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Strictly speaking, Temperature Monitor isn't a system add-on, it's a freestanding application, but it can be configured as a startup item. I've checked out various temperature readout apps. over the years, but Temperature Monitor is my enduring favorite, displaying values information from an array of temperature sensors in Macintosh computers -- more sensors than ever with this new version 4.9.2 -- thereby helping keep tabs on whether your computer is (or getting close to) overheating.
As I mentioned, I especially detest the howl from a laptop's tiny, high-revving, cooling fans, and prefer to keep the fan from cutting in at all if possible. The sound-deadening qualities of my MacBook's aluminum unibody case actually make it a lesser offender to the ears even at full blow, but complete silence is so much better.
Also, keeping running temperature down should pay dividends in longer service life. Just keeping an eye on certain applications and even some open Websites can help, and Temperature Monitor is an excellent, real-time feedback tool for identifying heat-spiking culprits.
I also recommend use of a good laptop stand and/or lap desk -- either promoting enhanced passive convection or active fan-forced cooling (but with much quieter, large-diameter, slower-turning fans). Another, very low-tech solution is to just use a freestanding (hopefully quiet) fan to blow on or draw away air from the computer's external surfaces, boosting natural convection.
Laptop temperature can also be a comfort and safety issue. The heat escalation that was introduced with Apple's switch to Intel processors in 2006 was one of the reasons Apple stopped referring to its portable computer models as "laptops" and substituted "notebook."Apple affirms that "The bottom surface and some areas between the keyboard and LCD hinge of your Apple portable computer can become very warm after extended periods of use.... For prolonged use, place your iBook, PowerBook, MacBook or MacBook Pro on a flat stable surface. Do not leave the bottom of the computer in contact with your lap or any surface of your body for extended periods. Prolonged contact with your body could cause discomfort and potentially a burn." All the more reason to keep those temperatures down.
Actually, two separate applications ship in the download, the full Temperature Monitor program, and a menu bar based variant called Temperature Monitor Lite, which is convenient, especially if you have a smaller monitor, because it stays out of sight until you click the menulet icon.
Temperature Monitor and the included Temperature Monitor Lite are freeware/donationware spin-offs from Marcel Bresink's more comprehensive shareware Hardware Monitor application. The program can visualize the history graphs of temperature readings, display measured values in a variety of modes -- in a default window, in a floating window, tabular display in an overview window, display in the menu bar (my preference), display of a maximum of two readings in the Dock, and supports graphical display of short-term and long-term history curves, speech output of readings, plus export to text files.
Display modes can be cinfigured in the Preferences.
New in Temperature Monitor version 4.92:
• Added support for new (Mid-2010) iMac computers.
• Added support for computers with Intel "Westmere class" processors, including the new (Mid-2010) Mac Pro systems.
• Added support for many additional sensors found in Intel-based Macintosh computers.
• Added display of known sensor limits for locations in certain older Intel-based Macintosh computers.
• The new version shows a production location for computers refurbished at the European Apple Online Store.
• The window to display extreme values no longer uses a misleading value of 0 when selecting a time period where no readings have been collected yet.
• When displaying long-term history graphs of remote computers, network traffic has been greatly reduced.
• By user request, a menu item has been added to the
• Lite version to let the application automatically launch at login time. It is no longer necessary to use the
• System Preferences application for defining the login item.
• Resolved a problem where sensor entries referring to remote computers might have been lost in customized history windows when restarting the application.
System requirements:
Mac OS X 10.4 or later
You can download Temperature Monitor from:
http://www.bresink.de/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html
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