A Microsoft engineer finally gives Windows 11 a proper, unofficial GPU monitor - XDA
A Microsoft engineer has released a new, unofficial app that provides detailed GPU usage information for Windows 11 users.
Windows 11's built-in Task Manager offers a high-level overview of GPU usage, but it often leaves users with more questions than answers. A new tool from a Microsoft engineer aims to fix this by providing a much more detailed view of what is happening on a graphics card.
The app, named gputaskman, was released by Scott Hanselman, a Vice President and Member of Technical Staff at Microsoft. It is designed to show exactly which applications and processes are using GPU memory, something that is increasingly important for users running locally hosted large language models (LLMs).
Task Manager says "15 GB used." This tries to answer: by what? Model weights? KV cache? Your browser? The desktop compositor? And why is so much GPU memory in system RAM?
Hanselman created the tool to address the vagueness of Windows' native reporting. The application displays granular usage data, allowing users to see the specific demands of individual models, browser tabs, and the system's compositor.
Beyond just tracking usage, gputaskman provides insights into the nature of the work being performed. This can be particularly useful for developers and enthusiasts who want to optimize their systems or understand the performance characteristics of different workloads.
The tool is available for download from the gputaskman GitHub repository. It is offered as a portable build, meaning it can be run without any installation process, making it easy for users to try out immediately.
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