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INTEL DESKTOP UTILITIES - Product Evaluation
This is a reprint from the January 2007 issue of TOE (The Outer Edge)
By Jim Thornton
Have you taken a close look at the Intel Express Installer CD that came with your new computer's Intel motherboard and processor? There is a unique program on the CD called Intel Desktop Utilities that is intended for the home and/or small business computer users who don't have the support of a large Information Technology (IT) department. The Utilities monitors and reports your computer's internal temperatures, voltages, fan speeds, and hard drive health. Along with Utilities come several other programs: StressTest by PassMark Software - checks for common hardware errors; NTI Backup NOW! by New Tech Infosystems - backs up files to CD or DVD discs; Diskeeper Lite by Executive Software - a popular defragmentation program that improves system performance; Security Check by Symantec - checks for viruses and Internet security vulnerabilities; System Information by Intel that provides a detailed information on your motherboard, CPU, cache, memory, onboard devices, and hard drives; and AdminWorks Management Suite by OSA Technologies - remotely manages up to 200 networked computers. In this article, we look at Intel Desktop Utilities, a user-friendly computer hardware monitoring and system information program. The Utilities consists of three parts - Hardware Monitor, System Information, and Options.
The Hardware Monitor displays the current temperatures of your processor (CPU) and two other critical areas on your motherboard called System Zones; the speed of your processor and your system fans; the five different power supply voltages; and the overall health condition of your hard drives. More detailed information is available for each of these items: (1) the processor - the manufacturer, model number, and speed, the front side bus speed of the motherboard, the size of the two caches associated with the processor, plus two graphical displays of the temperature of the processor and the speed of the processor fan; (2) the motherboard - the manufacturer and model number, the BIOS version and date, and three graphical displays of the temperatures of the System Zones, and of the speed of the system fan; (3) the power - five graphical displays of the actual and desired voltages from the power supply, and the voltages of the CPU core and I/O; and (4) the hard drive - the speed of the read rate, the spin up time, and the counts of the start/stop, reallocated sector, seek error rate, power on hours, spin retry, calibration retry, and power cycle.
The System Information displays the much of the same hardware information of the processor and motherboard, but in addition, the version of the operating system and service pack is listed as well as the amount of RAM, its speed and type. Much more detailed information is available. For example, the motherboard information includes the manufacturer, model number, version, serial number, and BIOS version, ROM size, and release date. The same level of detail is available for the processor, cache, memory, onboard devices, and hard drive.
The Options section consists four major areas - (1) to set or adjust the alerting levels of the previous identified temperature, fan speed, and voltage levels, as well as the overall performance level of your hard drives; (2) to view and/or print the history of alerts; (3) to set the sensor levels of for temperatures, speed, voltages, and hard drive health; and the last option (4) to set the temperature scale to Celsius or Fahrenheit.
As you can see, this little freeware program provides a wealth of technical information. But by knowing this information makes you a better-informed shopper in determining if your computer needs just minor repair or should be totally replaced.
Intel Desktop Utilities, version 2.1.9.66, a freeware program The Utilities supports Microsoft Windows XP and 2000 operating systems in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese (simplified).
I find the program useful in ensuring that my computer doesn't have any weak or failing components. During the recent summer heat spell, the Utilities reported that the temperature of CPU and associated System Zones was exceeding the temperature thresholds. So after checking that there was proper airflow through my computer, I corrected the problem by adding a second system fan. Had I not know of the high temperatures, I would begin to experience CPU slowdowns and even system crashes. In addition to adding the second fan, I replaced the flat data ribbon cable to my hard drive with the newer and smaller round cable for better airflow.
