Overview
AIDA64 is the tool you open when you need to know something about a computer that the system itself will not tell you. Exact memory module part numbers and timings, the specific revision of a motherboard chipset, every sensor the hardware exposes, the actual model of a drive behind a generic controller, the firmware version of a component nobody documents. It reads the hardware directly rather than reporting what the operating system believes, which is why the answers are correct.
This installer covers all four editions, Extreme, Engineer, Business and Network Audit, with the edition selectable at install. Extreme is the enthusiast build with the sensor and benchmark focus, Engineer adds the service oriented reporting, Business adds the network deployment and remote monitoring, and Network Audit is the inventory build without the benchmarking. The licensing is applied for all of them.
Inventory and identification
The information tree covers every subsystem: processor with its stepping, cache layout and instruction set support, motherboard with the chipset revision and firmware date, memory with per module manufacturer, part number, serial and timing table, storage with the controller path and the drive firmware, display adapter with the actual chip rather than the marketing name, and the full device, driver and installed software lists.
For a machine you did not build, this is the fastest way to find out what is actually in it. For a fleet, the Network Audit and Business editions collect the same information from every machine on the network into a database or a set of reports, so an inventory that used to be a spreadsheet maintained by hand becomes a scheduled job. Reports export to the usual document and data formats.
Sensors, temperatures and monitoring
Every sensor the hardware exposes is read and displayed: temperatures across the processor package and cores, the chipset, the drives, the display adapter and the board, plus fan speeds, voltages, power draw and clock speeds under load. Values can be logged to a file over time, which is how an intermittent thermal problem is actually diagnosed rather than guessed at.
The monitoring output can be sent to places other than the window. A desktop panel, a sidebar gadget, the system tray, an external display panel over a serial or network connection, or the display on a keyboard or case that supports it. Alerts fire on a threshold with an action attached: sound, message, log entry, or shutting the machine down before a component cooks.
Benchmarks and stability testing
The benchmark suite covers memory read, write, copy and latency, processor arithmetic and encryption, and the floating point tests, with a reference database so a result can be compared against the same hardware elsewhere. Memory latency in particular is the number that tells you whether a timing change actually did anything.
The stability test is the real reason it is on overclocking machines. It loads the processor, the memory, the cache, the drives and the display adapter individually or together, while showing the sensor readings and watching for a hardware error, a throttling event or a reported correction. Running it for an hour after a change is the difference between a stable machine and one that will fail in three weeks during something important.
What you get
- Direct hardware identification down to module part numbers, revisions and firmware
- All four editions in one installer with the edition chosen at install
- Complete sensor reading for temperatures, fans, voltages, power and clocks
- Sensor logging over time for diagnosing intermittent thermal problems
- Monitoring output to desktop panels, the tray, external displays and case screens
- Threshold alerts with actions including an automatic shutdown
- Memory, processor and floating point benchmarks with a reference database
- Stability testing per subsystem or combined, with error and throttle detection
- Network inventory collection and reporting in the Business and Audit editions
Inside the archive
- AIDA64 8 installer covering Extreme, Engineer, Business and Network Audit
- Benchmark reference database
- External display and case screen output modules
- Report templates for inventory and audit output
- Language packs for the interface list shown above
- Install notes covering the edition selection
System requirements
| Operating system | Windows 7 SP1 or newer, 32-bit or 64-bit |
|---|---|
| Processor | Any, from Pentium onward |
| Memory | 512 MB minimum |
| Graphics | Any |
| Storage | 100 MB free |
| Display | 1024 by 768 or higher |
Installing it
- Unpack and run the installer as administrator.
- Choose the edition at the start of setup. Extreme is the right pick for a single personal machine.
- Allow the low level driver component when prompted, since sensor reading depends on it.
- Open the sensor page first and confirm your board is fully recognised before relying on the readings.
- No key is requested. The licensing is already applied for every edition.
Mirrors
| Route | Region | Note | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct, primary | Europe | No wait, resumable | Online |
| Direct, secondary | North America | No wait, resumable | Online |
| Torrent magnet | Global | Small file, direct is faster | Online |
Release history
- Sensor support added for recent motherboard controllers
- Memory module identification corrected on newer modules
- Stability test now reports corrected errors separately from uncorrected ones
- Benchmark reference database refreshed
- External display output reworked for network connected panels
- Network audit collection made faster on large fleets
- Drive firmware reading fixed behind certain controllers
Questions about this release
Which edition should I install?
Extreme for a personal machine, Engineer if you service other people's hardware, Business or Network Audit for a fleet.
Why are some sensors missing?
The board has to expose them and the controller has to be recognised. Recent boards sometimes need a newer build before every value appears.
Is the stability test safe?
It loads the machine hard by design. On adequate cooling it is fine. On a machine that is already thermally marginal it will find that out, which is the point, so watch the temperatures.
Does it need a driver?
Yes, a low level access driver for reading sensors directly. Decline it and the information pages still work but the sensor readings will not.
Comments
Identified the exact memory modules in a machine I bought secondhand, down to the serial. Nothing else told me that.
Ran the audit edition across forty office machines. Full inventory in a spreadsheet in an hour.
Comments are read before they appear. If a build stops working, say so here and it gets rebuilt rather than quietly left up.
Logged temperatures overnight and found the throttle. Fan curve was the problem, not the processor.