While doing an upcoming article, I managed to break my temperature probe. Overclock.co.uk were nice enough to supply me with this Lian-Li LCD Thermometer as a replacement.

As you can see, there are two temperature probes, both with a one metre length of wire. Attached to the wire are some rather thin probes, perfect for sliding next to your CPU die (not in between the heatsink and die, which is a fatal mistake).

The temperatures appear to update every second and show an accuracy of up to .1c. Annoyingly, I couldn't get both the probes to report the same temperature, even when taped to exactly the same heat source. I would say they were about 0.5c of each other at worst.

It was annoying to find that the probes wouldn't read below 0c, so all you peltier and evaporative cooler users out there will find this product disappointing. It would also have been nice to have a Fahrenheit/Celsius switch, instead you have to buy the respective version pre-set. Overclock.co.uk only stocked the Celsius model as far as I can tell, but then we are supposed to be a metric nation after all. However, they do stock a black version, if you happen to own a black case.

The LCDs are entirely separate units that each run off an L1154 battery. They apparently don't use much power, so they should last quite a while. The text is as clear as you can expect from an LCD without a backlight.

The 5 1/4" face plate is designed to match the Lian-Li case, but as you can see above, it suits my ATCS case quite nicely. With the help of a screw driver, you can pop the dials out of the plate and use them in whatever way you see fit. For instance, with a bit of help from your Dremel and a spare blanking plate, you could make it match your case exactly.

Worth a mention are the thermal pads supplied for sticking the probes to components and stickers for labeling the LCDs.

Conclusion

At £21.15 inclusive of VAT, you can't expect the accuracy of a professional thermocouple. What you do get is a stylish, reasonably priced unit that will give much better accuracy than anything your motherboard has to offer and will certainly tell you if your computer is about to die on you.