GPU Temp

The graphics card is one of the most important and expensive hardware components in a computer. In has its own processing unit (the GPU), that can reach high temperatures, especially if you overclock it. The best way to avoid burning your graphics card is to prepare for such an event, by checking the GPU temperature, from time to time. This can be done with GPU Temp. As the name clearly points out, this lightweight application displays the current temperature of your GPU.

GPU Temp is freeware and you can install it in a few seconds. The setup file is roughly 500 KB, which can be downloaded just as fast. The application works on most Windows platforms and it supports both ATI and NVIDIA graphics chips.

There is not much to say about GPU Temp user interface. It displays the GPU core temperature, as well as its load percentage, in a tree structure. The lower half of the window consists of a graph, which illustrates the temperature's history. You can reset the graph at any time, by hitting the Reset option, in the File menu.

The application can be set to run automatically, during the operating system's startup, to minimize to the system tray and to start minimized. The system tray icon displays the GPU temperature, in real time, and you can change its color at any time, so you can see it better.