How can I identify a hardware product?

How can I identify different hardware components (hard drive, cpu, gpu, etc). Based on it's manufacturer.

For example, Nvidia Geforce GTX 580, several manufacturers, all differently priced, some may be a bit differently from other cards.

How can I know that product A is not product B. The reason is of course that I am going to link to hardware components from different sources. So how can I know that something is the exact same product?

daviddhont

Posted 2012-08-06T16:10:30.220

Reputation: 13

" The reason is of course that I am going to link to hardware components from different sources"

Can you shed a little more light on this? Are you saying that you are giving other people links to certain pieces of hardware for sale online? Your questions isnt very clear sadly. My first thought is the most obvious, which would be serial number. My second thought is it sounds like you want to learn the naming convention for specific brands so that you can identify a device with just a quick glance? – None – 2012-08-06T16:19:15.837

Well I want to make a computer builder, but I am not going to be selling the hardware itself. So yeah a Serial number came to mind, that would be the most logical. – daviddhont – 2012-08-06T16:21:16.030

You want to make a "computer builder"? Are you thinking of something like, a form where people choose the hardware they want, and then you link them to places they can purchase the exact parts? – None – 2012-08-06T16:25:32.070

Yes, something like that, I also want to add product compatibility; so I need to know the exact products. In order to know it's parameters. – daviddhont – 2012-08-06T16:27:01.517

Exact model number is going to be the most universally identifiable piece of information. I dont think that this can all be done automatically without some serious serious scripting knowledge. The type of thing you want to create might not give you the results you need, or the (I assume) referral checks you want. What is the purpose of this project if you dont mind me asking? – None – 2012-08-06T16:29:54.873

OOOOHHHH I get what you are saying. So for instance on this site, if the "hardware" tag is selected, it brings up a box where you can type in your model number of say, the video card, and it will pull up related issues to that exact card, upgrade paths, specs and compatibility ratings? – None – 2012-08-06T16:40:37.760

My first goal for a website project is never to make money, just see to make something useful. I do have scripting knowledge I'm a Web Developer. But the idea was simply to make a universal builder that people could link their builds, and still be able to order their parts from different vendors. As well as provide an API for stores, etc. – daviddhont – 2012-08-06T16:42:02.050

Correct, I removed the old comment by the way, which is why this is double posting. I'm not used to posting on StackExchange websites.

The goal in reality is to have a good builder, the customer comes first. But with the database, you could indeed expand API access for other websites to draw information from, like say Stores etc. – daviddhont – 2012-08-06T16:45:29.050

pcpartpicker.com? – nathpilland – 2012-08-06T16:59:35.513

1Will you look at that, that could be pretty much what i'm trying to make yes. But I always say. Don't care about what others are doing, as long as you can do it better :)

By the way, Am I correct to assume that this website has the Model Number of all hardware on there? – daviddhont – 2012-08-06T17:05:15.663

Yes it does. It has the model number, the lowest price from multiple websites, and a sort option. – nathpilland – 2012-08-06T18:56:46.643

Answers

Knowing the generic names of components will lead to disaster. There are DIMMs of varying capacity that run at vaious speeds. But the part decription will always list it by the storage capacity of the DIMM and not the speed it operates at. Always classify based on the OEM ID and OEM part number.

If you are on Linux, you could use lshw to check the hardware info read by the OS for the corresponding hardware such as OEM part numbers, OEm IDs etc. If you want to build a database of serial IDs for the various devices, either find computers which already have these installed and run the above command or specifically remove the parts you want to test and save the various configuration info obtained from the above tool.

A safer way would be to read data directly off from the BIOS level if you are comfortable with it.

Arpith

Posted 2012-08-06T16:10:30.220

Reputation: 201

Thank you, that is great explanation. How does OEM part numbers / OEM ID's differ from the exact model numbers? – daviddhont – 2012-08-06T18:05:36.857

Different OEMs/vendors may use the same serial number to identify their components. If all your components are from the same vendor, using just the serial number might serve you well. But in a multi-vendor environment, one OEM's serial number for a NIC may be someone else's serial number for a storage. Hence its better to go with a OEM partname/ part number as well as vendor ID. – Arpith – 2012-08-06T18:10:18.727

This seems like the most logical answer, even If I don't use Linux, this is the way to obtain the hardware information. OEM IDs or Model Numbers. The reason why I say that is because it's easier to find the model numbers on the website of the vendors and to prefix them to make sure it's unique. Problem solved, thanks! – daviddhont – 2012-08-06T18:39:55.863

When I want to know such things, I often use Piriform's free Speccy program. It's from the same folks that make the popular CCleaner utility. Below's a screenshot of the info it initially displays. You can select any of the categories shown for more detailed information about it.

screenshot of the Speccy's program initial display of information

martineau

Posted 2012-08-06T16:10:30.220

Reputation: 3 849