Last Updated on
Sometimes, dealing with hardware and software can be tedious and nerve-racking for the uninitiated. If you’re not that tech-savvy and own a pre-built system but are looking to learn more about your components, then we’ve got you covered.
Your motherboard is, in many ways, the central piece of your system. It dictates your hardware limitations, compatible peripherals, future upgrade possibilities, and more. If you’re asking yourself “What motherboard do I have?”, then keep reading. Let’s go through a few of the best ways through which you can determine the manufacturer and model of your motherboard.
1. Find Your Motherboard Model in Windows 7, 8 and 10
If you’re not sure what motherboard you’re rocking under your hood, then Windows 10 gives you the ability to quickly and surely find the motherboard model and manufacturer in a few simple steps. These can be done in any version of Windows 8 and 10 and will give you a definitive response to the question.
Start off by pressing Windows key + R at the same time. This will open the “Run” command. Continue by writing msinfo32 in the field that pops up on the screen.
After you run the command, you’ll be greeted by the System Information menu. It can be a bit intimidating at first, but you’ll soon notice that it’s super easy to navigate. Under the SystemSummary tab, you’ll find two lines reading BaseBoard Manufacturer and BaseBoard Product. These two will reveal your board’s manufacturer and model which you can then look up online for drivers, specs, or anything else that might interest you.
2. Using Command Prompt
You can also use the Windows terminal to find out your motherboard’s model, and it’s still pretty simple. We’ll start by using the same command to open the Run menu, which is Windows Key + R. Once the menu presents itself, type in cmd and click run/press Enter.
You’ll be greeted by a relic of the past in the form of the Windows Command Prompt. This terminal allows you to input a lot of commands and take advantage of some features that are intended for power users. While this isn’t ideal, it’s still a fool-proof way of finding your motherboard model.
Once the terminal is opened, enter this line
wmic csproduct get name,identifyingnumber,uuid
and a few weird numbers and letters will pop up below your username, namely the Name, Identifying Number, and UUID of your motherboard. Copy what’s under the Name, and look it up online. You can highlight the motherboard’s name and serial number, copy it (CTRL+C) and paste it (CTRL+V) in a search engine.
Then you can proceed to the manufacturer’s product page and view your motherboard’s chipset, upgrade limits, compatible RAM, and more information that you need to upgrade, repair, and maintain your PC.
3. Download a Third-Party Software
If the first two options don’t work for various reasons, then don’t fret; there are more ways to find out your motherboard’s manufacturer and model. For this purpose, we’ll be taking a look at a free software named “Speccy”, developed by the makers of CCleaner, Piriform Ltd.
First, start by going to ccleaner.com by clicking this link. You’ll be taken to the homepage for CCleaner, a software used for managing your apps, registries, temporary storage and more. At the top of the page, hover over the Download tab and a menu should drop. From that menu, select Download Speccy.
On the Speccy download page, select the Download button under the Free version of the software and your browser should start downloading the setup files. When the download is complete, click on spsetup132.exe to begin installing the software.
To proceed with installing the software, click install after the setup screen pops up on your display. This should only take a few seconds. When the process ends, click on Run Speccy after ticking the View Release Notes box
After running Speccy, the software will take a brief moment to analyze your system’s components. When it finishes, it should display every major PC part and driver under the Summary menu. There, you can find the name, model, and chipset of your motherboard.
Under the Motherboard tab, you can find more relevant information about the model, chipset, BIOS, and what populates your expansion slots.
Speccy is a useful software for the uninitiated, giving you accurate temperature readings and system information. You can also access the other menus and find out more useful info about your other PC components. It also shows how much resources your PC is using in real-time, a feature that’s very useful in itself.
Why it’s Useful to Know Your Motherboard’s Manufacturer and Model
Your motherboard ties all of your components together in a cohesive build. If you’re planning on upgrading your PC, you’re going to need compatible components and updated drivers. When upgrading your build, it’s important to know how much RAM your motherboard supports, the CPU socket, and what sort of storage options it can handle. You can find all of these on the manufacturer product page.
If you’re running older hardware, then upgrading to an SSD will significantly boost your system’s responsiveness. SSDs can be installed with SATA and M.2 PCIe connectors, so make sure you have free slots.
Installing a fresh OS might also require new network, video and audio drivers. You can download these from the same page and store them on a USB so you can access them while you’re offline.
Lastly, BIOS updates might allow you to run RAM at higher frequencies, get more control over your components from the boot menu, infusing new life into your machine at no additional cost. Make sure to flash your BIOS with a bootable USB, minimizing the risk of ruining your BIOS during the update.
