The average computer consumes and converts a considerable amount of electrical energy into other kinds of energy, and many of the components inside the average computer move at incredible speeds. All of this leads to computers generating a considerable amount of heat – certain parts inside some computers can get immensely hot, sometimes even to an extent where they become hot enough to boil water!
While computers do have hardware components such as heat sinks and cooling fans to help keep their insides cool, excessive heat generation can not only prove to be detrimental to the overall lifespan of a computer’s components but can also result in unexpected system shutdowns. Since that is the case, it is always a good idea to keep a keen eye on the temperatures of your computer’s most important components – such as its processor, RAM and hard drive – along with the speeds of your computer’s fans and your computer’s components’ voltages.
All of this information can be viewed by accessing your computer’s BIOS, but that is a much more tedious alternative when compared to simply using a third-party Windows utility that allows you to access this information from the comfort of your computer’s desktop. There are quite a few Windows applications that are up to this task, but the simplest, most effective and all in all best system hardware monitoring application out there for Windows is undoubtedly HWMonitor.
HWMonitor is a system hardware monitoring application that has been created by CPUID – the same people who were behind CPU-Z and PC Wizard – and can be downloaded here. HWMonitor works well with both 32-bit and 64-bit version of the Windows Operating System. HWMonitor is a pretty simple application and an amazing utility as far as displaying the most vital of your computer’s components’ information.
HWMonitor is capable of displaying almost all of your computer’s temperatures, voltages and fan speeds in an extremely simplified and streamlined fashion. HWMonitor is not big on additional functionality and added features, which is why the only features the application offers other than the monitoring and displaying of system hardware information is the ability to save monitoring or SMBus data to a text file. The HWMonitor application displays three different values for each listing – the current value, the minimum value the listing has had since the application was launched and the maximum value the listing has had since the application was launched.
HWMonitor may not have any additional functions such as controlling fan speeds or configuring warning alarms, but if what you are looking for a streamlined layout that displays almost all of the information pertaining to your system’s components, HWMonitor is pretty much second to none. The program’s simplicity and extremely easy to understand display of all of your system’s components’ information values is truly admirable and something that many people think to be a vital feature in a system hardware monitoring application.
