Quick wins for a faster PC:
Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Windows includes two useful built-in ways to monitor performance: Task Manager for a quick look at what is happening now, and Performance Monitor (perfmon) for collecting and reviewing data over time. Neither is proven to outperform every paid system monitor; that claim would require comparable tests against named products.
Which Windows monitor should you open?
| What you need to do | Start here | Why |
|---|---|---|
| See which apps or processes are using resources now | Task Manager | It shows running apps and CPU, memory, disk and network use. Microsoft’s guidance recommends its Processes and Performance views for finding resource-heavy components. |
| Investigate process details or an app that may be waiting on another process | Task Manager | It provides process details and wait-chain analysis. |
| Record an intermittent spike and review it later | Performance Monitor and Data Collector Sets | It can collect selected performance counters over an interval and produce reports. |
| Configure or script counter collection | logman.exe, typeperf.exe, WMI or PowerShell |
These are among the documented ways to consume Windows performance counters. |
Use Task Manager for a live check
- Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager.
- In Processes, look for apps or processes using unusually high resources.
- Open Performance to view system-level activity such as CPU, memory, disk and network use.
Task Manager is the practical first stop when you need a snapshot rather than a history. Its appearance can vary across Windows and Windows Server versions, so screens may not look identical on every PC.
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Use Performance Monitor to catch problems over time
Open Performance Monitor by searching for Performance Monitor in Windows or running perfmon. It can display metrics live, while Data Collector Sets record selected counters over time; collected data can then be viewed in reports. This makes it more appropriate than a one-time glance when a slowdown happens intermittently.
Microsoft’s troubleshooting guidance also describes configuring collection with logman.exe and a sampling interval. That command-line route is technical and may require an elevated Command Prompt; ordinary checks do not require it. Follow Microsoft’s Troubleshoot issues using Performance Monitor instructions if you need to configure a collection.
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What these tools can—and cannot—tell you
- Windows performance counters can be accessed through several interfaces, including Task Manager, Performance Monitor,
typeperf.exe,logman.exe, WMI, PowerShell and APIs. See Microsoft’s About Performance Counters. - Task Manager includes per-logical-processor views and wait-chain analysis, but Microsoft says it does not expose individual thread details. The precise interface varies by Windows version. See Troubleshoot processes by using Task Manager.
- Performance Monitor’s counter logging is not kernel tracing: Microsoft says Performance Monitor does not access the kernel for logging. A need for low-level tracing calls for a specialized diagnostic workflow, not ordinary counter collection.
Does Performance Monitor beat paid system monitors?
There is no evidence here for the universal claim that it outperforms every paid monitor. Microsoft’s documentation describes Windows tools and their capabilities, not head-to-head tests against named commercial products. “Better” depends on the job: compare a live overview with a live overview, or logged history with logged history, and consider detail, workflow and collection scope. Without a defined workload and comparable measurements, the defensible conclusion is narrower: Performance Monitor is a capable built-in option for collecting and reviewing Windows performance-counter data over time.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Windows version note
Microsoft’s system-tools overview covers Windows 10 and Windows 11, but Windows 10 support ended on October 14, 2025. That support change does not itself alter what the monitoring tools do; use instructions that match your Windows version. Microsoft’s System configuration tools in Windows overview describes Task Manager and its shortcut, while its Tips to improve PC performance in Windows guidance recommends checking Processes and Performance for high resource use.
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