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How to Check the Temperature of Your Computer and Gadgets

temperature

If you’ve been using your electronic devices for some time, they no longer dissipate heat efficiently like they used to do in their prime. This failing thermal management causes electronic devices to become unreliable and undergo premature failure. To avoid this predicament, use these temperature-monitoring applications and determine if you have overheating problems.

Windows

There are several utilities for Windows that can check the temperatures of several computer components. One popular hardware-monitoring program is Core Temp, which displays the vital temperature information of each core in a processor and supports a variety of x86 processors by Intel, AMD and VIA. Open Hardware Monitor and RainMeter are also excellent tools. They not only read temperature sensors but also report other statistics, such as CPU load, network throughput and disk usage.

Mac

Some avid fans like to think that Mac computers don’t suffer from overheating. Sadly, they do. To keep track of your Mac’s temperature (CPU, battery, etc.), the aptly named Temperature Monitor can display such information in the menu bar. For more recent Mac hardware, iStat Menus 5 is a great system monitor with detailed graphs and clean interface.

iOS, Android

Android has apps that essentially do the same hardware monitoring functionality that full-featured applications in full-fledged computers have. The Android version of CPU-Z, for example, is a capable tool for displaying temperature, system and battery information. As of this writing, there doesn’t seem to be any similar apps for iOS, but Apple has a detailed guideline on how to keep iOS devices within acceptable operating temperatures.

Even without temperature-monitoring software, it’s easy to detect overheating electronic devices. For one, devices with active cooling become noisy due to their cooling fans. Your smartphone is most likely overheating if it feels like burning a hole in your pocket. Sporadic, unexpected reboots is another sign. Many devices automatically reboot to protect their sensitive components from heat damage.

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