13 Best Windows 7 Gadgets for System Monitoring

Microsoft has stopped supporting Windows Gadget development so that they can focus on apps for newer Windows versions. However, all the gadgets below are still available , do work with both Windows 7 and Windows Vista, and are completely free to download.

See How to Install a Windows Gadget if you need help.

Below are the best free Windows 7 gadgets (they work in Windows Vista, too) that can be used to help keep track of system resources:

Windows 7 gadgets can be a lot more than a pretty interface for your clock or news feed. Several gadgets exist solely as monitoring tools that show constantly updated data about your system resources like CPU , memory , hard drive , and network usage.

01

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CPU Meter Gadget

What We Like

• Displays CPU info in one place.

• Simple to use.

What We Don’t Like

• Few features.

• Basic graphics.

Our Review of CPU Meter

The CPU Meter Windows gadget displays two dials: one that tracks your system’s CPU usage (the one on the left) and another that tracks physical memory usage, both in percentage format.

If you like to keep track of how much memory and CPU is being used at any given time, give the CPU Meter gadget a try.

This is pretty basic in that there are no fancy options, but it does what it does well.

Download the CPU Meter Gadget

02

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DriveInfo Gadget

What We Like

• Provides useful information.

• Takes up little screen space.

• Provides shortcuts to drives.

What We Don’t Like

• Can’t customize drive layout.

• Only works on older versions of Windows.

The DriveInfo Windows 7 gadget monitors the free space available on one or more of your PC’s hard drives. It displays the free space in both GB and percentage, and works with local, removable, network, and/or media drives.

If you frequently check the free space available on your hard drives, this gadget will definitely save you some time. Configuration is simple, and it’s an especially attractive addition to your other Windows gadgets. Plus, you can customize the background and the icon theme set.

Download the DriveInfo Gadget

03

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System Control A1 Gadget

What We Like

• Displays data for up to 8 cores.

• Easy to use.

What We Don’t Like

• Can’t be configured.

• Shows gadget uptime rather than system uptime.

The System Control A1 gadget is a fantastic resource monitor gadget. It tracks CPU load and memory usage over the last 30 seconds, and even tell you how long it’s been since your computer was last shut off.

The best thing about it is that it supports up to eight CPU cores, making it fully compatible with the latest multi-core CPUs. The interface is superb as well, which helps balance out the fact that there are absolutely no user options.

Download the System Control A1 Gadget

04

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Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor Gadget

What We Like

• Creative radar design.

• Great sound effects.

• Customize with several skins.

What We Don’t Like

• Takes up a large amount of screen space.

• Distracting graphics.

The best thing about Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor is that it looks cool. You can see available wireless network connections, verify wireless coverage, and lots more in a unique interface.

It packs a lot of useful information into a single gadget, maybe too much. It seems a bit “heavy” with the radar display running all the time and the huge Xirrus logo. Still, it’s a powerful gadget, and you might find it really useful.

Download the Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor Gadget

05

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margu-NotebookInfo2 Gadget

What We Like

• CPU data for up to 2 cores.

• Displays multiple system information.

• Highly customizable.

• Lots of information in a small space.

What We Don’t Like

• Some system information is not monitored.

• Buggy on Windows 7.

The margu-NotebookInfo2 Windows gadget has a funny name, but it’s serious about packing a lot of system monitoring into a single gadget. You can track system uptime, CPU and RAM use, wireless network strength, battery level, and much more.

A lot can be customized, but the great thing is that you don’t have to make those changes if you don’t want to. For example, while it’s useful to be able to change which wireless and wired interfaces are to display, and whether to use GHz or MHZ, you can also enable/disable the built-in clock and calendar.

Download the margu-NotebookInfo2 Gadget

06

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iPhone Battery Gadget

What We Like

• Creative design.

• Accurate battery reading.

• Customizable with multiple skins.

What We Don’t Like

• Somewhat outdated design.

• Difficult to configure.

The iPhone Battery gadget has to be one of the coolest gadgets around. The battery indicator is an excellent knock-off of the glowing battery level indicator on the iPhone, and looks great on a Windows desktop.

You can also mimic an antique meter, a Duracell® battery, and a sphere battery, among other cool things.

If you’re on a laptop or other portable Windows 7 device, this gadget should definitely help you keep a closer eye on your available power.

Download the iPhone Battery Gadget

07

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Network Meter Gadget

What We Like

• Provides detailed network information.

• Customize colors and size.

• Streams live data.

What We Don’t Like

• Doesn’t show wired and wireless at once.

• Can’t monitor multiple IP addresses.

The Network Meter Windows gadget provides all kinds of useful information about your wired or wireless network connection like current internal and external IP address, current upload and download speed, total bandwidth usage, SSID, signal quality, and more.

There are several useful configurations available with Network Meter including background color, bandwidth scaling, network interface card selection, and more.

If you’re troubleshooting a local network issue or are always checking your external IP, this gadget could be very useful.

Download the Network Meter Gadget

08

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All CPU Meter Gadget

What We Like

• Data for up to 24 CPUs.

• Fast data updates.

• 2 minute graphs for historical data.

What We Don’t Like

• CPU temperature requires 3rd party app.

Our Review of All CPU Meter

The All CPU Meter gadget keeps track of CPU usage and the used and available memory. What makes ALL CPU Meter stand out from the crowd is its support for as many as eight CPU cores!

There are only a few options, but background color is one of them. That might seem like a small advantage, but if you’re a regular user of gadgets, you know that making it fit with your desktop scheme is an important factor.

We also like the quick one-second update time and well-designed graph in All CPU Meter.

Download the All CPU Meter Gadget

09

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Memeter Gadget

What We Like

• Simple, yet informative interface.

• Customize color scheme.

• Uses little system resources.

What We Don’t Like

• Can’t resize the gadget.

• Support for only 2 cores.

The Memeter Windows 7 gadget monitors all sorts of things about your CPU, RAM, and battery life. It’s a great gadget to use to keep track of the major hardware resources currently being used by Windows.

If your memory, CPU, or battery usage is something you need (or like) to watch, the Memeter gadget will really come in handy.

The only thing you can customize is the theme color to make it yellow, purple, cyan, black, etc.

Download the Memeter Gadget

10

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GPU Observer Gadget

What We Like

• Simple display.

• Many GPU cards supported.

• No 3rd party software required.

What We Don’t Like

• Can’t resize app.

• Shows only one card at a time.

The GPU Observer gadget gives you a constant look at your video card’s temperature, fan speed, and more. It shows the GPU temperature and, if reported by your card, the PCB temperature, fan speed, GPU load, VPU load, memory load, and system clocks.

Most NVIDIA and ATI desktop cards are supported by GPU Observer, plus some NVIDIA mobile cards. No Intel, S3, or Matrox GPUs are supported.

Multiple cards are supported but not simultaneously. You’ll have to choose which video card you’d like stats displayed for in the GPU Observer options.

If keeping tabs on your GPU is important, as it is to most serious gamers, then you’ll love this gadget.

Download the GPU Observer Gadget

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CPU Meter III Gadget

What We Like

• Very simple and clean gadget.

• Red values alert you to potential problems.

• CPU, HDD, and RAM stats in single window.

What We Don’t Like

• Limited functionality.

• Very basic gadget.

CPU Meter III is, you guessed it, a CPU resource meter gadget for Windows 7. In addition to tracking CPU usage, CPU Meter III also tracks memory usage.

There’s nothing that special about it, though. It only tracks one CPU, and the meter display isn’t quite as polished as other similar gadgets.

However, there is one redeeming feature: it’s responsive. Very responsive! It appears to be live and not a one or two-second update like other gadgets. This, we love.

The other thing we like is how big the gadget is. Some CPU meter gadgets are so small it’s hard to see what’s going on.

Definitely try it out. We think you’ll like it.

Download the CPU Meter III Gadget

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Drive Activity Gadget

What We Like

• Lots of information in a small space.

• Useful realtime graphs.

• Ejects removable drives.

What We Don’t Like

• Requires 3rd party app for drive temperature.

• Manual switch between physical and logical drives.

The Drive Activity gadget graphs the workload of your hard drives. Seeing how hard your hard disks are working could be useful in determining where you might have performance issues.

There are a few optionst—you can choose the type of graph to display (polygon or lines) and also which of your hard drives to include in the display (you can choose more than one).

Our biggest issue is the inability to change colors. Blue on black is unlikely to satisfy many users…it’s just hard to see.

Download the Drive Activity Gadget

13

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AlertCon Gadget

What We Like

• Provides live limit warnings.

• Displays site security levels.

What We Don’t Like

• Updates are only 60 minutes.

• Hasn’t been updated in many years.

The AlertCon gadget is a unique one. It provides a visual representation of the current state of security across the internet. Large scale issues like fast spreading malware and major security holes would prompt an increase in the threat level.

IBM’s Internet Security Systems group operates the AlertCon system.

If you’d like a DEFCON-style representation of internet-wide issues right on your desktop, this gadget fits the bill. Just don’t expect it to swing up and down regularly—the internet as a whole isn’t typically under serious threats.

Download the AlertCon Gadget

This gadget installed fine the last time we tried, but it didn’t display anything. It’s left here for you to try because you might have better luck.