Do you ever wonder if your computer is actually as fast as it claims to be? Or why your laptop struggles with editing videos while your friend's PC breezes through it?
Back in the days of Windows 7, Microsoft had a feature called the Windows Experience Index. It gave your computer a simple score from 1.0 to 7.9, letting you know exactly where your hardware stood. While Microsoft removed this from the graphical settings menu in Windows 8, 10, and 11, the benchmarking engine didn't disappear—it just went underground.
In this guide, I’ll show you how to unlock this hidden tool to stress-test your system, check your "System Rating," and understand what your computer is truly capable of.
Step 1: Run the Benchmark
Since there is no button to click in the Settings menu, we have to use the Command Prompt. Don't worry, it’s a simple one-line command.
Click the Start button and type
cmd.Right-click Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator.
Type the following command and hit Enter:
winsat formal
What is happening? "WinSAT" stands for Windows System Assessment Tool. When you run this, Windows will start stress-testing your components. You might see your screen flash or console text scrolling rapidly. This is normal; your computer is testing its graphics rendering, disk speed, and processing power.
Note: The test usually takes 1 to 3 minutes to complete.
Step 2: Retrieve Your Score
Once the test finishes, the window will just stop scrolling. To see the actual results in a readable format, we need to ask PowerShell to fetch the report.
Open PowerShell (search for it in the Start menu).
Paste this command and hit Enter:
Get-CimInstance Win32_WinSAT
You will see a list of numbers. The most important one is the WinSPRLevel—this is your overall System Rating.
Decoding Your Score
Windows calculates your score based on the slowest component in your system. This is called the "bottleneck" rule. Even if you have the world's fastest processor, a slow hard drive will drag your score down.
Here is what the other numbers mean:
CPUScore: How fast your processor handles calculations.
MemoryScore: The efficiency of your RAM (multitasking capability).
DiskScore: The read/write speed of your primary storage drive.
GraphicsScore: Desktop performance (Windows UI, video playback).
D3DScore: 3D gaming and heavy graphical rendering performance.
What Does Your Rating Mean?
Now that you have your WinSPRLevel, where does your system fit in the hierarchy?
1.0 – 3.9: The Entry Level
Typical Hardware: Budget laptops, 4GB RAM, Mechanical Hard Drives. Best For: Web browsing, typing documents, and checking email. Reality Check: If your system is in this range, you probably experience lag when opening too many tabs. It’s functional, but not fast.
4.0 – 5.9: The Office Workhorse
Typical Hardware: Standard business PCs, 8GB RAM, Basic SSDs. Best For: Multitasking, HD video streaming, complex Excel sheets. Reality Check: This is the sweet spot for general productivity. It feels snappy for daily tasks but isn't built for modern gaming.
6.0 – 7.9: High Performance
Typical Hardware: Gaming laptops, Video editing rigs, Dedicated Graphics Cards. Best For: Graphic design, 1080p video editing, modern gaming at medium settings. Reality Check: You have a solid machine. You can run Photoshop and play games like Fortnite or League of Legends smoothly.
8.0 – 9.9: The Elite Tier
Typical Hardware: High-end workstations, RTX 40-series cards, NVMe SSDs. Best For: 4K video editing, 3D rendering, Ultra-setting gaming. Reality Check: Your computer is a beast. You likely spent a good amount of money on it, and the stats prove it's money well spent.
How to Boost Your Score
If your score is lower than you hoped, look at the individual metrics to find the culprit.
Low DiskScore? This is the most common issue. If you are still using an old mechanical Hard Disk Drive (HDD), swapping it for an SSD (Solid State Drive) is the single biggest upgrade you can make. It can take a DiskScore from 5.3 to 8.1 instantly.
Low MemoryScore? If you have 4GB or 8GB of RAM, upgrading to 16GB is usually inexpensive and provides a massive boost to multitasking.
Low GraphicsScore? Unfortunately for laptop users, you usually can't upgrade graphics. However, ensuring your drivers are up to date can sometimes squeeze out a better score.
Conclusion
The Windows System Rating might be hidden, but it remains one of the most honest ways to benchmark your PC without downloading third-party software. It tells you exactly where your bottlenecks are and helps you make smarter decisions about upgrades.
Go ahead—run the command and see if your PC is an "Office Worker" or an "Elite Gamer." Let me know your scores in the comments below!
