Ok, so even on my moderately old Abit KT7A motherboard has provisions for cpu and case temperature. What I've been wondering is how can I monitor my video card temp? Is there any way to do it with software or will I need to get a physical temp probe and stick it on there?

I'm looking at swapping the mini fan that's on it for the Zalman NB cooler, maybe the large version. Want to be able to monitor temps to see if that will be enough, or if I'll need to put a low voltage L1A blowing across it.

This is my main gaming system, and it can spend many, many hours playing EverQuest. Especially on the weekends. Plenty of load time for it to heat up (nicely?).

Some new video cards have built-in temperature settings, such as my roommate's Tyan 9600pro and some Asus offerings. For all the rest, you need a temperature probe. A good place to put the probe is either on the side of the graphics chip (if there's room) or right behind the chip on the back of the card.

You will probably need some airflow. I have a 350g, all-copper heatsink epoxied to my GF3 Ti200, and I think it needs a fan. If I don't use a fan, then the heatsink becomes too hot to touch for more than half a second... and that's just when Windows idles for 10 minutes. However, adding a slow 80mm fan that generates 10-15cfm puts the heatink into the "warm" category, and I can hang onto it even after a stretch of 3D gaming.

Hmm... so maybe the large Zalman NB cooler (have to see how many PCI slots I lose with THAT one, might be too tall) if it fits, otherwise the standard one. Then get a 5 or 7 volt L1A angled up as an intake/internal air fan. Saw a pic in one of the forums that had a setup like that, referring to moving intake fans away from the openings. Could manage that...