Side by side

3DP Chip vs GSmartControl

Both stand on hardware diagnostic software. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

3DP Chip

Free plan Windows

3DP Chip combines component identification, driver downloads, and backup and restore tools in a free Windows utility. Keep its internet requirement in mind for downloads, and note the stated Windows XP service pack condition.

Visit 3DP Chip

GSmartControl

Free plan LinuxMacWindows

Choose GSmartControl for free graphical inspection of SMART data and drive tests on supported ATA or NVMe hardware. Look elsewhere if you need SCSI or SAS support, or if you cannot provide the privileges required for direct hardware access.

Visit GSmartControl

The facts

	3DP Chip	GSmartControl
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	Windows	Linux, Mac, Windows
Lowest paid plan	Free or on request	Free or on request
Plans published	1	1
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	3dpchip.com	gsmartcontrol.shaduri.dev
On hardware diagnostic software	#2 of 26	#1 of 26

3DP Chip: what it does well

Detects CPU, motherboard, graphics, and sound components
Downloads drivers when connected to the internet
Copies system information with one click
Includes driver backup and restore

What to know first

Driver downloads require an internet connection
Windows XP requires a service pack

GSmartControl: what it does well

Free software licensed under GNU GPL version 3.
Displays drive identity, SMART attributes, capabilities, and statistics.
Automatically reports and highlights anomalies.
Supports ATA and NVMe drives.
Can read saved smartctl output as a read-only virtual device.

What to know first

SCSI and SAS drives are not supported.
Useful operations require Root or Administrator privileges.
smartmontools is a runtime requirement outside the official Windows packages.
Immediate Offline Tests are unsupported.

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