A lightweight, real-time hardware monitor for Windows that displays CPU and GPU usage and temperature with minimal overhead.

• Real-time CPU usage monitoring
• CPU temperature monitoring with multiple fallback methods
• GPU usage and temperature monitoring for NVIDIA GPUs
• Low resource usage
• Console-based output
• Enhanced version with table display and logging capabilities

• Windows operating system
• Node.js (v20 or higher)
• Administrator privileges (for accurate CPU temperature readings)
• For GPU monitoring: NVIDIA graphics card with recent drivers

1. Clone this repository
2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

3. Build the native addon:

   npm run build
   

Run the monitor without administrator privileges (CPU temperature may not be accurate):

node test_native.js

For accurate CPU temperature readings, run with administrator privileges:

1. Option 1: Double-click the run_as_admin.bat file and allow elevation
2. Option 2: Right-click on Command Prompt, select "Run as administrator", navigate to the project folder, and run:

   node test_native.js
   

The enhanced monitor provides a better user interface and additional features:

node src/enhanced-monitor.js

Or use the convenience batch file:

enhanced-monitor.bat

Enhanced monitor options:

--log, -l                Enable logging to CSV file
--format, -f FORMAT      Output format: table, csv, json, text (default: table)
--interval, -i MS        Update interval in milliseconds (default: 1000)
--help, -h               Show help message

Example usage:

node src/enhanced-monitor.js --log --format table

For administrator privileges, use:

run_enhanced_as_admin.bat

CPU usage is measured using Windows Performance Data Helper (PDH) API through a native C++ addon. This provides the same metrics that Task Manager displays.

The system uses multiple methods to detect CPU temperature, with fallbacks in case some methods don't work:

1. LibreHardwareMonitor - Uses a C# bridge to access the LibreHardwareMonitor library, which provides accurate hardware sensor readings when run with administrator privileges.
2. WMI Queries - Attempts several WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) queries to access thermal data.
3. PowerShell Commands - Uses PowerShell to query temperature data via CIM instances.
4. Simulation - As a last resort, estimates CPU temperature based on CPU usage using a basic thermal model.

GPU metrics are obtained using NVIDIA's NVAPI SDK for NVIDIA graphics cards. This provides both GPU usage percentage and temperature.

If you see CPU Temp: 0.00°C in the output:

• Try running with administrator privileges using the provided run_as_admin.bat
• Some CPU models or motherboards may not expose temperature sensors properly

Different monitoring tools may:

• Read from different sensors (core, package, motherboard)
• Apply different offsets (especially for AMD CPUs)
• Sample at different intervals

• LibreHardwareMonitor project for hardware sensor access
• NVIDIA for the NVAPI SDK
• Node.js N-API team for the native addon capabilities