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7

I would like a simple Windows program that can display the temperature of the computer's components and also show fan speed.

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2  
I've would've gone with glass thermometer but it isn't as soft as needed... :) – egon Feb 11 '10 at 11:13

7 Answers

up vote 17 down vote accepted

Speedfan does all that.

screenshot

SpeedFan is software that can read temperatures, voltages and fan speeds of computer components. It can change computer fan speeds depending on the temperature of various components. The program can display system variables as a chart and as an indicator in the system tray. Fully configurable user events can be defined to execute specific actions based on system status. As of version 4.37, temperatures in the event section must be specified in °C no matter if the display setting is for °F.

Source

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SpeedFan at the moment is the best – Drake Jul 15 '09 at 14:53
SpeedFan was simple to install, shows all interesting temperatures and fan speeds. Has some more functinality but this is hidden away in other tabs. – Jonas Jul 15 '09 at 15:04
1  
speedfan, when I tried it anyway.. lists temp1 temp2 temp3.. not always clear which is CPU.. though perhaps one can work it out.. with prime95 and see which temp rises..be interesting to know how others do it. – barlop Sep 23 '10 at 8:28
@barlop, agreed, SpeedFan didn't show temperature for GeForce MX440 card and it shows some strange temp1 temp2 temp3(128C!!!) values, I assume that temp1 is CPU – geotavros Dec 11 '11 at 19:33
@geotavros I don't know the mechanism but rivatuner from guru3d(haven't tried it n i don't have your card) might according to this link frihost.com/forums/vt-24437.html and it might be in ctrl panel system properties advanced you may have a geforce section there according to that link. – barlop Dec 12 '11 at 23:36
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up vote 3 down vote

CPUID's HWMonitor works great for me. Unlike SpeedFan, it has no problems detecting my GPU, and presents information in a more useful manner, including displaying sensor and device names instead of "Temp1", "Temp2", "HDD1", etc.

enter image description here

What is HWMonitor

HWMonitor is a hardware monitoring program that reads PC systems main health sensors : voltages, temperatures, fans speed. The program handles the most common sensor chips, like ITE® IT87 series, most Winbond® ICs, and others. In addition, it can read modern CPUs on-die core thermal sensors, as well has hard drives temperature via S.M.A.R.T, and video card GPU temperature.

Special hardware monitors such as abit® uGuru and Gigabyte® ODIN™ power supplies serie are supported too.

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up vote 2 down vote

I think the best program is CPU-Z 100% free and useful.

enter image description here

What is CPU-Z

CPU-Z is a freeware that gathers information on some of the main devices of your system.

  • CPU
    • Name and number.
    • Core stepping and process.
    • Package.
    • Core voltage.
    • Internal and external clocks, clock multiplier.
    • Supported instruction sets.
    • Cache information.
  • Mainboard
    • Vendor, model and revision.
    • BIOS model and date.
    • Chipset (northbridge and southbridge) and sensor.
    • Graphic interface.
  • Memory
    • Frequency and timings.
    • Module(s) specification using SPD (Serial Presence Detect) : vendor, serial number, timings table.
  • System
    • Windows and DirectX version.
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-1 CPU-Z doesn't measure temperatures! Please read the question before posting. It might be a good tool for other things but is completely useless to me as it does not show temperatures. – Ash Dec 13 '12 at 6:01
up vote 2 down vote

Motherboard Monitor is a free app that has lots of tools including Temps, fan speed and core voltage. It is a slight pain to configure correctly, but otherwise a great tool.

enter image description here

It looks like MBM is a dead project though (last update was in 2006) in which case, Wikipedia suggests Speedfan and CoreTemp

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Hmm... Seems CoreTemp can't detect all the temp sensors, otherwise it had a very simple GUI. – Jonas Jul 15 '09 at 15:03
up vote 0 down vote

I suggest http://www.cputhermometer.com/ It's free, small and shows temperature in the tray.

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up vote 0 down vote

Notebook Hardware Control is a powerful program. It comes with a script language to control fan speed.

You need a bit of effort to learn it but it has a programmable API.

enter image description here

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Care to elaborate on what else this can do? – Ivo Flipse♦ Jul 15 '12 at 21:36
Maybe you need a bit of effort to learn it but it's has programmable api: www.pbus-167.com/nhc/nhc_advanced.htm#anchor_acpi_programming. – phpdna Jul 15 '12 at 21:48
up vote 0 down vote

I prefer MBM5. Here's a good link for information on it: http://www.thetechrepository.com/showthread.php?t=74

enter image description here

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Perhaps a bit to much work to install for my taste. – Jonas Jul 15 '09 at 15:00
Cannot be started on my Windows 7 - a DLL is missed. – Pavel Vlasov Feb 16 '12 at 16:03
Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference. – Ivo Flipse♦ Jul 15 '12 at 21:36
@IvoFlipse - Sort of pointless to comment on an answer posted 3 years ago. – Ramhound Jul 18 '12 at 12:00

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