What tool to use to check newly built PC before installing Windows?

Question

There is a similar question: What tools to test the reliability and stability of a newly built PC? but I'm interested in some tool / bootable CD that would check the PC (CPU, RAM, GPU) before I install Windows.

Reason: I'm just installing Win7 64b on a machine with Core i7 and SSD and it's suspiciously slow (after 15 minutes, it's just began expanding installation files) so I'm seeking tools that would help troubleshoot it.

Answer 1

Take a look at my answer here. The UBCD4Win BartPe disc has Memtest86, Prime95, HDtune, etc. The only thing that it doesn't have is tools for testing the GPU. For that, look at the answers here.

Edit: You can even build a UBCD4Win disc that has UBCD on it and get some more diagnostic tools, such as Hitachi DFT.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Generally I'd boot up a Linux liveCD (Knoppix is well known for it's excellent hardware support, and run various stress tests from there.

If you're more at home in a Windows environment, something like UBCD can be an option, it includes HDtune for checking your hard disk, and memtest86 for your RAM.