How can you monitor CPU usage on Windows?

1 Task Manager

The simplest way to monitor CPU usage on Windows is to use the built-in Task Manager. You can access it by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete and selecting Task Manager, or by right-clicking on the taskbar and choosing Task Manager. The Task Manager shows you the overall CPU usage and the CPU usage of each process and application. You can sort the processes by CPU usage, memory usage, disk usage, or network usage. You can also end or suspend any process that is consuming too much CPU. The Task Manager also provides graphs and charts that show the CPU usage history, speed, and cores.

2 Resource Monitor

Another way to monitor CPU usage on Windows is to use the Resource Monitor, which is a more advanced tool that provides more details and options. You can access it by opening the Task Manager, clicking on the Performance tab, and then clicking on the Open Resource Monitor link at the bottom. Alternatively, you can type resmon in the search box and launch the Resource Monitor app. The Resource Monitor shows you the CPU usage of each process, service, and thread. You can filter the processes by name, PID, status, or description. You can also view the CPU usage of each core, the average CPU usage, and the CPU queue length.

3 Performance Monitor

A third way to monitor CPU usage on Windows is to use the Performance Monitor, which is a tool that allows you to create and customize reports and alerts based on various performance counters. You can access it by typing perfmon in the search box and launching the Performance Monitor app. The Performance Monitor shows you the CPU usage of the system, the user, and the idle processes. You can also add or remove other counters, such as processor time, interrupts, context switches, or processor frequency. You can also create data collector sets that collect and store performance data over time, and generate reports and graphs that show the CPU usage trends and patterns.

4 Third-Party Tools

In addition to the built-in tools, you can also use third-party tools to monitor CPU usage on Windows. These range from free, lightweight and portable tools such as CPU-Z, which shows the CPU name, model, speed, voltage, temperature and other information; to HWMonitor which displays CPU usage, temperature, fan speed and power consumption; to Process Explorer which provides details of each process and sub-process; and Process Lasso which enables you to manage and optimize the CPU usage, priority, affinity, and power scheme of each process and application.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?