How to read GPU (graphic card) temperature?

Question

I am interested in a way how to read GPU temperature (graphics processing unit, main chip of graphic card), by using some video card driver API?

Everyone knows that there two different chip manufacturers (popular ones, at least) - ATI and nVIDIA - so there are two different kinds of drivers to read temperature from. I'm interested in learning how to do it for each different card driver.

Language in question is irrelevant - it could be C/C++, .NET platform, Java, but let's say that .NET is preferred.

Anyone been doing this before?

Solution 1

For nVidia you would use nvcpl.dll.

Here's the documentation:
http://developer.download.nvidia.com/SDK/9.5/Samples/DEMOS/common/src/NvCpl/docs/NVControlPanel_API.pdf

Solution 2

I found this: AMD Display Library SDK (ADL for short). That covers ATI cards.

http://developer.amd.com/display-library-adl-sdk/

Link to the original page, via Wayback Machine:

http://web.archive.org/web/20101103020811/http://developer.amd.com/gpu/adlsdk/Pages/default.aspx

Comments

[mr.b]

Although this is a partial answer to my question (as stated in answer, covers only nVidia), I'll mark it as answer. See below for my own ATI-related findings.

[devsnd]

The link is dead. The new link is developer.amd.com/display-library-adl-sdk