Judging System Performance
As you learned in this chapter, the Resource Monitor provides a detailed breakdown of how the computer is using memory at any given time.
a. Open the Resource Monitor, move to the CPU tab, and open the Processes frame. What is your total CPU Usage? How many "virtual" CPUs does your machine have? Clicking on any of the column titles sorts that column, so clicking the Average CPU column shows you the applications currently using most of the CPU resources. What are the top two most intensive applications?
b. Move to the Memory tab. How much memory is in use? How much is available? Of the memory available, how much has been preloaded with data and files that Windows "thinks" you will need soon? c. Move to the Disk tab. Click on the Processes With Disk Activity panel. Which programs are making the greatest total demand to read and write to the disk?