NextSensor

NextSensor is a tiny and portable application that enables you to monitor the system temperature and voltage levels, with support for Vcode, VDIMM, VAGP, VBAT, and others.

Since installation is not a prerequisite, you can just drop the program files somewhere on the hard disk and run the executable.

It is also possible to move NextSensor to a USB flash drive or similar storage unit, in order to use it on any machine without prior installers.

What's more, the app does not add new entries to the Windows Registry or Start menu. A standard file deletion is enough to remove it from the computer.

The interface has a sci-fi theme and is easy to get around. You can view the status of the analog voltage input (e.g. VAGP, VBAT), remote temperatures (if you enable remote monitor mode), and fan speed status (CPU, system and auxiliary), as well as select the items you want NextSensor to monitor.

It is possible to establish custom values for the sensor lines (e.g. CPU and system fan, TCPU, TNB), show the GPU, hard disk and North Bridge temperatures, as well as activate a thermal alarm and set values for the thermal threshold and normal CPU temperature, along with other settings (e.g. force CPU clock throttling).

NextSensor features CPU express fan monitoring mode and lets you input the target temperature, temperature tolerance, minimum and maximum fan output, and fan speed step. It also supports preset profiles and can be set to automatically run at system startup.

The program uses low CPU and RAM, and shows the North Bridge, HDD and GPU temperatures in the system tray area. It doesn't intervene in normal user activity and has a good reaction speed. We have not come across any issues in our tests.

To sum it up, NextSensor is a nice addition to any power user's utility belt when it comes to system maintenance. Unfortunately, it has not been updated for a long time, and it is not compatible with newer operating systems.