Norwood

Depending on the programs you are currently running on your PC, you might sometimes notice its performance is far from ideal.
Norwood can help you keep an eye on the CPU usage so you can close various apps when you notice your machine is slowing down.

Portable utility

One of the most valuable functions of Norwood is its portability. This means you can copy it to a removable thumb drive, then run it whenever you want to monitor the CPU usage on the computer you are using.
By default, the main window is displayed on top of the other windows. While this can help you constantly have it within your eyesight, it might also become quite annoying when working in full-screen windows. Also, the only way to terminate the app is via its dedicated system tray icon.

Customizable looks

Even if you cannot alter the dimensions of the graph, you can tamper with the way it looks like. More specifically, you can modify the colors of the background, the grid, the info text or the divider.
You can also assign different colors to each CPU thread, so you can easily identify them within Norwood.
The downside is that you cannot preview the actual colors, as you need to enter the HEX code for each shade you prefer. Also, you cannot get an overview of how the chart looks like with the modified parameters until you apply the changes.
You also get to adjust the line width or the window transparency as you see fit.

Conclusion

All in all, Norwood can provide you with a straightforward graph for monitoring the CPU usage on your PC. Even if you do not get complete control over its appearance, you can easily replace the default colors or modify the refresh interval.