AIDA64 Extreme Edition Editor's Review

Tweak and test your computer with this must have Windows utility.

Troubleshooting today's complex computers isn't always an easy task. With multicore processors and GPU's along with clock speeds that are easily approaching 4.0 GHz, figuring out exactly what is causing your PC's performance to tank can be a big task. This is why I like tools like AIDA64. It’s a benchmarking tool for Windows.

AIDA64 is a streamlined Windows diagnostic and benchmarking tool. AIDA64 Extreme Edition provides a wide range of features to assist in overclocking, hardware error diagnosis, stress testing, and sensor monitoring. It has unique capabilities to assess the performance of your PC's processor, system memory, and disk drives. AIDA64 is compatible with all current 32-bit and 64-bit version of Microsoft Windows, including Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

For 64bit machines, AIDA64 implements a set of benchmarks to measure how fast the computer performs various data processing tasks and mathematical calculations. Memory and cache benchmarks are available to analyze system RAM bandwidth and latency. Processor benchmarks utilize MMX, 3DNow!, SSE, XOP, FMA, and AVX instructions, and can scale up to 32 different processor cores. For legacy machines, all benchmarks are available in 32-bits. AIDA64 Disk Benchmarks determine the data transfer speeds of hard disk drives, SSD's, optical drives, and flash memory drives.

AIDA64 provides over 50 pages of information on installed programs, software licenses, security applications, and Windows settings. A list of started processes, services, DLL files, startup programs, and visited web pages is also available.

Pro’s: Works in both 32bit and 64bit hardware environments

Con’s: limited use beyond troubleshooting

Conclusion: AIDA64 has one of the most accurate hardware detection engines in its class.  It provides detailed information on your computer's components without the need to open it up. The hardware detection module is powered by an exhaustive hardware database of over 120,000 entries. Additional modules are available to overview processor frequencies, check CRT and LCD display status, and to stress the system to reveal potential hardware failures and thermal issues.

The app is very good at what it does, but its use is limited to diagnostic and troubleshooting activities. Unless you plan to do a lot of tweaking or have a problematic system, you're likely not going to get a lot of use from the software, so be aware of this if your needs go beyond the basic edition.