How to Check Your CPU Temperature | Tom's Hardware

Checking your CPU temperature is as easy as installing and using monitoring software and then reading the value. The same techniques apply ... Skiptomaincontent Tom'sHardware Tom'sHardware Search RSS (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) (opensinnewtab) UKUSAustraliaCanada Reviews BestPicks RaspberryPi CPUs GPUs Coupons More Laptops SSDs Motherboards Cooling Desktops PCBuilds Monitors RAM PCCases Keyboards Headsets Mice PowerSupplies 3DPrinters VRHeadsets AboutTom'sHardware Forums(opensinnewtab) TrendingBestTechDealsGPUBenchmarkHierarchyAMDRyzen7000CPURankings Tom'sHardwareissupportedbyitsaudience.Whenyoupurchasethroughlinksonoursite,wemayearnanaffiliatecommission.Here’swhyyoucantrustus. Jumpto: CheckYourCPUTempinWindows CheckCPUTempinBIOS SafeCPUTemperatures HowtoFixHighCPUTemps? (Imagecredit:AlanSheldon/Shutterstock)CheckingyourPC'sCPUtemperatureissimilar tocheckingyourcar'soil:Youdon'tneedtodoitdaily,butyou'llneedtocheckyourprocessor'stemperatureseveryfewmonths.Thisisespeciallytrueifyouregularlystrainyoursystemwithhigherloadslikeyou'lldowiththeBestCPUsforgaming,orifyou'reanenthusiastthatoverclocksyourCPU. Ultimately,keepingyourCPUtemperaturesundercontrolimprovesperformanceandreliability. Luckily,checkingyourCPUtemperatureissimpleanddoesn'trequireyoutoopenupyourPCandstickathermometerinside.Instead,everyCPUcomeswithbuilt-indigitalthermalsensors,soallyouneedisabitofsoftwaretoreadthemeasurementsinWindows10,Windows11,andotheroperatingsystems. Belowwe'llbreakdownhowtocheckyourCPUtemperature,whatasaferangeoftemperaturesisforaCPU,andwhattodoifyourCPU'stemperaturesaretoohigh.HowtoCheckYourCPUTemperatureinWindows10and11CheckingyourCPUtemperatureisaseasyasinstallingandusingmonitoringsoftwareandthenreadingthevalue.ThesametechniquesapplytoWindows10andWindows11,andeventhenewWindows1122H2updatethatiscomingsoon(youcanfindouthowtodownloadtheupdatehere). Therearemultipleprogramstochoosefrom,withthebesttoolsforcheckingCPUtemperature,includingCoreTemp(opensinnewtab),NZXT'sCAM(opensinnewtab),AIDA64,HWiINFO,orHWMonitor.Formoreadvancedusers,orifyou'reoverclockingyourCPUandwantmorein-depthmeasurements,Intel'seXtremeTuningUtility(XTU)andAMD'sRyzenMastersoftwarearedesignedbythechipmakersandalsoofferexpansiveoptions. Thesearejustafewexamplesofmany,butwe'llshowyouhowNZXT'sCAMandCoreTempworkbecausewehavefoundthatthesetwoaretheeasiesttoinstallanduse. CAMisdevelopedbyPCcase(opensinnewtab),powersupply(opensinnewtab),andCPUcooler(opensinnewtab)manufacturerNZXT.Youcandownloadithere(opensinnewtab).WhileCAMisintendedtobeusedwiththecompany'sproducts,itworksreallywellasacasualmonitoringtoolinWindows10orWindows11,evenifyoudon'thaveanyNZXThardware. YoucanusethesoftwareinGuestModetoavoidcreatingauseraccount,andyoucanalsodisabletheprogramfromstartingautomaticallywithWindowsifyoudon'tplanonusingitoften.Image1of2(Imagecredit:Tom'sHardware)(Imagecredit:Tom'sHardware)Onceinstalled,CAMoffersawell-presenteduserinterface(UI).Thefirstblock(PCMonitoring)featurestheCPU'sstatus,whichshowstheload,temperature,clockspeed,andcoolerfanspeed.Youcanclickonthisblocktoaccessfurtherdetails,asshowninthesecondimageintheabovealbum.Asyoucansee,thecurrenttemperatureofthissystem'sCPUis36C,whichisahealthyidletemperature. CAMalsohasanoverlay,whichautomaticallyturnsonwhenyouenteragamewhenCAMisrunning.ThisoverlaycanshowyouyourCPU'sstatuswhilein-game,providingyouwithtemperaturemeasurementsduringyourfavoritegame. Image1of2(Imagecredit:Tom'sHardware)(Imagecredit:Tom'sHardware)YoucanalsousetheCoreTemptool,oneofthebestCPUtemperaturetoolsforWindows,tomonitorthetemperatures(downloadhere).ThisisasimplertoolthatworkswithamorebasicUI.Justbesuretountickthefreewareduringinstallation. CoreTempprovidestemperaturemeasurementsforeverycoreinyourCPU.Theleft-handsideofthemeasurementsshowsthereal-timetemperatureofeachCPUcore,andyoucanalsoseethemeasurementsinthetaskbar.Butwe'remoreinterestedintheMinandMaxcolumns,whichshowtheabsoluteminimumandtheabsolutepeaktemperaturerecordedwhiletheprogramruns.TheCPUintheaboveimagehashadaminimumtemperatureof32Candamaximumof51Candis,therefore,runningatanormaltemperature. IfyouwanttocheckyourPC'sCPUtemperatureduringnormaluse,youcanleaveCoreTemprunningwhileyouperformcommontasks.However,ifyouwanttomeasurethemaximumpossibletemperature,youcancheckbyrunningaPrime95stresstestforabout30minutes(downloadhere)inWindows10orWindows11.JustbeawarethatthisprogramputsanextremelyheavyloadonyourPC. Thebestwaytomonitoryourtemperaturewhilegamingistojusthaveagoodsessionandthencheckbackinwiththeprogramtoseethemaximumrecordedtemperature.Youshouldbeconcernedifthisfigureisatorbeyond95C.Anythingbetween80Cand95Cmayhaveroomforimprovement.HowtoCheckYourCPUTemperatureintheBIOSYoucancheckyourCPUtemperatureinthesystemBIOSorUEFI,butbeawarethatthiswillonlyshowyourCPUtemperatureatidle.ThatmeansyouwillseemuchhigherusewhenyouarebootedintoWindowsoranotheroperatingsystem. It'sprettysimpleto entertheBIOS tocheckyourCPUtemperature.Onthemajorityofplatforms,yousimplyrebootthesystemandclickdeleteorF2repeatedlyasitrestarts.NotallmotherboardslisttheCPUtemperature,butnearlyallenthusiastorDIYmotherboardsdo.Onceyou'reintheBIOS,youwillseethetemperaturelistedintheHardwareMonitorsection,whichcanalsobenamedPCHealthStatusorStatus,amongothersimilarnames.Again,onlyusethisasanindicationofidleCPUtemperatures—youshouldalsocheckfromwithinWindows10orWindows11togetabetterideaofCPUtemperatureswhenyou'reusingthePC(seebelow). What'saSafeCPUTemperature?WhentheCPUisidle,asafetemperatureisanythingunderoraround50C.Underhigherload,suchaswhenplayingagame,renderingavideo,orotherintensivetasks,yourCPUconsumesmorepowerand,thus,runsatahighertemperature.This'loadtemperature'ismoreimportantthanidletemperatures(assumingidletempsarefine),soyou'llwanttoperiodicallymonitoryourCPUtemperatureunderloadtoensureit'sadequatelycooled. Underload,youwantyourCPUtoideallystayunder80C,thoughsomeCPUsmayrunhotterwhenthey'reinultrabooks(opensinnewtab),gaminglaptops(opensinnewtab),orsmall-form-factor(SFF)computers.Additionally,AMD'sRyzen5000processorsaredesignedtorunatupto95Cwithastockcooler,whiletheRyzen7000seriesisalsodesignedtorunat95Cevenwithawatercooler.Meanwhile,Intel'shighest-endCorei9AlderLakeprocessorswillrunupto100Cduringnormaloperation.Thesetemperaturesarewithinspecandexpectedforthesespecificprocessors. Assuch,whilethe80Cthresholdservesasagoodgeneralindicator,itisimportanttoensurethatyourprocessordoesn'texceedits'TJMax'(TemperatureJunctionMaximum)temperature,whichisthesafelimitforanygivenprocessor.TheTJMaxvariesbychip,butmostmonitoringsoftwareliststhevalue.Additionally,youcancheckthechip'sspecificationsonthemanufacturer'spage. Forolderchips,youhavesomewiggleroomtocreeppast80C,butanythingabove95Cistypicallycritical.Atthispoint,someCPUswillbeginthrottling,meaningthechipwillreduceitsclockspeed(opensinnewtab)andslowdowntoensureitdoesn'toverheat,andyourPCmayturnoff.MoreadvanceduserswhowanttheutmostconfidencethattheirCPUcanhandleaggressiveworkloadsshouldstresstesttheirCPU(opensinnewtab)to100%usingaprogramlikePrime95(opensinnewtab)orAIDA64(opensinnewtab).Whenrunningsuchastresstest,keepacloseeyeonthetemperatures,usingthetoolsmentionedbelow,andbackoffoncetheyreachtoohigh(above95C).Weconsideranidealstresstesttobeonehourlong,thoughyourmaximumtemperaturewilllikelyleveloffafter10-15minutes. Ifyou'relookingforspecificadviceabouttemperaturesandoverclocking,headtoourHowtoOverclockaCPUguide. HowtoFixHighCPUTemperaturesIfyourCPUtemperatureexceeds80Cunderload,youshouldcheckyoursystemtoensuretheCPU'scoolingisadequate. Here'sachecklistofthingstolookfor:IsyourPCcleanandfreeofdust(includingtheradiatorandintakefans/filters)?AreallyourPC'sfansspinningunderload?WhenwasthelasttimeyouappliedfreshthermalpastebetweenyourCPUandCPUcooler?Ifit'sbeenoverthreeyears,considerre-applyingthethermalpaste.DoesyourmodelCPUcoolerspecifyahighercoolingcapacitythanyourCPU'sratedTDP?ForSFFPCsandlaptops,it'spossiblethatthere'sminimalcooling,asthedevicewasneverintendedtobeusedunderhighloadsforextendedperiodsoftime.Forexample,mostlaptopscomewithverycompactcoolingsolutionsthatworkwellforshort-termperformanceburstsbutneedtoslowdownduringextendedgamingsessionstostaybelowtheshut-offthreshold.Gaminglaptops(opensinnewtab)areoftenbulkybecausethey'repackedwithextensivecoolingsystems. Ifyouareusingafull-sizegamingPC(opensinnewtab),however,andthinkyourcoolingshouldbeadequate,youmaywanttore-applythermalpastetoyourCPU(opensinnewtab).Mostthermalpaste'sperformanceseriouslydegradesafteraboutthreeyears.Applyingfreshpaste(here'salistofthebestthermalpastes)andcleaningthesystemfromdustcanoffermuchbettercoolingpowerandsignificantlybetterperformance.Thisappliesbothtopre-builtandcustom-builtPCs(opensinnewtab). Additionally,aspartofanyPCtune-up,you'llwanttomakesurethatyourcoolerisadequate.ManyofthestockCPUcoolersthatcomeeitherbundledwiththeCPUorinstalledinpre-builtsystemsaren'tadequatetogiveyouthefullperformanceofthechip.ThisoftenappliestoIntelCPUcoolersonCorei5andaboveprocessors.You'llneedtofollowthestresstestingstepsoutlinedabovetocheckCPUtemperaturesunderloadinWindows10orWindows11toensurethatthecoolerdoesn'tgetoverwhelmedbytheCPUwhenitisunderheavyload. MORE:Ryzen7000AllWeKnowMORE:RaptorLakeAllWeKnowMORE: CPUBenchmarkHierarchyMORE:AMDvsIntelMORE:HowtoOverclockaCPU PaulAlcornDeputyManagingEditorPaulAlcornistheDeputyManagingEditorforTom'sHardwareUS.HewritesnewsandreviewsonCPUs,storageandenterprisehardware. Topics CPUs Seeallcomments(5) 5Comments Commentfromtheforums Ikeepafterburnerrunningononeofmymonitors,soicheckitallthetime,doesn'teveryone?:unsure: Reply Inthisarticle,itissaid"itisimportanttoensurethatyourprocessordoesn'texceeditsTJMax". However,itisnotpossibletoexceedtheTJMaxbecausethereareinternalthermalcontrolmechanismsintheCPUthatareautomaticallyreducingpowerifyoureachTJMax. Source:https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005597/processors.htmlOfcourse,youwillhavebadperformancesonyoursystemifithappenssoitisbettertoreplaceyourcoolingsolutionforabetterone. Inthisarticle,thepopularexamplesofmonitoringprogramsareallproprietarysoftware. Itmeansthattheycancontainmaliciousfunctionalitiesanditishardfortheusertotrustthem. So,Irecommendanalternativeopen-sourcemonitoringprogramlikeopenhardwaremonitor. Reply Idoamodestoverclockandsay"goodenough".ItkeepsthetemperaturedowntoareasonablelevelandIcangetawaywithaircooling.Frankly,itisreallyhardtoseethebenefitsofoverclockingtheCPUanymoreexceptincertainprograms.Asagamerwitha4Kmonitor,IgetthebestGPUthatIcanaffordanddon'tworrythatmuchaboutCPUclocksandnoneatallonmemoryspeeds. Reply I'mhappywithmine,thoughIdidn'tgettheCPUcoolerIwanted.Comingfromthedayswhen60°ConanAMDprocessorwasbad,even75°Cisn'tidealforme,despitebeing15°Cunderthemaximum,usingaCorsairH150iandArcticMX-5. NormallyIgofortheoptimalbalancebetweenvoltageandspeed.Onmyprevious3700XIcoulddo4.2ghzallcoreat1.2v,sadlythis5950Xisfarfromagoldensample,requiring1.3vtodo4.5/4.7allcore,orreallyanyoverclockatall,thoughit'sstillalotbetterthanPBOwithnolimitsandcurveoptimizerpercorecando,itcan'tevenhitadvertisedboostspeedsundersinglethreadedworkloads. Still,ImissthedaysofWindows7andWidgets,theAIDA64widgetwasawonderfulswissarmyknifeofCPUusageandtemps,networkusage,memoryusage,andaplethoraofotherthings... Reply NowtellushowtoturnonPC Reply ViewAll5Comments Showmorecomments BeIntheKnow Getinstantaccesstobreakingnews,in-depthreviewsandhelpfultips. ContactmewithnewsandoffersfromotherFuturebrands Receiveemailfromusonbehalfofourtrustedpartnersorsponsors ThankyouforsigninguptoTom'sHardware.Youwillreceiveaverificationemailshortly. Therewasaproblem.Pleaserefreshthepageandtryagain. MOSTPOPULARMOSTSHARED1AMDB650MotherboardsListedatU.S.RetailerStartingat$1992AMDPrepsRadeonProW63002GBGPUForDesktops3Best3DPrinters2022:FDM,ResinandSub-$250Models4HowToSetUpanSSHKeyForSecureConnections5BestPasswordManagers2022:FreeandPaid1AMDB650MotherboardsListedatU.S.RetailerStartingat$1992AMDPrepsRadeonProW63002GBGPUForDesktops3Best3DPrinters2022:FDM,ResinandSub-$250Models4HowToSetUpanSSHKeyForSecureConnections5BestPasswordManagers2022:FreeandPaid