While for the vast majority of users having real-time data on the status of their PC is unnecessary, for others, being able to control temperatures, CPU and GPU load are basic things. Hence, they look for the most visual way to have all that information. One of them is building your own status monitor with a Raspberry Pi.
Monitor the status of your computer
Being able to have detailed information on the status of your PC at all times and in real time is essential for a good number of users. It is true that they are usually those with a series of very well defined needs, but being able to move your gaze and see at a glance what load the processor is supporting, the graphics card, the rotation speed of the fans, temperatures and other values is useful to know why something is taking longer than necessary or not going as it should.
To do this there are many applications that once installed give you all that data. For example, for macOS users there is iStats Menu and for those who bet on the Microsoft operating system even more such as PRTG Network Monitor, Speccy, IOLO System Mechanic, IObit Advance SystemCare, etc.
The only problem with all these applications is that you need to consult them on your own PC. That is, on your computer screen and that may not always be very comfortable. Because if you are playing or using an application in full screen, you would have to minimize or run it in windowed mode to see all that information. Although you could also take advantage of a second monitor if you have it so that, along with other tools, have all that data there.
Still, there are always additional options and that is what we want to talk to you about. Because building a monitor to be aware of all those parameters that interest you is very simple. You will only need a Raspberry Pi and some other additional component. And if you are crafty, you can even give your PC case a much more attractive and visual appearance or place it somewhere on your desk to have it more visible.
How to make a status monitor with a Raspberry Pi
There are different options when it comes to creating a status monitor for your computer, so use all of this as a guide. If it convinces you as is, replicate each component; and if you think you could improve one, then do it anyway.
To begin with, there are the minimum or basic requirements that you will need to carry out the project. That implies acquiring a series of hardware components and downloading some other software. But trust us that they will not cost you a lot of money nor will it take you a long time to carry out the final project.
The first thing you need is:
- Raspberry Pi, which you already know that you can find for different prices depending on the model and in the case of the last generations also the RAM. Here with a Raspberry Pi 4 with 2 or 4 GB of RAM you have more than enough
- Raspberry Pi compatible display. Here again there are a multitude of options, even models that are tactile. If you don’t want to get too complicated, there are panels that despite having a limited resolution and a small diagonal are more than enough to show the data that interests you in an attractive way. Of course, here you decide as you want, then use it as an external screen or integrated into the box of your PC
- SD card for Raspberry Pi operating system installation and necessary software
Basically this is the only thing you need, so once you have all the components and you know how each of them are connected (here the only thing is the screen and these usually come with everything you need for it), the next step is to install the necessary software.
With the well-known Raspberry Pi Imager application, you will only have to download the MoBro software to build your status monitor for your computer. When you have it, enter the SD in a reader, open the application and in the option to choose operating system select the one you have downloaded from MoBro.
Once the process is finished, the next step is to connect the screen to the Raspberry Pi , also connect the power supply to be used and start it to go to the configuration process. It is also important to be clear about how you are going to connect to the network, if you will use an ethernet cable or directly via WiFi.
This last option may be the most comfortable of all and for the little bandwidth that you will need, you will not have to occupy an ethernet port of the router that can be useful for another more demanding device. Although it must also be said that via ethernet it is faster, since you will not have to carry out the previous step of connecting to the access point generated by the Raspberry Pi.
With everything ready, the server application that you are going to install on your PC is where you will carry out all the personalization of the data that you will be able to display on the screen connected to the Raspberry Pi. Even the theme too, so that it has an aesthetic more in line with your personal tastes.
Is it possible to monitor a Mac?
If you wonder about the possibility of doing the same thing, but with a Mac, the answer is that it can be done. After all, a Mac is not that different from other systems, even less those based on Linux, so there are also options.
Tutorials may not be that easy to find, but there are. Like this one here where they use Raspbian as an operating system and MQTT to build a status monitor for Mac. So it is just to follow the steps and little else.