A compact desktop system monitor designed for low CPU usage and a small RAM footprint.
Loadbar shows per-core CPU activity, RAM, GPU, every physical disk, and network traffic in one native Windows bar. Place it along any edge of your chosen monitor. It reserves desktop space so ordinary maximized windows fit beside it. Show numbers beside the graphics or on hover.
Always show readout: off
Always show readout: on
Same scale, synthetic readings and temperatures: 60 DIPs, 8 P-cores + 16 E-cores, with CPU squares enabled and one logical processor per core.
Built in native C++, Loadbar samples once per second by default and redraws when readings or window state change. It reuses resources and keeps current readings rather than a growing history. No browser engine or background service. See the performance evidence for measured usage and validation limits.
| Widget | Readings |
|---|---|
| CPU | One colored tile per logical processor, with physical-core relationships in details |
| RAM | Physical memory used, plus used/total capacity in readouts or on hover |
| GPU | Separate 3D activity, video decode, and GPU memory |
| Disks | Every discovered physical disk, with active time and separate read/write rates |
| Network | Download and upload on the selected interface, including local-network traffic |
Percentage meters use 0–100%. Each disk/network rate direction scales to its highest valid reading since launch. Failed samples retain their last valid display; raw status and observation age remain available in details.
Version 1.2.0 adds CPU temperature on compatible ASUS systems, plus GPU and drive temperatures from installed drivers, using bundled Geist Mono. Temperatures appear below their icons after the first valid reading. Coverage depends on the firmware and driver; see temperature sources. RAM temperature remains unavailable. Uncheck Show temperatures in Settings to hide the readouts and stop all temperature collection; other readings continue normally.
Version 1.3.0 enables Always show readout by default: numeric values sit beside each graphic. Uncheck it in Settings to return to the original graphics and hover mode. Popup tooltips and temperatures remain independently controlled.
Requires Windows 11 x64. Download Loadbar 1.3.0. See the release notes for details and validation status.
- Run
Loadbar.exe. Its notification-area icon may be in the overflow menu. - Click the icon for Settings. Choose the monitor, edge, GPU and network interface. Hide GPU or Network, or uncheck individual drives, to give the remaining widgets more space. New drives are shown automatically. Allow a few samples for counters to warm up.
- Hover for readings and device details. Left-click the bar to open Task Manager; right-click for the menu. Inline hover readings, popup tooltips and the Task Manager shortcut can each be disabled separately in Settings.
- Choose Exit in the tray/bar menu or Exit Loadbar in Settings to release the reserved space. Close dismisses Settings and discards unapplied changes while Loadbar keeps running.
Adjust thickness from 40–640 DIPs, alignment, and sampling from 250–5,000 ms.
Enable Display CPU usage always as squares to use square CPU tiles on hybrid processors too.
Loadbar increases thickness when needed to keep every widget readable. Settings is
keyboard-accessible; use Win+B to reach the tray. Preferences are saved per user in
HKCU\Software\Loadbar. Samples and session peaks are never saved. Loadbar does not
register itself to start with Windows.
Use PowerShell 7 and the tested Windows toolchain. From the repository root:
. .\scripts\enter-dev-shell.ps1
cmake --preset windows-x64-release
cmake --build --preset windows-x64-release
ctest --preset windows-x64-release --output-on-failureThe application is a single executable at out\build\windows-x64-release\Loadbar.exe.
Launch it with:
Start-Process .\out\build\windows-x64-release\Loadbar.exeSee testing for Debug, ASan and analysis commands, or CONTRIBUTING.md to contribute. Metric sources and limitations are in docs/metrics.md.
Copyright © 2026 Vorta. Released under the MIT license. Bundled Geist Mono is licensed under the SIL Open Font License.