The TCM1617 is a serially programmable temperature sensor optimized for monitoring modern high performance CPUs with on-board integrated thermal diodes. Temperature data is converted from the CPU's thermal diode outputs and made available as an 8-Bit digital word. Communication with the TCM1617 is accomplished via the standard System Management Bus (SMBus) commonly used in modern computer systems. This permits reading the current internal/external temperature, programming the threshold setpoints, and configuring the device. Additionally, an interrupt is generated on the ALERT# pin when temperature moves outside the preset threshold windows in either direction.