How to Check Your CPU Temperature
Checking your PC’s CPU temperature is like checking the oil in your car. You don’t have to do it every day, but you should check your processor temperature every few months. This is especially true if you regularly load your system with heavy loads as you would with a CPU that is best suited for gaming, or if you are an enthusiast who overclocks your CPU. Ultimately, keeping the CPU temperature under control improves performance and reliability.
Luckily, it’s easy to check your CPU temperature without having to open your PC and stick a thermometer inside. Instead, all CPUs have a built-in digital temperature sensor, so all you need is software to read the readings on Windows 10, Windows 11, and other operating systems.
Below we will tell you how to check your CPU temperature, what is the safe temperature range for your CPU, and what to do if your CPU temperature is too high.
How to check CPU temperature in Windows 10 and 11
Checking your CPU temperature is as easy as installing and using monitoring software and reading the values. With multiple programs to choose from, it has the best tools for checking your CPU temperature. core temperature (opens in new tab)NZXT CAM (opens in new tab), AIDA64, HWiINFOAlso hardware monitorFor more advanced users, or if you have overclocked your CPU and want more detailed measurements, Intel’s eXtreme Tuning Utility (XTU) When AMD’s Ryzen Master The software is designed by chipmakers and offers a wide range of options as well.
These are just a few of the many examples, but we’ll show you how NZXT’s CAM and Core Temp work. CAM is developed in a PC case (opens in new tab)power supply (opens in new tab)and CPU cooler (opens in new tab)Manufacturer NZXT.You can download it here (opens in new tab)Although CAM is intended for use with the company’s products, it works very well as a casual monitoring tool for Windows 10 or Windows 11 even without NZXT hardware. to avoid creating user accounts. You can also disable the program from automatically starting with Windows if you don’t plan to use it often.
Installing CAM provides an intuitive user interface (UI). The first block (PC Monitoring) features CPU status showing load, temperature, clock speed, and cooling fan speed. You can click this block to access more details, as shown in his second image in the album above.
As you can see, the current temperature of the CPU in this system is 36 degrees Celsius, which is a normal idle temperature.
CAM also has an overlay that turns on automatically when you enter the game while CAM is running. This overlay displays your in-game CPU status and provides your favorite in-game temperature readings.
You can also monitor temperatures with the Core Temp tool, one of the best CPU temperature tools for Windows (Download here). This is a simple tool that works with a more basic UI. Uncheck freeware during installation.
Core Temp provides temperature readings for all cores of the CPU. To the left of the readings, you can see the real-time temperature of each CPU core, and you can also see the readings in the taskbar.However, it shows the absolute minimum and maximum temperatures recorded while the program was running[最小]column and[最大]I’m more interested in columns. The CPU in the image above has a minimum temperature of 32C and a maximum temperature of 51C, working at normal temperatures.
If you want to see your PC’s CPU temperature during normal use, you can leave Core Temp running while you perform common tasks. However, if you want to measure the maximum temperature possible, you can check by running the Prime95 stress test for about 30 minutes (Download here) On Windows 10 or Windows 11, be aware that this program puts a very heavy load on your PC.
The best way to monitor your temperature while gaming is to have a good session, then come back to the program and check the maximum recorded temperature. Be careful if this number is 95C or higher. Between 80°C and 95°C there may be room for improvement.
How to check CPU temperature in BIOS
Note that you can check the CPU temperature in your system BIOS or UEFI, but this only shows the idle CPU temperature. This means that booting Windows or any other operating system will significantly increase usage.
It’s very easy to enter the BIOS and check the CPU temperature. On most platforms, simply reboot the system and repeatedly click Delete or F2 on reboot. Not all motherboards list the CPU temperature, but almost all enthusiast and DIY motherboards do. Once you enter the BIOS, you can see the temperature in the Hardware Monitor section. This section is named PC Health Status or Status, etc. Again, use this only as a guide for idle CPU temperature. You should also check from within Windows 10 or Windows 11 when using your PC to get a more accurate picture of your CPU temperature (see below).
What is a safe CPU temperature?
If the CPU is idle, the safe temperature is below 50 degrees Celsius. Under heavy load, such as playing games, rendering videos, or other intensive tasks, the CPU consumes more power and therefore runs hotter. This “load temperature” is more important than the idle temperature (assuming the idle temperature is good). Therefore, you should regularly monitor CPU temperature under load to ensure proper cooling.
Ideally, the CPU should be kept below 80C under load. (opens in new tab)gaming laptop (opens in new tab), or Small Form Factor (SFF) computer. Additionally, AMD’s Ryzen 5000 processors are designed to run at up to 95C with the stock cooler, while Intel’s top-of-the-line Core i9 Alder Lake processors run at up to 100C during normal operation. .
So while the 80C threshold can serve as a general guideline, it is important to ensure that the processor does not hit the “TJ Max” (Temperature Junction Maximum) temperature. This is a safe limit for certain processors. TJ Max varies from chip to chip, but most monitoring software will have a value listed. Additionally, you can check the chip specifications on the manufacturer’s page.
Above 80C there is room for fine tuning, but temperatures above 95C are usually important. At this point some CPUs start throttling. This means that the clock speed of the chip will be reduced. (opens in new tab) It slows down to avoid overheating and may turn off your PC.
Advanced users who want maximum confidence that their CPU can handle aggressive workloads should stress test their CPU. (opens in new tab) to 100% using a program like Prime 95 (opens in new tab)Also AIDA64 (opens in new tab)When performing such a stress test, carefully monitor the temperature using the tools provided below and stop if it reaches too high a temperature (above 95 degrees Celsius). An ideal stress test would be 1 hour, but maximum body temperature may plateau after 10-15 minutes.
If you need specific advice on temperature and overclocking, check out our guide on how to overclock your CPU.
How to fix high CPU temperature
If your CPU temperature is above 80C under load, you should check your system to ensure proper CPU cooling. Here’s a checklist of things to look for:
- Is your PC clean and dust free (including radiators and intake fans/filters)?
- Are all your PC’s fans spinning under load?
- When was the last time you applied new thermal paste between the CPU and CPU cooler? If it’s been more than 3 years, consider reapplying the thermal paste.
- Does your model’s CPU cooler specify a higher cooling capacity than the CPU’s rated TDP?
For SFF PCs and laptops, cooling may be minimal as the device is not intended for heavy usage for extended periods of time. For example, most laptops come with very compact cooling solutions, good for short bursts of performance, but slow enough to stay below the shutoff threshold during long gaming sessions. must be dropped.gaming laptop (opens in new tab) They are often bulky due to the large cooling systems crammed into them.
If you have a full size gaming PC (opens in new tab)However, it is recommended to reapply thermal paste to the CPU if cooling seems adequate. (opens in new tab)The performance of most thermal pastes degrades significantly after about three years. Applying a fresh paste (here’s a list of the best thermal pastes) and cleaning your system from dust can significantly improve cooling and performance. This applies to both off-the-shelf and custom-built PCs. (opens in new tab).
Additionally, as part of your PC tune-up, you should make sure you have the right cooler. Many off-the-shelf CPU coolers that come bundled with CPUs or installed in pre-built systems are inadequate to get the chip’s full performance. This is often the case for Intel CPU coolers on Core i5 and newer processors. You should follow the stress test steps above to check your CPU temperature under Windows 10 or Windows 11 load to ensure your cooler doesn’t overwhelm your CPU under heavy load.