How to Check Your PC or Laptop Performance Score Using PowerShell (WinSAT)

Have you ever wondered how powerful your computer really is? Whether you're troubleshooting slow performance, checking gaming compatibility, or just curious, understanding your PC’s capabilities is valuable. Fortunately, Windows includes a built-in tool called WinSAT (Windows System Assessment Tool) that can help you evaluate your system's performance across key hardware components.

In this blog post, we'll walk through how to use PowerShell and the Get-CimInstance Win32_WinSAT command to check your computer’s performance scores on Windows 10 and 11.
What is WinSAT?
The Windows System Assessment Tool (WinSAT) is a diagnostic utility built into Windows since Vista. It evaluates the performance of various hardware components, such as:

CPU (processor)

Memory (RAM)

Graphics (GPU)

Disk (storage speed)

Gaming graphics (Direct3D performance)

These scores help determine your system's Windows Experience Index (WEI) — a number between 1.0 and 9.9 (in Windows 10/11), indicating overall system capability.

Although Windows no longer displays the WEI in graphical form, the assessment engine is still present and can be accessed using PowerShell.

How to Run WinSAT and View Scores
Here’s a step-by-step guide to checking your performance score:

Step 1: Open PowerShell as Administrator
Press Win + X and select Windows PowerShell (Admin) or Terminal (Admin).

If prompted by UAC, click Yes.

Step 2: Run the WinSAT Assessment (Optional)
If you’ve never run a formal assessment, or want updated scores, type the following command:

winsat formal

This will take a few minutes to evaluate your hardware. It will test CPU, RAM, graphics, disk performance, and more.

Step 3: View Your Scores with Get-CimInstance

Once the assessment is complete, use this command to view your performance scores:

Get-CimInstance Win32_WinSAT

This will return output similar to this:

CPUScore              : 8.4
D3DScore              : 9.9
DiskScore             : 9.25
GraphicsScore         : 7.5
MemoryScore           : 8.4
TimeTaken             : MostRecentAssessment
WinSATAssessmentState : 1
WinSPRLevel           : 7.5
PSComputerName        : MYPC

What Do These Scores Mean?
Each component score ranges typically from 1.0 (very poor) to 9.9 (excellent), though modern hardware often scores between 6.0 and 9.9.

 WinSPRLevel Overall base score (lowest of all categories)

Your overall WinSPRLevel is determined by the lowest individual score, not the average. This ensures any weak point in your system is not overlooked.

Why Check Performance Scores?

There are several reasons to run a WinSAT assessment:

Upgrade Planning: Knowing which component is your bottleneck (e.g., low disk or memory score) helps you prioritize upgrades.

Gaming Readiness: See if your system is up to the task for modern gaming.

Performance Troubleshooting: If your PC feels slow, this can reveal underperforming hardware.

System Comparison: Compare scores across different machines to understand performance differences.

# Check-SystemScore.ps1
$score = Get-CimInstance Win32_WinSAT
$score | Format-List

Final Thoughts
Even though the Windows Experience Index (WEI) is no longer available in the GUI, it remains a useful tool under the hood. Using PowerShell and the Get-CimInstance Win32_WinSAT command gives you an easy way to view detailed performance metrics on any Windows PC or laptop.

Whether you're a casual user, gamer, or IT technician, having insight into your system’s capabilities can help you make smarter decisions about usage, upgrades, or replacements.

So go ahead — open PowerShell and discover what your machine is really capable of!