We recommendupgrading to Windows 10orWindows 11to continue receiving security updates and technical support.
CPU Meter Gadget
Displays CPU info in one place.
This is pretty basic in that there are no fancy options, but it does what it does well.
Microsoft has stopped supporting Windows Gadget development to focus on apps for newer Windows versions.
DriveInfo Gadget
Provides useful information.
Takes up little screen space.
Provides shortcuts to drives.
Can’t customize drive layout.
If you frequentlycheck the free space available on your hard drives, this will definitely save you some time.
Configuration is simple, and it’s an especially attractive addition to your other Windows gadgets.
Plus, it’s possible for you to customize the background and the icon theme set.
System Control A1 Gadget
Displays data for up to eight cores.
Can’t be configured.
Shows gadget uptime rather than system uptime.
The System Control A1 gadget is a fantastic resource monitor gadget.
Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor Gadget
Creative radar design.
Customize with several skins.
Takes up a large amount of screen space.
The best thing about Xirrus Wi-Fi Monitor is that it looks cool.
It packs a lot of useful information into a single gadget, maybe too much.
Still, it’s a powerful gadget, and you might find it really useful.
margu-NotebookInfo2 Gadget
CPU data for up to 2 cores.
Displays multiple system information.
Lots of information in a small space.
Some system information is not monitored.
Buggy on Windows 7.
iPhone Battery Gadget
Creative design.
Customizable with multiple skins.
The iPhone Battery gadget has to be one of the coolest gadgets around.
web connection Meter Gadget
Provides detailed web connection information.
Customize colors and size.
Doesn’t show wired and wireless at once.
Can’t monitor multiple IP addresses.
All CPU Meter Gadget
Data for up to 24 CPUs.
2 minute graphs for historical data.
CPU temperature requires 3rd party app.
This one keeps track of CPU usage and the used and available memory.
There are only a few options, but background color is one of them.
We also like the quick one-second update time and well-designed graph.
Memeter Gadget
Simple, yet informative interface.
Uses little system resources.
Can’t resize the gadget.
Support for only two cores.
The Memeter 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 majorhardwareresources currently being used by Windows.
GPU Observer Gadget
Simple display.
Many GPU cards supported.
No 3rd party software required.
Can’t resize app.
Shows only one card at a time.
Most NVIDIA and ATI desktop cards are supported, 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 whichvideo cardyou’d like stats displayed for in the options.
CPU Meter III Gadget
Very simple and clean gadget.
Red values alert you to potential problems.
CPU, HDD, and RAM stats in single window.
CPU Meter III is, you guessed it, a CPU resource meter gadget for Windows 7.
It 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.
It gives the impression of 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.
Drive Activity Gadget
Useful realtime graphs.
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.
Our biggest issue is the inability to change colors.
Blue on black is unlikely to satisfy many users… it’s just hard to see.
AlertCon Gadget
Provides live limit warnings.
Displays site security levels.
Updates are only 60 minutes.
Hasn’t been updated in many years.
This is a unique gadget.
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.
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.
