Which software to test hardware ?

I am about to buy a used notebook for my niece to play with.

Beside eyeballing the outside, what software would do a decent check of the diverse system components? Any recommendations?

Thanks,
agrau

 

Check the ZDnet website - they'll probably have one or more benchmarking suites you can download

 

Thanks, I found some there that will certainly do the job.

Thanks again
agrau

 

agrau, I am also about to buy a new laptop and need to test out its functionality. Could you share what are the necessary software to use?
Thnks