Like alot of people using Vista/windows 7 initially I thought Gadgets wow cool now how do i turn them off, but after a while you start playing around with them and find some handy gadgets and end up wondering why you didn’t start using them sooner.
I find using the sidebar gadgets is perfect for Dual/Tri Screen setup, where you can run a few Diagnostic Gadgets all on the second monitor whilst having whatever you are using on the main monitor games, spread sheet etc… But even if you just run a single screen setup there are some handy gadgets.
Finding decent gadgets though can be a pain, windows live is ok but the comments and rating generally mean nothing so alot of really good gadgets get buried never to be found. To help un-obscure some of these gadgets I thought I would list up my favorite 6 third party gadgets.
1. System Monitor – http://www.build-a-gadget.com
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System Monitor
These guys make a whole host of free gadgets for windows and google desktop. All of their gadgets are well made, reliable and look nice. System Monitor is my favorite of the lot, especially if you run a dual or quad core system. System monitor is just that, it has various monitors for CPU usage, Ram Usage, Wi-Fi signal, Battery Level, IP address and Date/Time. It allows you to customise the monitor output format, style and colour. Can show single, dual or quad core usage. I have tested this with both AMD and Intel and all work great.
2. GPU Monitor
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This is another monitor but specifically for your graphics card. It requires RivaTuner(Click here) to work correctly and allows you to view you GPU’s temp, fan speed, PCB temp, volatage, clock/shader/mem speed. Must have for any overclock or hardcore gamer to keep a check on your vid card in-game. Once installed make sure you read through the instructions to setup RivaTuner(take 30 sec to configure).
3. Top Processes
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Top Processors
Simple little gadget that will show which programs are using either the most CPU or Memory usage. Very handy to see what is chewing resources without having to open up task manager. I run this monitor all the time as I find it will often show up probably programs or services running in the background, but is also handy just to run if troubleshoot PC slows etc..
4. Indexer Status
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Windows Indexer Monitor
This gadget is for Vista really. If you haven’t come across it in vista you will once I mention it. Vista has a great feature to aid searching which indexes your HDD in the background. 99% of the time you shouldn’t or won’t notice it doing so, sometimes though if it needs to index a whole bunch of new files or whatever it will go insane and chew up 100% disk usage which can be needless to say annoying if you are trying to play a game only to see your FPS drop to 15fps. You can turn off indexer etc.. but takes ages to find and disable etc…. this little gadget is great tells you if indexer if running, if so how much it is processing and also give you the option to pause/play the indexer so if it’s going nuts at the wrong time, just pause it. Must have for vista but also handy for win7.
5. Network Meter 2.1
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Network Meter
Another simple little Gadget. Just set which network adapter you want it to show and it will show you download and upload usage in real time. Great for checking if net usage ingame or while your downloading.
Also a tip for vista users, just because windows put Gadgets in the sidebar doesn’t mean you have to just drag them off the sidebar and put them anywhere on your desktop, just like windows 7.
Got any gadget you use not listed here?? post them up to share in the comments.
I have been in IT for over 10years, working in tech support, customer service, network administration, hardware. Currently working as Database Analyst for a Large Telco. Fan of all things techy and geeky. 
Very interesting information. I think it is useful for many clients. Thank you for your ideas.