Monday's Mac Gadget - Want to Prevent a Mac Meltdown? Better Get Temperature Monitor!

by
March 24th, 2008

Product Link : Temperature Monitor 4.5 (Freeware)
Company Link : Marcel Bresink Software-Systeme

As Mac processors become faster and more sophisticated, the need to properly manage the temperature of your machine becomes important. Unfortunately, about the only way you'll know that your Mac is getting too hot is hearing the fan(s) turn on, and in extreme cases, the machine shutting down to prevent overheating. Fortunately, the latest batch of Macs contain numerous temperature sensors that are continuously checked; you just need a way to view the values of these sensors. Enter Temperature Monitor...

Temperature Monitor Graphical History Display

Temperature monitor can show you the value of the temperature sensors in your Mac, so you can understand what factors, be there environmental or computational, can cause your Mac to get hot. These values can be displayed in a number of ways. The most basic display shows the name of each sensor, and the value in the unit(s) of your choice. But things get interesting if you choose to a graphic view, which can offer the benefit of showing temperature values over time, from hours to days, as well as the minimum and maximum values. This is a great tool for being able to identify what factors may help heat or cool your Mac. For those with an Intel Core Solo or Core Duo processor, you can install a driver for extended x86 support, which can display the value of sensors within the processor itself.

But wait, there's more! Temperature Monitor also has a System Information feature, which provides a wealth of information about other portions of your system, such as the processor, cache, memory, connectors, slots, board devices and more. And for those who would like to monitor the temperature of remote computers, you can purchase their more sophisticated Hardware Monitor application, which includes a Hardware Monitor Remote component that allows remote monitoring of temperature and other values.

So make an effort to understand what makes your Mac hot (or cool) and check out Temperature Monitor today!

Have any other hot Mac Gadgets you think John should look at? Just send him an email.

Marcel Bresink Software-Systeme

John is a software engineer who works in the corporate R&D group of a Fortune 500 company, focusing on all aspects of communications technology. He has several degrees that claim he knows what he's doing when it comes to computers. After watching co-workers reinstall Windows, search for device drivers, and experience other horrors during the day, he's glad that he comes home to a Mac (compatible) computer. Have any comments, suggestions, or favorite Gadgets? Drop John a line!

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