CPUInfo 2

for Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP

- Freeware -

Copyright © 2000-2004 Sven Bergemann

Email: cpuinfo@pcanalyser.com
Homepage: www.pcanalyser.com

 

  1.     Introduction

  2.     Features

  3.     System requirements

  4.     Installation

  5.     Uninstall

  6.     Menu structure

  7.     Report generation

  8.     Command line entries

  9.     Thanks

10.     Professional version

11.     Copyright


 

1.   Introduction

CPUInfo is a windows based program, which provides extensive information about available processors. To achieve this the software examines different sources of the computer system especially processor details and displays the acquired information in a categorized way. The CPUID instruction, available on later 486 processors, in particular is an important basis for this examination. This instruction provides clear identification and uncovers interesting details about the used processor(s).

An exact feature list is shown in the next chapter. CPUInfo operates under the operating systems Windows 9x/ME as well as Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 in any product family.

CPUInfo is a must for everyone who wants to obtain an extensive knowledge of the installed processor(s), its(their) specification(s) and its characteristic(s), for CPUInfo opens up a huge amount of high level data and processing information. The advanced and ambitious user gains new insights into the used processor(s) by investigation of the displayed data.

2.   Features

CPUInfo has the following features:

3.   System requirements

CPUInfo doesn't need many resources to run. See the next table for more details.

4.   Installation

You don't need to install CPUInfo with the help of a setup function. Just start the program by double-clicking the CPUINFO.EXE file. All other files are optional and only for documentation, but be sure all files are located in the same directory.

5.   Uninstall

Because you don't have to install CPUInfo you don't need to uninstall. Just delete the CPUInfo directory or all decompressed files.

6.   Menu structure

6.1 Tab - CPU

Under the register tab CPU all processor information is displayed, which is detectable via the CPUID instruction. This instruction is supported by most processors of the Pentium family and by some advanced 80486 processors like DX2 and DX4. On computers with more than one processor, CPUInfo shows an individual register tab for each processor.

Processor manufacturer and type, family, model, stepping as well as the current core clock, core clock, the current system clock, the system clock, Multiplier, the FSB, the internal level 1 cache and, when present, the level 2 and level 3 caches are displayed.

Vendor specific information like processor name (AMD and newer Intel CPUs) as well as the processor serial number of the Pentium III (when readable) is displayed.

At the bottom of the CPUInfo window the instruction set extensions like MMX, 3DNow!, 3DNow!+, ISSE and ISSE-2 are displayed. If an instruction set extension is supported by the processor, its name is displayed in black, otherwise in grey.

6.2 Tab - Feature Flag

The CPUID instruction also returns the feature flags, which are listed. The feature flags are processor properties that show whether a feature is supported or not. Example: To detect whether the processor supports the MMX extension, bit 23 has to be tested. When it is set (value 1) the MMX extension is supported, otherwise the processor doesn't support MMX (value 0). Additional to the bit number of the corresponding feature flag CPUInfo displays a short description and the status.

The list of feature flags differs from processor to processor. For example an AMD K6 processor don't support the instruction set extension ISSE from Intel.

6.3 Tab - Processor Cache

Many processors use a cache to save frequently used data. CPUInfo shows the available details of L1-, L2- and L3-Caches.

On the single internal cache steps the retrieved data is splitted into code, data and code/date (unified). For every cache type information about size, associativity, line size and lines per tag is provided. Information about the L1- and L2-TLBs (Translation Look aside Buffers) is also included in the cache evaluation.

6.4 Tab - CPUID

In this window CPUInfo shows the returned data, which are the result of the CPUID instruction in any calling parameter. The shown list contains the calling CPUID parameter, the respective registers in which the data was stored by the CPUID call.

The results are displayed in binary, hexadecimal and string format. The string output is interesting with relation to the returned processor strings (e.g. on AMD and newer Intel processors).

6.5 Tab - Windows

Under Windows it's possible to obtain more and other processor information from the operating system. At first details are detected by API calls and then from the Windows registry.

6.5.1 Tab - Windows - API calls

API is the abbreviation of Application Programming Interface. With this interface the operating system provides services to third party programs on which they can call on directly.

In the section Operating System CPUInfo displays some information from the current operating system like OS system name, OS type, service pack version, OS version and the OS build. In the section physical Memory and virtual Memory the total memory size and the used and free memory sizes are displayed.

The processor information from the Windows API is shown in the section Processor Information (Windows). CPUInfo tries to detect processor type, processor architecture and the number of processors. Under Windows NT/2000/XP additional information about processor level and processor revision may be displayed. In the right side list (not) supported processor properties are displayed.

6.5.2 Tab - Windows - Registry

The Windows 9x/NT/2000 registry is some kind of database, in which Windows stores relevant operating system information and additional software and hardware set up information. You can edit the registry by using the program REGEDIT.EXE (under Windows NT/2000/XP/2003: REGEDT32.EXE).

In the section License CPUInfo displays license information, for example which operating system is registered by which person or organization. It also displays product ID and product key.

In the Windows registry processor relevant information is saved under the root key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, which is more accurate then the Windows API calls. In the section Processor Information (Registry) CPUInfo displays the manufacturer, the processor name and under Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 in the section Other the processor family, model and stepping. In the section MHz CPUInfo shows the processor core clock frequency.

7.   Report generation

After clicking the Report... button at the bottom of the CPUInfo window you can choose between file and printer as report. With the right button you can define where to print or where to save the file.

In the lower window area you can choose any or all entries which will be added to the report.

Finally press the button Create Report to start the report generation. If the report is finished a message is displayed. Then choose OK to return to the program.

8.   Command line parameters

You can also launch CPUInfo by using command line entries to specify tuning of the CPUInfo driver and select the desired language. In the Professional version report generation can be realized without using CPUInfo's graphical interface. This option is implemented especially for the operation of CPUInfo in a network environment

9.   Thanks

We thank

We also thank all other users, who contributed to the improvement of our program!

10.   Professional version

The information supplied by the freeware version doesn't represent all obtainable processor details. In most computers more information sources are available, i.e. the Model-specific registers (MSRs) and the DMI area. The professional version of CPUInfo examines these extended data and offers a graphical display of several frequencies, as well as the creation of a report in addition with start parameters (without GUI).

This version is interesting to all users who need an inventory of their network; on the other hand the ambitious user gets more detectable processor information from his system.

The differences between the Freeware and the Professional version are shown in the following list:

Program function

Freeware version

Professional version

Processor information

yes

yes

Feature Flags

yes

yes

Processor Cache

yes

yes

Extended Cache (MSR, DMI, Chipset)

no

yes

Detailed CPUID

yes

yes

Detailed MSR

no

yes

Frequency graph

no

yes

Processor - DMI

no

yes

Multiprocessor evaluation

no

yes

Batch mode

no

yes

Electronic manual (PDF)

no

yes

The Professional version can be ordered directly at Share-It.

11.   Copyright

The professional version of CPUInfo is not free software; the freeware version can be used freely without any costs. The copyright of this software package belongs to Sven Bergemann.

All files and archives of the freeware version may be copied and passed on in the original state only, it is not allowed to separate or change the files. Public exchange or demonstration as well as any other type of the publication requires a simple agreement from the authors. Files of the professional version and the customer specific Key file may not be changed in any way.

The use of CPUInfo is at one's own risk. The authors do not take any responsibility for direct or indirect damages, caused by using CPUInfo. The authors are not liable for bugs and errors in the program.

Copyright 2000-2004 Sven Bergemann - All rights reserved.