How to check cpu temperature?

[Aaron Konstam]

On Fri, 2009-10-16 at 08:22 -0500, Aaron Konstam wrote: 
> On my F11 laptop there is a file:
> /proc/acpi/thermal_zone/THM/temperature
> when cat-ed displays the temperature of the cpu.
> 
> However there is not such file on my desktop running F11.
> 
> Two questions:
> 1. How can I display the cpu temperature on the desktop cpu?
> 2. Is is it maybe because my desktop has a dual core cpu?

I appreciate all the responses to the request above and I learnt about
sensor related programs but there are some misconceptions floating
around that need to be cleared up.

My laptop is a Dell Latitude D810 and the Desktop is a Optiplex GX880.
Neither of them have a BIOS that allows one to turn on or turn off acpi.

The variables in the /proc directory are kernel created variables that
have nothing to do with the sensors group of programs. Applying a cat to
them is no different in GNOME than it is in KDE. Just as you would not
expect cat-ing cpuinfo to be different in different Desktop Managers.

sensor-detect did not detect any sensors that would monitor any hardware
components on either machine. Yet I cold display the temp of the CPU on
the laptop as described above. it seems clear to me that the kernel does
not detect any temperature sensors on the desktop so I am clear out of
luck.

I have no clue what the plasmoid is so I don't know how that would help.

I will accept any further ideas but I think all is lost.
--
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There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full. --
Henry Kissinger
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Aaron Konstam telephone: (210) 656-0355 e-mail: akonstam at sbcglobal.net