How to find the manufacturer of my computer

Updated: 03/10/2024 by Computer Hope

With manufacturers, there are generally two camps: those that assemble desktop and laptop computers and those that build individual components. The following sections show you how to differentiate between them and identify who makes them.

Who built my computer?

Serial number on HP computer

Answering this question means determining your desktop or laptop computer's brand. Look on the front or side of its case for a logo or name to help you. Examples of computer manufacturers include Acer, Apple, HP (Hewlett-Packard), Compaq, Lenovo, Dell, Sony, and Gateway. The picture shows a sticker on the side of a computer manufactured by HP. Furthermore, the sticker shows the computer is part of the "Pavilion P6000 Series," and the model number is p6774y.

Note

If a monitor is separate from the case (not an all-in-one), it may not be made by the same company. Make sure to look at the computer's case when using this method to determine your device's manufacturer.

Computer case badges

Case badges, however, can be misleading. For example, the front of your case may have an AMD, Intel, or Microsoft Windows sticker. These are not the computer manufacturer but those that made the processor or operating system.

Alternatively, if you are running Microsoft Windows, open the System Information utility to find the manufacturer. To open this window, press the Windows key, type System Information, and then press Enter. In the section to the right, the manufacturer is next to the System Manufacturer entry.

System Manufacturer entry in the Windows System Information window.

While some OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) use proprietary hardware (e.g., Apple Silicon), many assemble their machines using parts manufactured by multiple companies. Essentially, the computer's manufacturer is not necessarily the manufacturer of all its components. For information on determining a part's manufacturer, check out the next section.

How to determine a part's manufacturer

Computers contain many parts, such as a CPU (central processing unit), motherboard, sound card, video card, disk drives, and others. Although a computer company puts everything together, individual components in a computer usually have different manufacturers.

Many of the manufacturers of the hardware devices in your computer are in the same System Information screen mentioned earlier. The motherboard, BIOS (basic input/output system), and CPU are on the System Summary screen, and all other components are in the Components section. See the link below for further information about identifying hardware in your computer.