Important: There are many ways how to display the GPU temperature in Windows 7. Because some work better than others and because some require technical knowledge, there are 4 different methods sorted from easiest to most problematic.
1. GPU Gadget (NVIDIA Only, Easiest)
Download this GPU temperature monitor gadget: NVIDIA GPU Temp Gadget
This is one of the easiest solution to display your GPU temperature in the Windows 7 sidebar.
2. Tray Info Instead of GPU Gadget (NVIDIA only)
Instead of displaying the GPU temperature in the Windows 7 sidebar it is way easier to simply download RealTemp and display the GPU temperature in the system tray instead of using a GPU sidebar gadget that might not even work. RealTemp originally could only display the CPU temperature, but can now also display the GPU temperature of NVIDIA graphic cards!
3. GPU “Observer” Gadget (Does NOT support all chipsets)
The GPU temperature gadget “GPU Observer” by orbmu2k.de works for both NVIDIA and ATI cards and can show you the GPU temperature in real time on Windows 7 32-bit and Windows 7 64-bit.
When I first installed the GPU gadget it wasn’t working at all and it displayed a 0°
Next, I enabled some of the options of the GPU gadget, including clocks, GPU load and fan speed. Unfortunately, the fan speed wasn’t supported by my onboard graphic card.
Apparently, the GPU gadget does not support all graphic chipsets. My Radeon HD 4290 isn’t supported, so hopefully it will support your GPU. If it doesn’t you might want to use gadgets from GPU-Z, Everest, RivaTuner or other GPU tools that directly access the hardware to fetch the temperature and other details (this gadget relies on the API of the chipset).
4. RivaTuner GPU Gadget (Requires Unsigned Driver)
If the GPU Observer gadget does not work for you, you might want to give the RivaTuner gadget a try. Before you can actually use this gadget you will need download RivaTuner. RivaTuner fetches the data directly from your hardware, so it will always work (unlike the observer gadget).
(Skip step 2-3 on Windows 7 32-bit)
- 1. Step Download RivaTuner from Guru3D (v2.24c)
- 2. Step RiverTuner will install an unsigned driver, so on Windows 7 64-bit you will first have to Disable driver signing enforcement
- 3. Step Enter bcdedit -set loadoptions DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS into an elevated command prompt
- 4. Step Download RivaTuner GPU Gadget
5. Everest Ultimate GPU Gadget ($40)
If you are the proud owner of Everest Ultimate, which is a great tool to get information not only about your GPU but your entire computer, you can use the Everest sidebar gadget for Windows 7, which allows you to display a lot of system information in the sidebar.
Everest Ultimate will cost quite a bit, but as mentioned it can do a lot more than just display your GPU temperature, so it might be worth the investment. Should you chose to buy Everest Ultimate, you might want to download the Multi Sensor gadget which looks a bit better than the Everest Windows 7 gadget!
Alternatives
Do you know any outstanding alternatives that you want on this list? Do you know a working gadget for ATI graphic cards that work on Windows 7 as well? Let us know below.