Core Temp is a short, simple but capable tool to monitor the processor temperature and other important data. The way Core Temp works is what sets it apart. It can show you the temperature of each core of each CPU in your system! With varied workloads, you can observe temperature variations in real time. Core Temp is also independent of the motherboard. CoreTemp is simple to use while allowing lots of customization and extension.
All AMD FX series processors are supported.
- All APU models.
- The entire Phenom / Phenom II series
- All Athlon II processors.
- The entire Turion II series.
- All Athlon64 processors.
- All Athlon64 X2 series processors.
- All Athlon64 FX series processors.
- Turion64 is a series of video games.
- All Turion64 X2 series processors.
- The whole Sempron series. (Based on K8 and above)
- Opteron processors are all used.
- From version SH-C0 and higher, single-core Opterons are available. (Based on K8)
Supported Intel processors:
- Intel Core i3, i5 and i7 processors are all supported.
- Atom processors are all compatible.
- The entire Core Solo series.
- The entire Core Duo series.
- All Core 2 Duo processors.
- All Core 2 Quad series processors.
- The entire Core 2 Extreme series.
- Celeron-M 400 and 500 series processors.
- Celeron is a series of microprocessors.
- All Pentium processors.
- Processors based on the Xeon architecture.
What is the mechanism behind this?
Core Temp simplifies temperature monitoring of any current x86 processor. The app works with Intel, AMD, and VIA processors from all three major manufacturers.
Intel processors, including all variants, starting with the “Core” series and progressing to the most recent Core i7.
All new Phenom and AMD APUs are supported, starting with the first series of Athlon64 and Opteron processors.
VIA processors trace back to the C7 processor family and include all variants based on the C7 design. Additionally, all Nano-based processors are supported.
Temperature readings are extremely accurate because data is collected directly from a Digital Thermal Sensor (or DTS) that is positioned near the hottest region of each processing core*. This sensor is digital, meaning it doesn't rely on an external circuit on the motherboard to report temperature; instead, its value is stored in a dedicated CPU register, which software can access and read. This avoids any inaccuracies that the motherboard's external circuits and sensors may cause.
Here is a description of how the program works:
For the processor, Intel specifies a T-junction temperature. This temperature is normally between 85 and 105 degrees Celsius. As of Nehalem, the actual Tjunction Max value is available for software to read in an MSR on later processor generations (short for Model Specific Register).
Temperature data is stored in a separate MSR. The data is expressed as the difference in degrees Celsius between the current temperature and the T junction.
'Core Temp = Tjunction – Delta' is how the actual temperature is calculated.
The data field is 7 bits long. In principle, this means that a delta of 0 to 127°C can be reported. Indeed, temperatures below 0°C are rarely observed, while temperatures below 30° or even 40°C are not reported in certain situations (Core 2 – 45nm series).
Temperature is reported by AMD processors via a specific register in the CPU's northbridge. Core Temp reads the value in the register and calculates the current temperature using a formula provided by AMD.
'Core Temp = Value – 49' is the formula for the Athlon 64 series, early Opterons and Semprons (K8 architecture).
There is a different formula for the latest generation of AMD processors, such as Phenom, Phenom II, the new Athlons, Semprons and Opterons (K10 architecture and above), and their derivatives: "CPU Temp* = Value / 8".
*CPU temperature is due to the fact that the PhenomOpteron (K10) has only one sensor per case, meaning each CPU only has one reading.
for more information, visit the official website of Core Temp.