What motherboard do I have? – How to check on Windows 10/11
Having trouble checking the motherboard you have? Read this complete guide!
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What motherboard do I have? And how do I check? There are a whole host of reasons why you might need to check what motherboard model you currently have, you might want to upgrade your CPU and need to know what motherboard and chipset you have to ensure you don’t purchase an incompatible processor. While the list goes on, finding out what baseboard manufacturer your PC build has might be one of the simplest things you can do.
We list all the variety of ways in which you can check what motherboard you have, ordered by how easy they are to do. This is your complete guide to finding out the type of motherboard you have.
How to check what motherboard I have – the easy way
Below is a quick and popular method to get the installed motherboard information by using Windows 10 or 11 System Information. Follow these steps:
Click on Windows Start Menu and then in the search bar and search for ‘System Information’. Click on the System Information App. You can also launch it via the Run application by pressing Win + R and entering msinfo32.
This will open the system information window. Ensure you are in System Summary, then look for BaseBoard Manufacturer (which is the Motherboard manufacturer) and BaseBoard Product with display the Motherboard Model, and final BaseBoard Version.
It is worth mentioning, however, that this method doesn’t work for all users. Sometimes, for whatever reason, certain bits of information aren’t displayed in the system information. If this is the case then continue down in this article and we have alternate methods you can follow. It is very rare that system info does not display the motherboard, it’s more likely the motherboard doesn’t come with information if it’s older, more generic, or proprietary.
Look for the Motherboard brand and model directly on the motherboard
Below is an example of where the motherboard manufacturer and model number will typically be.
As you can see from the examples above, most motherboards showcase their manufacturer and serial number – albeit not always in the same style or position. For those completely new to PC building, the easiest way to know whether you’re looking at those specific details is to simply familiarize yourself with some of the more popular brands and chipsets and form factors.
Popular motherboard manufacturers
- MSI
- ASUS
- GIGABYTE
- ASRock
- Biostar
Popular motherboard chipsets
Despite the examples we used showing the manufacturer and model number next to each other, there are rare occasions where the brand and model number will be separated on the board. In those scenarios, simply look for a 4-digit code (similar to the popular chipsets above) to determine which motherboard you have. If you’re interested in any of these chipsets, we have linked our best ofs.
How to find the motherboard you have via Command Prompt (CMD)
If opening your PC case and fiddling around amongst the cables and hardware all seems a little too time-consuming and difficult, the following method saves you the hassle. Whilst many may not feel comfortable dabbling around in a command prompt window, or with the wmic baseboard command, it’s one of the easiest ways how to find out what motherboard you have.
The Windows command prompt – sometimes referred to as ‘terminal’ like in Linux, is an incredibly useful tool if you know the correct commands to execute. You can easily find information on your graphics card, and get a system summary, serial numbers, system models, and anything you could ever want. But for now, let’s just stick to the motherboard model, here’s the method:
Check what motherboard you have via Command Prompt (CMD)
If opening your PC case and fiddling around amongst the cables and hardware all seems a little too time consuming and difficult, the following method saves you the hassle. Whilst many may not feel comfortable dabbling around in the command prompt, it’s one of the easiest ways how to find out what motherboard you have. Here’s the method:
Step 1
CMD
Type ‘CMD’ into the Windows search function – bottom left-hand corner for most users – and tap enter. Or again use Windows + R to open the RUN Box.
Step 2
Insert command
Once inside command prompt, type in the following:
- wmic baseboard get Manufacturer to display the motherboard manufacturer
- wmic baseboard get product to display the specific model of the motherboard
This will reveal the Make & Model of your motherboard.
Use third-party hardware-checking software
The final option is to download a piece of third-party software that displays all the information for you. Whilst there are lots of these programs around, such as Speccy, HWiNFO, and AIDA64 we recommend CPU-Z as it’s free and does the job perfectly.
Use third-party software like CPU-Z
Hardware monitoring tools such as CPU-Z often have dedicated sections to displaying the hardware and components installed in your PC. Here’s how to find out your motherboard manufacturer make and model by using CPU-Z
Step 1
Download CPU-Z
Firstly, if you haven’t already, download CPU-Z from here
Step 2
Using CPU-Z to determine motherboard make and model
Once downloaded and installed, simply load the program by double-clicking the CPU-Z desktop icon. Once open, from the navigation bar at the top, select the ‘Mainboard’ tab listed.
We suggest this is the best way to go if you’re looking to sell your current PC. CPU-Z not only showcases the motherboard specs, but pretty much every other hardware spec too – including CPU, RAM, and your best graphics card.
FAQs
What is my motherboard?
Your motherboard is the main board of a PC that connects all the components in your system together and allows them to communicate. This function is absolutely vital for the PC to function properly. Your motherboard is also the piece of hardware that governs what CPU, GPU, and Storage your PC is compatible with, because if it doesn’t fit in that motherboard, then it isn’t going to work.
Why is knowing your motherboard important?
Knowing your motherboard is important because you may want to upgrade your CPU, GPU, or other component attached to your motherboard and you want to ensure it’s compatibility. This is only doable if you first know what motherboard you have.
Additionally, if you plan to sell the system later down the line, giving an accurate description of the hardware inside the PC will help it sell better, and help you decide on a more accurate value.
Related pages
Motherboards can be an extremely complicated piece of hardware if you are new to custom PC building. For that reason, we’ve created a bunch of handy articles over the years that help builders understand better how motherboards work. Here are some of our most popular:
- How are motherboards made?
- Which motherboard size to choose?
- Checking your components are compatible
- B550 vs X570
- B450 vs X470
- Is overclocking worth it?
Conclusion
Ultimately, the process of checking your hardware is extremely simple. As shown, there are several different ways in which you can check these details – all of which require very little technical knowledge or know-how. As long as you have eyes, you should be able to perform this check. Knowledge is power, and knowing what motherboard you have may help you upgrade or sell your PC later down the line.
All being said, we hope this article has helped you in your quest to find out what motherboard your PC has. If you’re still struggling to determine which board is in your PC, why not drop us a comment in the section below and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
