Which tool can you use to get the most detailed information about the CPU and memory usage on the network?

If things are beginning to chug in Windows 11, it's worth checking your system usage. Your computer's software makes good use of its RAM [Random Access Memory], CPU [Central Processing Unit], and GPU [Graphics Processing Unit], but sometimes an app demands a little too much from your PC.

Windows 11 includes a triumvirate of built-in tools with which you can check system resource usage. You can use these tools to monitor your system's resource utilization and see how demanding your programs are. As such, here's how to check your CPU, GPU, and RAM usage in Windows 11.

How to Check Windows 11's System Resource Usage With Task Manager

The Task Manager is one of Windows 11’s primary system resource monitoring utilities. The tool is the easiest way to see which programs and processes are running and how many resources each one takes up.

Here's is how you can check your PC’s system resource usage with Task Manager.

1. Press CTRL + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. Click the Performance tab. This tab displays your system's RAM, CPU, GPU, and disk usage, along with network info.
3. To view RAM usage, select the Memory box. That box provides info for how much RAM is in use and how much remains available.

4. You can check your computer's processor usage by clicking the CPU box. The processor box shows you a variable CPU percentage utilization figure along with speed details.

5. Click the GPU box to see how much GPU memory is in use. If your PC has two GPUs, you can select two separate boxes for both ones in Task Manager.

Task Manager also has a neat summary view that displays only the system resource usage boxes. To switch to that viewing mode, right-click within Task Manager and select Summary view. Then Task Manager’s window will shrink as in the snapshot directly below.

If you want to see which programs are consuming the most resources, click on the Processes tab. This tab displays all running apps and background processes along with their memory, CPU, disk, network, and GPU usage. There you can free up system resources by selecting superfluous third-party background programs [or processes and services] you don’t need and clicking End task.

How to Check Windows 11's System Resource Usage With the Resource Monitor

Resource Monitor is a slightly more detailed system resource monitoring utility than Task Manager in Windows 11. That tool displays resource usage info for memory, CPU, disk, and network with graphs much the same as Task Manager. This is how you can check system resource consumption with Resource Monitor.

1. Open the Windows 11 search tool. It's the taskbar icon with the magnifying glass.
2. Type Resource Monitor in the search box.
3. Click Resource Monitor to open its window.
4. Select the Memory tab to view its resource usage graphs. That tab includes a physical memory graph that shows how much memory is currently in use, how much is available, and how much is on standby, along with percentage utilization details.

5. Click the CPU tab to view its processor utilization percentage graphs.
6. Select the Network tab to view processes with network [internet] activity.
7. Click Overview to view memory, CPU, network, and disk usage details within a single tab.

How to Check Windows 11's System Resource Usage With the Performance Monitor

The Performance Monitor is a handy tool designed to help you analyze system performance and resource usage. This tool provides a system summary and performance reports with a real-time performance graph.

It is, admittedly, quite a complex utility; however, it's a useful tool for advanced users who can make sense of its information. Here is how you can view performance and system resource details with Performance Monitor on Windows 11:

1. Press the Win + S hotkey, then type Performance Monitor in the search box that opens.
2. Then click Performance Monitor to bring up that tool.
3. Select Performance on the left side of the window to view the system summary resource usage data.

4. Click Performance Monitor to view real-time performance data. By default, the graph shows the processor performance counter.

5. To add other counters to the graph, click the + Add button.
6. Then select a counter, such as Memory, on the window shown directly below. The committed bytes line for the Memory counter highlights the average RAM usage over time.

7. Press the Add button.
8. Click OK to view performance data for your selected counter on the graph.

You can better analyze this data by creating data collector sets. To do that, select Data Collector sets in Performance Monitor. Right-click User Defined and select New > Data Collector. Then you can set up the new data collector set with the wizard that opens.

Information from data collection sets becomes available with reports. You can view information from data collector sets you’ve run by clicking Reports in Performance Manager. Then select User Defined to view your data reports.

Add System Resource Gadgets to Windows 11's Desktop With 8GadgetPack

Having a system resource monitor gadget on your desktop is a handy way to keep an eye on what's going on inside your PC. However, Windows 11 has no native way of adding a resource manager gadget to the desktop.

Fortunately, you're not out of luck just yet. You can instead install the 8GadgetPack freeware, which includes a great collection of desktop gadgets, including system resource monitors.

You can get this handy tool by clicking the Download button on the 8GadgetPack website. Then open the setup wizard from the folder you downloaded its setup wizard in to install the software. Thereafter, open the 8GadgetPack window shown directly below.

Press the Add gadget button there to bring up the widget selection window. Type System Monitor in the search box. Then select System Monitor II to add that gadget to the desktop.

The System Monitor II gadget primarily displays RAM and CPU utilization percentages. It also includes handy Shut down, Restart, and Standby buttons. You can configure that gadget, and any other 8GadgetPack one, by clicking its Options button—it's the one that looks like a spanner.

Aside from System Monitor II, there are other system resource gadgets available. You can select the GPU Meter to add a GPU monitor to your desktop. The CPU Usage gadget displays processor utilization, while the Network Meter shows your upload and download usage. You can also view disk activity by adding Drives Meter to the desktop.

Free Up Your Hardware Once More

Windows 11 will become slower and less responsive to your actions when system resource utilization is high [especially for RAM and CPU]. Whenever it feels like you need to speed up Windows, check your PC’s resource utilization with the tools and gadgets above.

Once done, you can identify what programs or background processes are hogging the most resources and close them. And once they're close, you’ll notice an improved system performance overall.