14 DAY TRIAL // I guess that nobody can deny the fact that SiSoft Sandra and Everest are two excellent system information tools that could be crowned as market leaders, and a side by side review of their commercial version is a very interesting idea that I am saving for a future weekend encounter, because today I'll try to stay free. No, don't worry, I am not followed by the police or something like that, I was talking about the pricing problem...because no matter what people say, the "M factor" is decisive in many situations.
No "M factor" here! You need detailed information about a certain part of your computer, no matter if it's about hardware or software? Are you worried about having to pay somebody for solving this problem? Don't worry, I have three solutions here for you, but there are a lot of other ones in the wild, so in the end it gets down to features, since you need information, not to look inside a shiny interface that lacks exactly what you're looking for.
As I was saying, I am tracking multiple targets today, and their names are System Spec, Fresh Diagnose and K1. My intention is not to search for thrI guess nobody can deny the fact that SiSoft Sandra and Everest are two excellent system information tools that could be crowned as market leaders, and a side by side review of their commercial version is a very interesting idea that I am saving for a future weekend encounter, because today I'll try to stay free. No, don't worry, the police are not following me or something like that, I was talking about the pricing problem...because no matter what people say, the "M factor" is decisive in many situations.
No "M factor" here! Do you need detailed information about a certain part of your computer, no matter if it's about hardware or software? Are you worried about having to pay somebody for solving this problem? Don't worry, I have three solutions here for you, but there are many others out there, in the wild, so in the end it gets down to features, since what you really need is information, not to look inside a shiny interface that lacks exactly what you're looking for.
As I was saying, I am tracking multiple targets today, and their names are System Spec, Fresh Diagnose and K1. My intention is not to search for three, four, maybe more programs that look almost the same and have similar features, but to serve you a three-dish meal containing different system information specialties. They are all of excellent quality, without additives, so you don't have to take your diet specialist with you.
Are you ready? Let's go then!
Fresh Diagnose 7.42
I guess that we should have some fresh vegetables in the first place, and Fresh Diagnose fits well into this position - there's a lot of green inside its interface, it looks fresh and lighted enough - the installation kit has 1.24MB. Of course, 0% cholesterol! Now, give me just a moment to prepare it for being served...
Fresh Diagnose is a good looking program, no doubt about it. I can't say that it has an innovative and unique look, but it's the way it should be - easy to use, well organized, with excellent graphics.
When using this program, you don't have to sit back and wonder about "how to", you just have to look, spot and click the item you want to get information about. On the left of the interface, you can find a tree view that contains everything you need to know about your computer. No matter if it's software or hardware, it's here!
Leaving the information apart, what about some benchmarking? There are no less than seven benchmarks available here, designed to help you compare your processor, memory or network performance to various built in results (and, why not, with your friends' ones). The only thing that I wish to see here in the future is a 3D benchmark module; other than that, it sounds great to me the way it is!
The program can also generate nice looking reports about your system that can even include benchmark information, but of course it doesn't end here. I invite you to discover this program in the following screenshots...but don't forget to taste it for yourselves!
We got the fresh salad; now imagine something that fills your stomach, anything you can think of should work just fine. This time,it's the content that matters, and not the looks. The program I am talking about is called System Spec, and its latest version is 2.35. Let's move on and find out the most important things about it!
The program's interface may be disappointing if we look back at Fresh Diagnose, but let's forget about that and see only what we have here instead. The toolbar of this program looks OK, but the rest of the information is displayed in a bad looking way. Well, you know what we're here for - features, so let's feed!
When you start the program, the window you face is empty. You may feel lost, because I did. The solution is simple - just press the first button from the taskbar to refresh the system information and obtain general information about your system.
While moving through the available areas, I was surprised to find that everything that should be here really is here, and even more - see the basic uninstaller or SMART status! All in all, the information is not an issue, despite the way it is displayed and occasional errors that you may get from the program.
The information you get here can be exported to HTML and CVS files or sent to the printer; even if the interface is outdated, the Help content is equal to zero and the data displayed is often hard to read, System Spec can help you get the job done.
I don't know exactly how long a K1 fight is or what the height of the K1 Mountain is, but I know what we have here: a real cookie! K1 is also one of the programs that surprised me most in the last months.
The interface you see doesn't give you much of a choice for a first verdict - "here's another simple system information tool". Nothing worse than jumping to such early conclusions! Yes, we get a tiny fixed size window with a menu bar and an information display area, but what's behind them?
Yes, yes, you get information about your system with this program, but this is not its strongest point. The best part with K1 is that you get tools that you don't find every day inside a system information tool - cleaner, optimizer, password generator, shortcut maker, a bunch of network tools and even more!
The fun has just begun, because after you're done with the goodies above, that can be located inside the Options menu, you have to check the next one, called More information. What can be found here? Installed programs, Windows hotfixes, running processes, the list of codecs in your system, protected files and others.
K1 can't read SMART values, it hasn't any built in Help system, and the information it provides can't match top system information tools, but the only way is up, so get this little big tool and give it a chance, it won't disappoint you!
Should I say more? Enjoy your meal, and take your time, nothing's rushing you! If it's about system information, there's a lot to taste, and today I was the one who set up the menu. Next time, it can be you. Any suggestions?
