Samurize is the system monitor for Windows, currently being enhanced with a whole slew of Konfabulator-like plugins.
I tend to use it in a much more unobtrusive manner, though, and here is the config file for my taskbar-embedded meters (replace QUICKSILVER with your machine name):
[Project] FileVersion=v1.55 OffsetX=180 OffsetY=200 Width=200 Height=28 Interval=1000 PauseKey= ReloadKey= ToggleTrayIconKey= EditConfigKey= ToggleVisibilityKey= OnTopKey= NormalWindowKey= PinKey= LockedKey= DesignedKey= ClickThruKey= SnapKey= ExitKey= SnapClientKey= OnTopAbsKey= LoadMBMStarter=0 ShowTrayIcon=1 TrayIcon= ChangeCursorOverLink=0 [Source 0] Type=TNullCollector [Output 0] Type=TRectangleOutput Color=AA000000 Filled=1 Left=232 Top=200 Right=304 Bottom=228 [Source 1] Type=TNullCollector [Output 1] Type=TRectangleOutput Color=AA000000 Filled=1 Left=308 Top=200 Right=380 Bottom=228 [Source 2] Type=TPerfmonCollector Path=\\QUICKSILVER\Network Interface(*)\Bytes Received/sec FromIndex=1 ToIndex=2 Factor=0.0078125 AllowConvert=1 [Output 2] Type=THistogramOutput Min=0 Max=384 HistoryLength=72 Color=C000FF00 Position=1 Spacing=0 Inverted=0 Reversed=0 MovingAverage=0 MovingAverageSpan=5 Left=232 Top=200 Right=304 Bottom=228 ShowPeak=1 PermanentPeak=0 PeakDuration=10000 PeakColor=FF00FF00 [Source 3] Type=TPerfmonCollector Path=\\QUICKSILVER\Network Interface(*)\Bytes Sent/sec FromIndex=1 ToIndex=2 Factor=0.0078125 AllowConvert=1 [Output 3] Type=THistogramOutput Min=0 Max=384 HistoryLength=72 Color=C0FF0000 Position=1 Spacing=0 Inverted=0 Reversed=0 MovingAverage=0 MovingAverageSpan=5 Left=232 Top=200 Right=304 Bottom=228 ShowPeak=1 PermanentPeak=0 PeakDuration=10000 PeakColor=FFFF0000 [Source 4] Type=TPerfmonCollector Path=\\QUICKSILVER\LogicalDisk(*)\Avg. Disk Bytes/Transfer FromIndex=1 ToIndex=3 Factor=0.0009765625 AllowConvert=1 [Output 4] Type=THistogramOutput Min=0 Max=200 HistoryLength=72 Color=C0FF8000 Position=1 Spacing=0 Inverted=0 Reversed=0 MovingAverage=0 MovingAverageSpan=5 Left=308 Top=200 Right=380 Bottom=228 [Source 5] Type=TPerfmonCollector Path=\\QUICKSILVER\Processor(*)\% Processor Time FromIndex=1 ToIndex=1 Factor=1 AllowConvert=0 [Output 5] Type=THistogramOutput Min=0 Max=100 HistoryLength=72 Color=C000FFFF Position=1 Spacing=0 Inverted=0 Reversed=0 MovingAverage=0 MovingAverageSpan=5 Left=308 Top=200 Right=380 Bottom=228 [Source 6] Type=TMemoryCollector BaseValue=MegaBytes ResultType=Used Mem MemoryType=Physical [Output 6] Type=TGraphOutput Min=0 Max=512 HistoryLength=40 Color=FFBFBF00 Position=1 Inverted=0 Reversed=0 MovingAverage=0 MovingAverageSpan=5 Filled=0 FillColor=FFFF0000 Antialiased=1 Left=308 Top=200 Right=380 Bottom=228 [Source 7] Type=TPerfmonCollector Path=\\QUICKSILVER\Network Interface(*)\Bytes Sent/sec FromIndex=1 ToIndex=2 Factor=0.0078125 AllowConvert=1 [Output 7] Type=TTextOutput Text=%v Kbps Color=FFFF0000 Align=2 AlignVertical=2 FontName=Small Fonts FontSize=7 FontStyle=[] FontCharset=0 LineSpacing=1 NrOfDecimals=1 TabSize=20 TruncateText=0 AlwaysTruncateRight=0 WordWrap=0 Antialiased=1 UseSeperators=1 Scroll=1 ScrollInterval=1000 ScrollPause=0 ScrollPauseInterval=1000 ScrollSeperator=%sp|%sp ScrollDirection=0 Left=180 Top=212 Right=232 Bottom=228 [Source 8] Type=TPerfmonCollector Path=\\QUICKSILVER\Network Interface(*)\Bytes Received/sec FromIndex=1 ToIndex=2 Factor=0.0078125 AllowConvert=1 [Output 8] Type=TTextOutput Text=%v Kbps Color=FF00FF00 Align=2 AlignVertical=0 FontName=Small Fonts FontSize=7 FontStyle=[] FontCharset=0 LineSpacing=1 NrOfDecimals=1 TabSize=20 TruncateText=0 AlwaysTruncateRight=0 WordWrap=0 Antialiased=1 UseSeperators=1 Scroll=1 ScrollInterval=1000 ScrollPause=0 ScrollPauseInterval=1000 ScrollSeperator=%sp|%sp ScrollDirection=0 Left=180 Top=200 Right=232 Bottom=216