Real-time Hardware Monitor?
DY357LX
Playing since day 1. Still can't Comm.England Join Date: 2002-10-27 Member: 1651Members, Constellation
Playing since day 1. Still can't Comm.England Join Date: 2002-10-27 Member: 1651Members, Constellation
<div class="IPBDescription">Need something to track temperature.</div> OK here's the story, i've just fitted my shiny new AMD ATHLON.
I WAS at 900mhz, but i'm now at 1400mhz (woohoo!) and
i've been advised by several people, to keep an eye on my systems
temperature. Don't want anything over-heating and exploding now
do i? As I have no previous experience in ANYTHING like this I thought
i'd ask here and see what tools and utilities you people use.
Any info/URL's/download's greatly appreciated.
I WAS at 900mhz, but i'm now at 1400mhz (woohoo!) and
i've been advised by several people, to keep an eye on my systems
temperature. Don't want anything over-heating and exploding now
do i? As I have no previous experience in ANYTHING like this I thought
i'd ask here and see what tools and utilities you people use.
Any info/URL's/download's greatly appreciated.
Comments
Nope <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad.gif'><!--endemo--> I had a browse of the disc before and it's stuff like:
IDE Drivers
VGA Drivers
Sound Drivers
V.90 Fax / Modem drivers (which I ripped out cus i don't dial-up)
10/100M LAN Drivers
GAMUT 2000 (er WTH)
MediaRing talk (again, WTH)
Super Voice
WinDVD 2000 Intervideo
PC-cillin 2000
And finally.... WordPerfect 8.
Thats everything on my mobo disc
<!--emo&:0--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wow.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wow.gif'><!--endemo-->
(<i>note: my college course was electronics engineering</i> <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->)
It's a standalone system that monitors temperature at various critical points using thermistors and onboard signals, and controls the appropriate fan speed to help ensure temperature stability. If a point is too hot, the fan speed increases. If it's below the set temperature, the speed (and noise) decreases.
There is a 20x4 serial LCD mounted to the front of the case to display necessary information (temperatures, recent actions taken, and point summaries), and to allow configuration on-the-fly.
It was originally designed to be a watercooling control and monitoring system, but I scaled it back a little once I realized the deadline was fast approaching. <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif'><!--endemo-->
This would probably be overkill if you're just looking for a simple temperature monitor. The equipment cost me close to $250CDN, but that's mainly due to having to get a developer board for the microcontroller as well.
A much simpler solution, using LED's and op-amps, can be designed and built for less than $20CDN. Obviously there are already devices out that'll do much the same thing, but they generally cost 2x (or even 3x or more!!) of the cost of the parts themself. Personally, I figure a simple but effective solution would be one thermistor per point of measurement, maybe 5 LED's (3 green, 1 yellow, 1 red) to indicate temperature level, and a bit o' circuitry to trigger the proper LED's based on the thermistor's value.
As for a software solution, <a href='http://mbm.livewiredev.com/' target='_blank'>Motherboard Monitor</a> has worked well for me in the past. It grabs the temperature from the onboard thermistor, stores it, compares it to your custom-set limit, and indicates if/when it goes over that limit. It can even shut down your system if it goes too high.
If they don't, check out motherboard monitor as was previously mentioned...it has support for a lot of different mobos. And if you have a decent BIOS, you can check the temp from there (yeah, it's inexact...but you can run some burn-in software to 'warm up' your processor, and incidentally check its stability...then reboot and check the temp).
Oh, and don't forget to check <a href='http://www.overclockers.com' target='_blank'>here</a> if you want to do overclocking...it has a lot of discussion on voltages, cooling methods, power supplies, fan placement, etc. I assume that you're ok since you've already gotten a 50% overclock, but it always pays to be safe <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->