There are plenty of hardware monitoring and tweaking tools out there. However, almost none of them are developed keeping in mind the needs of a Laptop user. Notebooks require special attention and different treatment from Desktops. While performance is all that matters to a desktop user, laptop users have to keep in mind issues like battery life.
Notebook Hardware Control (NHC) is an advanced utility which is made just for laptop users. The main features offered by NHC are :
Monitor CPU Status : NHC is a competent monitoring tool which is capable of monitoring CPU Temperature as well as Hard Disk temperature along with CPU Load, CPU Voltage, Virtual Memory, RAM Status and Battery Charge. It displays CPU Temperature as Distance from TJMax which is always a better metric than absolute temperature (which is nothing but a guess).
Throttle CPU Speed : You can throttle your CPUs clock speed on the fly according depending upon the situation. Simply specify the maximum and minimum clock speed while your laptop is plugged in and while it is running on a battery.
Monitor Battery Life : Not only does NHC help you in monitoring battery life it also can save battery life by automatically adjusting the monitor brightness depending upon the amount of charge left.
Control Hard Disk Performance : As mentioned before NHC is capable of monitoring your hard disk temperatures. But, it is capable of much more. It is capable of Advanced Power Management as well as Acoustic Management for your hard disk. It is doubles up as a full fledged hard disk diagnostic tool thanks to it’s S.M.A.R.T. monitoring capability.
Advanced Settings : Advanced users would relish the ability to tweak multiplier and voltage settings. If you are still not satisfied you can program the ACPI Control System to get more control over hardware components like LCD brightness, WLAN, notebook temperature or fan of the notebook. The premium version also supports multiple profiles with custom configurations.
I have no qualms in recommending NHC. Its a must have for all advanced laptop users. NHC covers all essential aspects including power saving, battery consumption and temperature monitoring. What makes NHC a truely brilliant software it its easy to use and intuitive interface which makes it suitable for even less sophisticated users. Go ahead and give it a try, if you are really serious about getting the most from your Notebook.
Download Notebook Hardware Control (2.24 MB)
Platforms Supported : Windows 2000, Xp, Vista
License : Freeware
Version Reviewed : 2.0 Pre-Release 06
Nice find.I downloaded this software,thanks for the link .
Nice find.
This software is exclusively for notebook PCs? I like dedicated applications.
chinmoy´s last blog ..Links for 2009-08-16 [Digg]
finally a tool that is notebook exclusive
no doubt its a great tool. too bad it’s not being actively developed
Will this program be update to include Windows 7? It looks and sounds like a lifesaver. I downloaded it and the drivers were no good with Windows 7. Please advise.
I got a problem with my arrow buttons, they are broken. I use them to increase the screen brightness with the ‘fn’ button.
When my laptop is plugged, it shows minimum screen brightness.
Can i somehow use this program (or anything related to this) to increase my screen brightness w/o using my laptop keyboard?
Please, do correct your post, since this program is NOT COMPATIBLE with Windows Seven.
NHC hasn’t bee updated in ages and officially doesn’t support Win7. However, I had reviewed it in Win 7 and stuff I tried worked. Anyways, I have removed Win7 from the list since its not officially supported.
great review, i find something useful here. thanks for sharing.