, and other information. The storage tool displays all your physical, logical, and optical drives, their file systems, free and used space, and other details. Learning about your installed apps is simple with the Software utility, which displays their names, versions, and installation dates and provides a list of auto-start programs.

Should you use Aida64 Extreme to troubleshoot your hardware issues?

Aida64 Extreme offers a comprehensive feature set for running diagnostics and benchmarks and monitoring your system's performance to avoid potential hardware and software issues. It's user-friendly for beginners and doesn't require technical knowledge to get the most out of it.

You can try it for 30 days at no cost, and after that, a three-user license costs a $60 one-off fee. Alternatively, you can try Windows' built-in diagnostic tools or other alternatives like CrystalDiskInfo if you prefer using free tools.