What is the simplest way I could get a hobby motor to speed up & slow down proportionally with my computer's CPU usage?

Preferably Via usb...since my serial ports are all occupied, and they're almost a dead tech. I was looking around, I don't even know how to go about searching it because the only keywords I can think of to search for any kind of project near this would be "cpu monitor", And then google lists the next X results trying to sell me CPUs and LCD screens.

Any help would be appreciated, please avoid leaving me with the only alternative buying an arduino or bread board.

I'm categorizing this in microcontrollers because I have no clue how else to go about doing this, if anyone else has a simpler idea, or a diferent method, please mention it.

Thanks
-Spence

Comments

[seandogue]

(removed by author or community request)

[mr monoply33]

Actually, what's what I ended up dong. Now I'm just messing with a servo. I originally thought that the plugs were just kinda there, powered as the drives were, so, I tried to make an adapter to use the fan plugs as 'charge only' USB ports. It was an interesting adventure. First, they were dead, I checked my wiring, then I checked the plugs with a volt meter, then hit google. While on google, I had a keyboard light plugged in, and noticed at one point it came on, kind of laughed it off, and replied to a few emails, in a few minutes, I noticed the light seemed to be a bit brighter, then it blew out. -> back to google for an explanation as to, "wtf" just happened, sure enough, it's a variable supply, and I have my BIOS settings for heat tolerance way down since I have a very hodgepodge cooling system. Now I'm working on hardware. Thanks -Spence

[cvianna1]

I believe there may be some apps all ready written for this kind of thing. Check out the "opensource project". Most of them work with the temp sensor in your bios.

[lemonie]

Your mainboard will probably have a CPU temperature monitor (i.e. it reads a thermocouple in the die), but beyond that I do not know.

It's a "build-it-yourself" software thing you want, and I mean "build-it-yourself" because I wouldn't think anyone else has done it.

L

[mr monoply33]

It does, in the setting before my OS loads, I can set an alarm to go off when it hits a certain temperature, so I know it does read that somehow.

[lemonie]

You can find (software) monitors if you go looking, but you'd want the source-code, you get to things like this:
http://docs.sun.com/source/817-1331-10/asm.html#33598

L