Task Manager OG vs AppControl: Looking for a Better Windows Task Manager?
If you use Windows every day, chances are you hit Ctrl + Shift + Esc quite often to check what’s slowing down your computer. While the built-in Windows Task Manager does the job, power users often find themselves wishing for better privacy monitoring, accurate CPU thermals, or a cleaner interface.
Recently, two major alternatives have been making waves: AppControl and Task Manager OG (TMOG). Here is a hands-on review of how both apps perform, what works, what doesn't, and which one is worth installing on your system.
What is AppControl?
Before diving into TMOG, it’s worth highlighting AppControl—one of the best modern replacements for the standard Task Manager.
Unlike basic system monitors, AppControl gives you deep insights into application history and privacy:
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3-Day App History: See which apps ran on your PC up to three days ago.
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Privacy Monitoring: Tracks whenever an app accesses sensitive hardware like your camera, microphone, or location.
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Simple Resource Tracking: Quickly see which apps are hogging background resources.
For a complete breakdown of how it works, check out the AppControl Video Overview.
Introducing Task Manager OG (TMOG)
Task Manager OG (or TMOG) is a lightweight, revamped system monitor built by Dave Plummer—the original Microsoft engineer behind the classic Windows Task Manager!
You can check out the official app at tmog.org.
Key Features of TMOG:
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Cross-Platform: Available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
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Super Lightweight: The Windows installer is only ~6.5 MB and installs in seconds.
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Highly Customizable UI: Features retro-style themes like Amber, Green ("Hacker mode"), Mono (black and white), Blue, and adjustable saturation levels.
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Familiar Performance View: Displays core, clock speed, GPU, RAM, disk, and network stats with interactive graphs.
Testing TMOG on Windows: The Hits and Misses
During real-world testing on Windows, TMOG brings a lot of nostalgia and speed to the table, but it isn't without a few bumps in the road (it is currently in Public Beta 2):
What Worked Well:
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Speed: TMOG opens almost instantly—feeling slightly faster than the modern Windows Task Manager.
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Process Search: Simple process filtering makes finding and ending background tasks easy.
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Clean Aesthetics: Hovering over graphs gives real-time stats on background apps using system resources.
What Needs Improvement:
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Static CPU Temperatures: On Windows, the CPU temperature metric stuck at a static 28°C (whereas AppControl accurately read 40°–44°C).
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Unavailable Stats: Certain details, like compressed memory, CPU power usage, and PCIe stats showed up as "unavailable."
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Paywalled Features: While the base app is free, some additional features, like Disk Space, Benchmark etc. require Pro license
How Does TMOG Perform on Linux?
Interestingly, testing the TMOG AppImage on Linux yielded much better results than on Windows:
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Working CPU Thermals: Temperature tracking worked smoothly in real-time (showing an accurate 49°C).
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Fewer Missing Stats: Metrics that were marked "unavailable" on Windows loaded properly under Linux.
Because hardware monitoring hooks are structured differently across operating systems, TMOG currently feels more polished on Linux while its Windows integration is still being perfected in beta.
Final Verdict: Which One Should You Use?
Both apps bring something unique to the table depending on what you care about most:
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Choose AppControl if: You care deeply about privacy, want to track app permissions (mic/camera/location), or need a clear history of background processes over the past 3 days.
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Choose Task Manager OG (TMOG) if: You want a fast, lightweight, retro-styled system monitor created by a legendary Windows developer—especially if you run Linux or want a cross-platform tool.