How Can I Monitor My Laptop Temperature?

Knowing how can I monitor my laptop temperature is very important. You can monitor by touch and by using a program designed to do so. Keeping your laptop's temperature low is critical to keeping it in good running condition.

There are two main ways to monitor the temperature of your laptop computer:

1. Touching the computer. (This method is pretty inexact.)
2. Having a program help you determine the temperature.

You can monitor your laptop by touch – many laptops become physically hot when they are running warm, to the point where they may feel as though touching the bottom of the machine could cause a burn to your hand.

But as reliable as this method may seem, you don’t want to use it to judge your laptop’s temperature. For one thing, you don’t know how accurate it is. For another, by the time the laptop is hot to the touch it may already be too late to save the components inside from harm. 

Software

Since touch is not the best answer to how to monitor the temperature of your laptop computer, what are your other options?

There are specific software programs which are made to monitor laptop temperature. These programs can be installed on your computer and take up very little space to run. Here's what you need to know:

• Some systems, such as Windows 7, already have this type of software built into them, and the user only has to activate it within the machine. Other systems may not have the software installed and you will have to buy separate aftermarket software.
• Look for a very small program – it shouldn’t take much space or memory to operate something this type of program. The program should ideally run automatically in the background of your laptop.
• The software will essentially use a sensor to monitor your motherboard and your CPU, and will send up a warning to you when they are getting above a certain temperature, alerting you to shut down the machine.

Installing the Software

Installing the software not only lets you keep your machine from overheating during current use – it also helps you plan for future use. If you find your laptop is triggering the software warning with every use, it might be time to consider upgrading your cooling system or making other adjustments to your laptop so that it can run cooler.

Similarly, if you’re having issues with your laptop’s performance and you’ve wondered if programs slowing down or crashing in the past have been related to overheating issues, you can now find out. The software will monitor the temperature at the same time as the programs are running so you can see if there is any correlation between crashing and overheating. Laptop temperature monitoring is a small, simple, but important way to check up on the performance of your machine and avoid future damage at the same time.

Why Monitor Your Laptop Computer

So, now you know how to monitor your laptop computer, but do you know why you should?

• Laptop computers are known for sometimes running at temperatures that are warmer than recommended, thus causing them to burn out more quickly.
• Because of their small size, laptops have less air circulation than typical desktop computers, and the fans inside are less powerful. This can result in the overheating situation.
• Sometimes the burn-out of a laptop can even cause permanent damage, frying the CPU and/or the motherboard and rendering the laptop non-functional.

Thus, it’s important to monitor the temperature at which your laptop is running, and make sure it stays within the “safe” zone to prevent burn-out and damage.