Motherboard monitor is a good program that will work with most new motherboards and chipsets. It detects your chipset automaticaly and gives out the temperature readings your motherboard supplies.
About the case, it is a good idea to leave the sides on but not because you want to create a vacum inside, but because you want a specific air flow from one side of the case to the other. The front fan sucks air in, the air passes over the CPU and other hardware and then is expelled out the back. This air channel is beneficial in that it removes the excess heat that the CPU fan and other heatsinks will radiate to the air around them. If you leave the sides off, then the air just mixes around with the outside air and you lose a lot of that flow. If you just have a CPU fan then it doesn't matter, but if you have a front fan(s) and exaust fans (powersupply, etc) then leave the sides on.
Could you explain why you think the chip is getting too hot? As dinomite said, if the chip is running at factory specs and you have the OEM fan on, then there should be no reason to worry. A pentium chip probably runs in the neighborhood of 20-30 degrees C, and an Athlon chip should be right at 50. Both of these brands can handle temperatures much higher, it's just a lifetime issue.
|