Checking out your computer’s performance figures, and resource usage is not that difficult, as most Linux distributions have pretty decent default System Monitor-like utilities.
Nevertheless, this might not be the most convenient option. This is where Vitals comes into play.
What is Vitals and why should you use it?
In short, Vitals is a tiny GNOME Shell extension that aims to be your one-stop shop for monitoring your computer’s resource usage.
It provides valuable information regarding your computer’s temperature, voltage, fan speed, memory usage, network speed, processor load, as well as other useful storage and system-related stats.
The main appeal of Vitals is, of course, the fact that it provides all this information in a very convenient manner, directly in your desktop’s status bar. This makes it a lot easier to use than default system managers, and just as good as most command-line tools for system monitoring.
The best aspect of Vitals
Besides the fact that it uses barely any CPU and memory, and that it looks rather good (especially on Ubuntu), Vitals has one more noteworthy advantage – flexibility.
As GNOME Shell extensions go, Vitals is definitely one of the best. It boasts remarkable configuration options since it allows you to pick the stats that are displayed in the status bar.
The extension uses asynchronous polling, so you can handpick exactly what stats you want to be displayed. Not only that but you can also select the refresh duration, the add-on’s position on the status bar, and many other aspects.
Verdict
Taking everything into account, there’s not much to dislike about Vitals. It’s a solid tiny GNOME extension that provides a lot of value for users who want quick glimpses into how their computer manages its resources, without asking for much itself.
