The inbuilt Task Manager of Windows does a decent job in displaying statistics about computer usage but if you want more functionality from it or automation then you have to look elsewhere. The segment that deals in maintaining system stats is called System Monitoring software and these apps are designed for automation, additional features and more. They can track hard drive usage, CPU and memory, keep tab on individual applications, alert users to excessive usage by any app and more.
1. NetWorx
Great for measuring bandwidth usage, the NetWorx utility tool for Windows lets you find out the speed and usage for every type of connection, be it wired or wireless, by differentiating between each so that you know exactly how much of what is used. It also gives a graphical, numeric and customizable depiction of all such data on either daily, monthly or weekly basis based on user settings. This system monitor though works only for internet or bandwidth usage and won’t display any other details.
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- Pros: Excellent for bandwidth monitoring with graphical statistics.
- Cons: Limited to only bandwidth usage.
- OS: Windows XP through Windows 8 32-bit and 64-bit
2. Task Manager DeLuxe
Task Manager DeLuxe is your basic Windows Task Manager on steroids. It lets you monitor all sessions, open processes, CPU usage, memory usage, hard drive and bandwidth usage. What makes it much more powerful though are its numerous enhancements in a lightweight package. No need for installation, it doesn’t take up any space or CPU power on the host PC and lets you unleash the full potential of the built-in Windows Task Manager by directly interfacing with it.
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- Pros: Interfaces with existing Task Manager, low on resources.
- Cons: Not much extra.
- OS: Windows 2000,Windows XP,Windows 2003,Windows Vista,Windows 7,Windows Server 2008,Windows 8,Windows 8.1 32 and 64bit.
3. HDD Health
When your computer starts giving you problems and you feel your hard drive may fail, it is best to keep track of the disk drive for any signs of failure. The HDD Health tool helps in finding signs of hard drive failure in Windows using the SMART attributes and tracking the drives status at all times. You can predict the chances of failure and the remaining life of the hard drive based on such data. The moment you start the app, it scans through the computer diagnosing all your drives and giving a live health status.
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- Pros: Gives live hard drive health status.
- Cons: Can only monitor hard drive status.
- OS: Windows 8, Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows XP and Vista
4. Yet Another (remote) Process Monitor
The Yet Another Process Monitor gives you full access on anything pertaining to your system. It includes services, tasks, processors, processor, RAM usage, network connections and more. This tool, as the name suggests is more than a process manager as it looks into anything running on your system. Informative, easy to read, data comes divided in many tabs with a few functions such as set priority, pause or kill and can be accessed from the context menu or top menu bar. It works on tasks, processes and active services helping you find out anything that also uses network connection.
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- Pros: Full fledged control panel for active programs and processes.
- Cons: Complicated for basic users.
- OS: Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows Seven, 32 and 64bit
5. SysMetrix
SysMetrix is a Windows Monitoring software that allows for many customization options. It displays information, configures appearances and in the default mode helps show Recycle Bin data, hard drive usage, memory and CPU meter. In short, this provides plenty of settings and controls including date, time, email access and restart or shutdown features. Not only can you change the sounds, network settings, bar graphs and other animations in SysMetrix but also keep it permanently in the System Tray displaying few details for immediate access.
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- Pros: All round control and monitoring.
- Cons: Complicated to use, takes time to learn.
- OS: Windows XP (Service Pack 1 or greater), Windows Vista, and Windows 7
