GPUProbe adds VRAM, hotspot and 12VHPWR sensors to MSI Afterburner
MSI Afterburner developer Alexey Nicolaychuk has demonstrated a revived and imporved version of the GPUProbe plugin that can expose sensors not normally supported by the software. This includes GPU hotspot readings, individual VRAM module temperatures and power monitoring hardware found on custom graphics cards.
The original GPUProbe implementation used by RivaTuner could only create sensors from data read through GPU MMIO registers. Nicolaychuk says the MSI Afterburner version can also communicate with arbitrary devices connected to the GPU through I2C buses.
The idea of exploring undocumented GPU registers via MMIO is becoming popular again today due to RTX 50×0 GPU hotspot drama. So I decided to revive original RivaTuner’s GPUProbe, it is returning as a built-in plugin for MSI Afterburner.
— Alexey Nicolaychuk (@AlexUnwinder) August 6, 2026
This gives GPUProbe access to hardware such as VRM controllers, monitoring chips and onboard microcontrollers. According to the developer, users can define new sensors through relatively small configuration entries rather than waiting for native MSI Afterburner support.
© Unwinder ROG Astral power monitoring
One example uses ASUS ROG Astral graphics cards, which include hardware capable of monitoring current across individual 12VHPWR power pins. GPUProbe can expose these readings inside MSI Afterburner and create a binary “12VHPWR alarm” sensor.
© Unwinder The example configuration triggers the alarm when current on a single pin exceeds 12A or when the difference between any two pins exceeds 5.5A. Nicolaychuk says this effectively reproduces the logic used by ASUS GPU Safeguard+ protection.
MSI Afterburner can then react to that sensor. Users could configure the software to reduce the GPU power limit if the alarm remains active for at least five seconds or shut down the system entirely. The same GPUProbe interface can also be used to explore undocumented sensors on Ampere, Ada and Blackwell GPUs, although the graphics card must still include the required monitoring hardware.
Alternative to HWiNFO
Alexey did not share a download link for the plugin. Based on his previous comments, he may also be limited in how much of this functionality can be integrated directly into MSI Afterburner due to agreements involving MSI and NVIDIA.
NVIDIA has not published the documentation needed to expose some of these readings, including hotspot and individual VRAM temperature sensors, through a more conventional implementation. And yes, we did try to learn from NVIDIA if they planned to, but shortly put, they ignored our inquiry. This leaves GPUProbe as a tool mainly aimed at enthusiasts who are comfortable adding and testing custom sensor configurations.
Most users will likely continue running tools such as HWiNFO in the background and setting up alerts there when needed. GPUProbe appears more useful for users who want to keep monitoring and protective actions inside MSI Afterburner, or who want to experiment with sensors that Afterburner does not support natively.
Source: Unwinder
