Instead of spending a lot of money on someone to diagnose and maintain performance, you can use some simple software options to monitor the health of your PC and keep it running smoothly. Plus, it can even help you predict major problems before they happen. When you're trying to fix a problem or when you're considering what upgrade to make next, it's important to know the parts of your PC in detail. What parts are there? How hot do they run? What can I do to clean up the software in my system so everything runs at full potential? Your PC needs regular maintenance and care, and all too often is left to its own devices to slowly rebel against its neglectful owner. But don't feel bad, there are plenty of tools to help you change that. Here are the 4 best PC performance monitoring programs that we think every Windows computer should have.

Speccy
Speccy is a free, real-time tool for monitoring the temperature of critical components like the CPU and GPU. It also provides detailed information about hardware parts like the motherboard, RAM, processor make and model, and storage drive size and speed. There's a built-in snapshot tool, so you can easily share your scan results for troubleshooting or purchasing compatible upgrades. The professional version offers advanced PC insights, automatic updates, and premium support, and is available for less than $20 per year.

HWMonitor
HWMonitor is another fantastic PC hardware monitoring tool that provides real-time information on voltage, temperatures, fan speed, etc. that are currently affecting your PC and presents it in easy-to-understand graphs. The main software is a free download, but if you want additional features like remote monitoring, saving graph data, and a more customizable interface, you can also check out HWMonitor PRO, which is available for a small annual subscription and includes Android monitoring tools in addition to Windows.

IOLO System Mechanics Ultimate Defense
Another tool if you're looking for something more robust is IOLO System Mechanic Ultimate Defense, and this one goes way beyond monitoring. System Mechanic is an all-in-one PC optimization software that can scan and remove junk files, broken shortcuts, temporary files, and useless registry entries. It's super intuitive with an easy-to-understand interface, and it not only monitors your CPU, RAM, and storage drives, but optimizes them for you too. It eliminates unnecessary background apps and prevents bloatware and startup bottlenecks to keep everything running super fast, and even includes a Privacy Guardian and other system protection features to monitor your browsing habits, delete tracking cookies, warn you about suspicious emails, etc. For a one-time purchase of just under $65, you're well-equipped with the software, and you get free upgrades for the first year with the option to renew for software updates.

IObit Advanced System Maintenance
The free version of IObit Advanced System Care thoroughly cleans junk files to free up more storage space, provides real-time monitoring for system components, and has a 1-click solution for hard drive errors for a more reliable system. The Pro version costs about $20/year for up to 3 devices and offers more features like stopping unnecessary programs to free up RAM for more important things like work or gaming, and killing unnecessary startups so you boot up faster. There are even features that make your internet faster by using the maximum network bandwidth as well as privacy and security features.

Whatever tool you choose to improve your PC's health, it will thank you and in return provide you with more stability, reliability, and a pleasant gaming or productivity experience. How do you monitor your PC? Or is this your first time? What is your favorite performance indicator? Let us know in the comments.

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