Monitoring Windows 11 system resources is a crucial part of maintaining computer performance, especially when encountering issues or a slow-running machine. On the Windows operating system, you can quickly use built-in tools to check the amount of RAM, CPU, and GPU being used by specific processes.
How to check Windows 11 system resource usage with Task Manager
Task Manager is one of the primary system resource monitoring utilities in Windows 11. This tool is the easiest way to see which programs and processes are running, as well as how much resource each program and process is consuming.
Here is how you can check your PC’s system resource usage using Task Manager.
1. Press CTRL + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. Click on the Performance tab. This tab displays the system’s RAM, CPU, GPU, and disk usage along with network information.
3. To view RAM usage, select the Memory section. This section will show you how much memory the system is currently using, how much memory you have, its technical specifications, and more.
4. You can check your computer’s processor usage by clicking on the CPU section. The processor box displays changing CPU usage percentages, current clock speed, base clock speed, system uptime, etc.
5. Click on the GPU section to see the amount of GPU memory being used. You can select the one you want to view if your PC has two GPUs (such as a laptop with an integrated GPU and a dedicated GPU).
Task Manager also has a neat summary view that only displays system resource usage boxes. To switch to that view, right-click on Task Manager and select Summary View. The Task Manager window will then shrink as shown below.
To check which program is consuming the most resources, click on the Processes tab. This tab displays all running applications and background processes, along with their memory, CPU, disk, network, and GPU usage. You can also free up system resources by selecting unnecessary third-party background programs (or processes and services) that you don’t need and clicking the End task button.
How to check Windows 11 system resource usage with Resource Monitor
Resource Monitor is a slightly more detailed monitoring utility than Task Manager in Windows 11. It first appeared in Windows Vista and has since been a part of every subsequent Windows release. In addition to CPU, network, disk, and memory usage, Resource Monitor also displays real-time metrics such as response time, throughput, and uptime, among many other metrics.
Here is how you can check system resource consumption using Resource Monitor.
1. Open the Start menu by pressing the Windows key, type Resource Monitor, and press Enter.
2. Select the Memory tab to view its resource usage graph. This tab includes a physical memory graph showing the amount of memory currently in use, available memory, and standby memory, along with detailed usage percentages.
3. Click on the CPU tab to view its processor usage percentage graph.
4. Select the Network tab to see processes with network (Internet) activity.
5. Click on Overview to see detailed information about memory, CPU, network, and disk usage in a single tab.
How to check Windows 11 system resource usage with Performance Monitor
Performance Monitor is the most advanced monitoring tool available in Windows 11. It is designed to help analyze system performance and resource usage, while providing system summaries, performance reports, and real-time performance graphs.
Below is how you can view detailed performance and system resource information using Performance Monitor on Windows 11:
1. Open the Start menu by pressing the Windows key, type Performance Monitor, and press Enter.
2. Select Performance on the left side of the window to view the system’s summarized resource usage data.
3. Click on Performance Monitor to view real-time performance data. By default, the graph displays processor performance counters.
4. To add other counters to the graph, click the + Add button.
5. Then select a counter, such as Memory, from the window displayed immediately below. The “Committed Bytes” line for the Memory counter highlights average RAM usage over time.
6. Click the Add button.
7. Click OK to view the performance data for your selected counter on the graph.
You can better analyze this data by creating a data collector set. To do this, select Data Collector sets in Performance Monitor. Right-click User Defined and select New > Data Collector. Then, you can set up a new data collector using the wizard that opens.
Information from the data collectors will be available along with reports. You can view information from the data collector sets you have run by clicking Reports in Performance Manager. Then select User Defined to view your data reports.
Checking system resources with third-party tools
If you do not like the built-in tools in Windows, there are many third-party tools you can use to monitor system resources. You can try something simple and lightweight like OpenHardwareMonitor, a free and open-source tool that quickly shows you CPU, GPU, memory, and disk usage. It also allows you to monitor minimum and maximum temperatures as well as fan speeds for various PC components.
Using this tool is also quite simple; all you have to do is visit the OpenHardwareMonitor website and download the tool. After downloading, just double-click the executable file to run it, and you will see all the metrics you need.
Alternatives to OpenHardwareMonitor include HWiNFO, Libre Hardware Monitor, and MSI Afterburner, which can also be used for overclocking. This means that although Windows has stopped providing the above utilities on the desktop, you can use 8GadgetPack to add system resource monitoring utilities to your desktop. However, keep in mind that the program has not been updated for some time, so there is a possibility that it may not work as expected.
Windows 11 will become slower and less responsive to your actions when system resource usage is high (especially RAM and CPU). Whenever you feel the need to speed up Windows, check your PC’s resource usage using the tools and utilities mentioned above.
Once finished, you can identify which program or background process is consuming the most resources and close them. As they approach those levels, you will notice an improvement in overall system performance.
