What's Your PC's Hidden Speed Score? Uncover It with This PowerShell Trick!

Remember the "Windows Experience Index"?

Back in the days of Windows 7 and Vista, Microsoft gave us a simple, shiny number from 1.0 to 7.9 that told us, at a glance, how beefy (or wimpy) our computer was. It was a built-in bragging right. You’d compare your 7.2 "Gaming graphics" score with your friend's 5.5 and feel a smug sense of satisfaction.

Then, with Windows 8 and 10, Microsoft tucked it away. The pretty, graphical window was gone.

Most people assumed the feature was dead. But here’s the secret: it’s not. The engine is still there, chugging away under the hood, and the data is just sitting in a database waiting for you to ask for it.

So how do we ask? We bypass the missing graphics and go straight to the source with a single, powerful tool: Windows PowerShell.

The Ghost in the Machine: What is WinSAT?

Before we get to the magic command, let's talk about what we're looking for. The old Experience Index was powered by WinSAT, which stands for the Windows System Assessment Tool.

This tool is still a core part of Windows. It runs benchmarks on your key components:

Your CPU (processor)
Your RAM (memory)
Your main hard drive or SSD (disk)
Your graphics card (both for desktop/Aero performance and for 3D gaming)

Even though you don't see the final score, Windows sometimes uses this data in the background to optimize performance. The scores are generated and then quietly stored in a massive Windows database called WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation).

And if we want to query that database, we need a key. That key is Get-CimInstance.

Meet the "Key Master": `Get-CimInstance`

Don't let the name scare you. Get-CimInstance (CIM stands for Common Information Model) is just PowerShell’s modern way of saying, "Hey Windows, go fetch me some information about..."

You can use it to find out anything: the name of your motherboard, the status of your printer, or, in our case, the hidden performance scores.

It’s the direct, no-nonsense way to talk to your PC’s deepest settings. We just need to tell it the exact "file cabinet" to open. For us, that cabinet is called Win32_WinSAT.

So, let's put it all together.

The Magic Command: Finding Your Score

Go ahead and open up a PowerShell window. (You can just hit the Start button, type "PowerShell," and press Enter).

Now, type or paste in this command and hit Enter:

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_WinSAT

You're going to see a list of properties, and among them, you'll find the gold:

CPUScore: Your processor's rating.
D3DScore: Your 3D gaming graphics rating.
DiskScore: Your hard drive/SSD rating.
GraphicsScore: Your general desktop graphics rating.
MemoryScore: Your RAM rating.

And the most important one:

WinSPRLevel: This is your overall "Base Score." Just like the old WEI, this number is your lowest-performing component.

Why is that the most important? Because it instantly tells you your computer's biggest bottleneck. A system with a 9.3 CPU score and a 5.5 DiskScore is screaming for an SSD upgrade!

"Help! My Scores Are 0 or Blank!"

Now, you might run that command and see a bunch of zeros or nothing at all.

Don't panic! This just means the WinSAT assessment hasn't been run in a while (or ever). Windows is lazy; if you don't ask for the score, it often doesn't bother to calculate it.

We just need to give it a little nudge. To do that, you need to run PowerShell as an Administrator.

Click Start.
Type "PowerShell".
Right-click "Windows PowerShell" and choose "Run as administrator".
In the admin window, type this command and press Enter:

winsat formal

Your computer is now going to run the full benchmark. It'll take a minute or two, and your screen might flash or go black for a second—this is totally normal as it tests your graphics card.

Once it's finished, go back to your original (non-admin) PowerShell window and run our first command again:

Get-CimInstance -ClassName Win32_WinSAT

Voilà! Your scores should now be populated.

Why This Is Better Than a Party Trick

This little one-liner is more than just a trip down memory lane. It’s a powerful, built-in diagnostic tool.

You don't need to download bulky third-party benchmark software like 3DMark or PCMark just to get a quick baseline. You can walk up to any modern Windows PC, run one command, and instantly know its strengths and weaknesses.

It’s one of my favorite examples of how PowerShell peels back the user-friendly layers of Windows to show you the raw, powerful machinery running underneath.

So, go run it. What's your score?

What's Your PC's Hidden Speed Score?