Computer Temperature Monitor HWMonitor

HWMonitor is a free portable program for Microsoft Windows devices that enables you to monitor parameters of installed hardware components of the PC.

Keeping an eye on the computer temperature, especially that of the most relevant components like the processor (cpu), hard drives and video cards, is essential to ensure data integrity and reliability.

Temperatures that reach critical levels can lead to all kinds of computer related problems including crashes, blue screens, data loss and even permanently damaged hardware.

One option to monitor the temperature of components is to use software based temperature monitors. These programs usually draw their information from the hardware components (for instance by reading SMART information from hard drives), or sensors integrated on the motherboard.

HWMonitor

HWMonitor is but one of the many programs out there that can monitor computer temperatures.

The portable software program is compatible with common temperature sensor chips on the computer's motherboard, cpu thermal sensors, hard drive smart technologies and video card temperatures. All temperatures are displayed in the main interface upon startup divided by component and in Celsius and Fahrenheit.

The program will automatically monitor the temperatures of supported hardware components for as long as it is running. The temperatures are then displayed with their min, max and mean values to give the user information about the temperature range. This can be very useful in determining how hot certain components get on a day to day basis, and whether it is required to improve cooling of components.

The temperatures can be saved to a text file. There are unfortunately no notification options available that inform the user if the temperature reaches critical levels, something that other temperature monitors provide.

The maximum temperature value is especially helpful as it highlights how high temps can get on the system. It is best to keep HWMonitor running in the background all day long to find out how high temperatures go on the system on a normal day.

This way you can find out if they reach critical or near critical levels and do something about it, for instance by adding another system fan, replacing fans, optimizing air flow, or increasing the rotation speed of fans on the system.

As you can see on the screenshot above, Hardware Monitor displays voltage information as well. While those may not be as useful to most users, they may be helpful for over- or underclockers who want to keep an eye on those paramters as well.

Closing Words

HWMonitor is a lightweight software that does not need to be installed. This makes it ideal for portable use. It displays core temperature, voltage and other information of the processor, graphics card, hard drives, and motherboard.

The software can be downloaded from the developer's website. It is compatible with most Windows operating systems (32-bit and 64-bit).

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