6 tools I use to manage my PC’s hardware

There are plenty of tools you can use to improve your Windows experience, from customizing your desktop to optimizing the performance of your PC. But what if you want to take a closer look at your hardware components and change certain settings or features? I’ve found that Windows doesn’t give me the level of control I would like, but there are plenty of free apps available that do.

Whether it’s figuring out my motherboard specs or more complicated component tweaking, I’ve found that these tools come in handy when managing my PC hardware and adjusting the manufacturer defaults.

6

CPU-Z

Get an overview of your system components

When I first came across CPU-Z, I only used it as a hardware identification tool for checking out my motherboard and CPU specs. When you’re working with multiple laptop and desktop builds, or if you’re just forgetful like me, this software can really come in handy. I’ve frequently returned to using the tool on my PC since.

It provides other benefits in addition to just identifying your hardware. You can check that your components are running at the correct speeds, check the power draw of components like your GPU, and run benchmarks for your CPU. It’s a simple app that’s packed with information that you might otherwise miss when using Windows’ System Information tool.

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Ensuring the correct components are in your PC or laptop and running at the proper speeds has never been so easy

I also use it when it’s time for a PC component upgrade as it lets me double-check my current setup’s specs so that I can choose parts that are compatible.

A tool to manage and partition drives

It’s no secret that I regret partitioning my OS drive. While some PC owners still swear by it, I’ve found that in the long term I didn’t have the right skills to keep managing multiple drives with multiple partitions. MiniTool Partition Wizard is one way that I’ve gotten better control over my partitions (as opposed to using Windows’ built-in Disk Management feature).

The tool makes it easy to identify your drives, especially when you integrate hardware from old builds into your current setup. I’ve since used it to merge partitions that I didn’t need, and I have been using the tool to clean up old drives.

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Don’t rush into it

Moving forward, I’m also going to use the tool to clone my OS drive to a new, larger SSD. It’s the detailed information and cloning tools that ensure that I will continue to keep this software on my PC long after I’ve merged all the partitions I need to. I do wish, however, that it had more health monitoring features like CrystalDiskInfo. But for free software, it provides plenty of utility already.

MiniTool Partition Wizard

4

F.lux

When Windows Night Mode isn’t enough

While most people get by fine just using Windows’ built-in Night Mode, I need something that can make my two displays even warmer throughout the day. I tried enabling Night Mode constantly, but this just wasn’t enough for me. F.lux proved to be the perfect app to manage my displays’ warmth when Night Mode and general display settings weren’t sufficient.

While there are a range of preset modes you can use, such as Reduce Eyestrain and Working Late, I use Custom Colors to increase the warmth of my displays throughout the entire day. It has been an essential tool when working with chronic migraines and light sensitivity. I even use it when gaming to reduce eye strain. I use F.lux in conjunction with reducing the brightness of my displays to 0% and setting the preset mode to warm using the buttons and menus on my screens, which has finally let me achieve a comfortable viewing experience.

While I could technically opt for blue-light-blocking glasses, I’ve found that F.lux works perfectly for my needs.

3

PangoBright

A screen dimmer for all connected displays

For a long time, I thought I was limited by the settings on my displays in terms of brightness. Unlike my laptop, my desktop PC didn’t have global settings that I could use to easily reduce screen brightness — limiting me to the settings I could access through the buttons on my displays. But even at 0% brightness, and with dark mode enabled across Windows and my Chrome browser, my screens were often too bright when I had a migraine and had to work.

Luckily, I found out about PangoBright (also known as Pangolin Screen Brightness), which lets me further reduce the brightness of my screen. It’s an extremely lightweight app that runs in your system tray. When you want to reduce your screen’s brightness further, you simply need to run the app. It has a 20% minimum threshold and allows you to adjust brightness in 10% increments.

While I mostly only have to use it when my light sensitivity is very bad, it’s a great tool to have in my arsenal. If I feel a headache coming on, or even just general eye strain, I can activate it to dim my screen further. It also works across multiple displays, which is much more convenient than adjusting the settings of each display individually.

2

NVIDIA App

A well-rounded utility for my GPU

Previously split between NVIDIA GeForce Experience and NVIDIA Control Panel, the newer NVIDIA app combines the separate features into a single app. It’s an essential utility if you have an NVIDIA graphics card and want to easily install drivers or adjust settings across games.

I mainly use the NVIDIA App for my drivers since it notifies me when a new driver is available. I’ve also used its Graphics tab to optimize the settings for my games, but I’ve found mixed results with this feature. That said, if you don’t want to fiddle around with settings within each game you own, it’s the most efficient way to adjust graphics across games. If you don’t like the new settings, you can also choose to restore the game to your original settings.

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Under the System tab, you’ll find information about your connected displays. You can also set the resolution and refresh rate for your displays through the NVIDIA App. While you can technically tweak some of these settings using Windows’ built-in display settings, I’ve found that the NVIDIA app makes the information more easily digestible at a glance. If your screen is G-SYNC compatible, you can also make sure the feature is enabled through the app.

Besides hardware adjustments, there are other features available in the app. This includes enabling the game bar to record games and bookmarks. However, I prefer using Outplayed to record moments from my games. But if you don’t want to install additional software, the NVIDIA App is useful for this function too.

1

MSI Afterburner

MSI Afterburner is a free tool to manage your GPU, allowing you to monitor your hardware and overclock your GPU. I don’t really overclock my GPU considering that it’s 8 years old, and I really don’t want to push it. I use the tool to increase the speed of my fans on my GPU to keep its temperature at a healthy level.

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If you install RivaTuner Statistics Server along with MSI Afterburner, you can also enable hardware monitoring and display the stats on your screen. Besides overclocking, you can also use the tool to undervolt your GPU. Just be sure to have PC benchmarking tools ready to test the stability of your settings afterward.

If I ever decide to dive into overclocking my GPU myself, this will be the tool I use thanks to its simple interface.

Make it easier to manage your hardware

Sometimes Windows’ built-in tools aren’t enough to get a detailed overview of your hardware, or when you want to tweak settings that aren’t available through the OS. There’s plenty you can do with pre-installed software, but these tools give me more advanced control over my hardware, adding extra convenience to my setup. It would be awesome to find hardware management tools that consolidate more features together, but these options already save me a lot of time.