VOVSOFT - CPU Monitor Gadget

If you frequently play video games or work with applications that are heavy on the system resources, it might be a good idea to monitor CPU and RAM consumption. This can help you detect the most damaging software products, at least as resource usage is concerned.

There are many system information utilities out there dedicated to keeping track of how much CPU is being used by your computer. However, if you're interested in a straightforward solution that displays a graph of the active CPU usage, you can take a look at CPU Monitor Gadget.

The program has a small size and can be quickly installed. During setup, you can allow it to automatically run every time Windows boots, but this is only optional. Once everything is running properly, CPU Monitor Gadget gets integrated into the systray menu and shows a graph with real-time readings of your CPU. Beneath it you can find out the number of existing CPU cores as well as the average CPU usage (in %).

By right-clicking the systray icon or the graph, you open a menu that gives you the possibility to make the graph stay on top of any other windows, as well as to configure settings when it comes to the font, background color, and transparency level. The configuration can be reset to default at any time, with just one click.

Exiting the graph only sends it to the systray in minimized form, thus allowing the program to continue monitoring the CPU levels. Quitting the application can be done from the right-click menu. Notifications about CPU usage reaching high levels are not supported. CPU Monitor Gadget goes hand in hand with RAM Monitor Gadget and Disk Monitor Gadget, similar tools released by the same developer for monitoring system memory and disk activity, respectively.

All aspects considered, CPU Monitor Gadget offers a simple solution for keeping track of CPU consumption with the help of a graph. However, it doesn't have more advanced features for skilled users, like support for notifications or systray indicators.