One of the biggest causes of your computer lagging or unexpected shutdowns is overheating. To prevent your computer from stuttering or slowing down occasionally, you need to maintain its optimum thermal range. For this you will need to check the CPU temperature on your PC from time to time. Here we will tell you how to check your computer’s CPU temperature to prevent your computer from overheating.
Check Your Computer’s CPU Temperature for Optimal Performance
You can control the CPU temperature from your computer’s BIOS/UEFI or via third-party software because Windows doesn’t offer a built-in tool for this. High CPU temperatures affect both laptop and desktop computers, and the methods we’ll describe below apply equally to both. Without further ado, let’s see how you can control the CPU temperature on your laptop or desktop for optimum performance.
1. Check CPU Temperature in BIOS
To enter the BIOS, you need to turn on your PC and repeatedly press a designated key before booting. The key varies from one vendor to the next, so you’ll need to do a web search to determine the correct key for your PC make and model. Usually ‘F2’ or ‘DEL’ (Delete). You’ll find the temperature under a BIOS menu, typically called ‘Hardware Monitor’, ‘PC Status’ or something similar.
2. Check CPU Temperature with Core Temp
If checking the BIOS seems too complicated, you can download and install a Windows application called ‘Core Temp’ that does exactly what it says on the box. It is a compact, hassle-free, reliable, small but powerful program to monitor the CPU temperature and other vital information on your computer. After running the software, you will immediately see the CPU temperature of your PC on the main screen of the application.
Download Core Temp: (Free)
What Is a Good CPU Temperature?
There is no such thing as a universal “good CPU temperature” because the ideal temperature for CPU/GPU/RAM differs based on chips and how they are grouped. This includes its TDPs and input Vcores because the amount of heat produced by a semiconductor chip is directly related to the amount of voltage it draws.
In most cases, however, temperatures around 40 degrees Celsius are ideal, but anything up to 60 degrees is acceptable. Unless for short periods of time, temperatures of 70 degrees or higher should be a cause for concern. Anything above 80 degrees can damage your PC, so it’s best to turn it off and let it cool before turning it back on.
Causes of High CPU Temperature on Desktop
One of the biggest causes of overheating in PCs is the accumulation of dust and spider webs on the fans and other components inside your case. This can block the airflow necessary for efficient cooling of any semiconductor chip in your PC, including the CPU, GPU, and RAM.
If your computer continues to record high temperatures without playing demanding games or running resource-intensive software, you should check for possible malware infestation. Crypto mining scripts and other data collection software running in the background tend to increase resource usage on computers, increase core temperatures, and decrease system performance.
Causes of High CPU Temperature in Laptops
CPU temperature needs to be monitored and controlled on both desktop and laptop computers. Each of the precautions detailed above applies equally to laptops. Whether you use a desktop or laptop, dust, dirt and spider webs are not your friend. That said, there are a few additional things to worry about if you want to fix overheating issues on laptops and gaming laptops.
This is because laptops, no matter how powerful, don’t have the massive coolers and fans used in desktops due to the obvious lack of space. High-end gaming desktops also have control over temperatures, which is something MIA in gaming laptops, despite Acer Nitro, Asus ROG, HP Omen, Lenovo Legion, Alienware and many other machines like Acer Nitro, Asus ROG, HP Omen, Lenovo Legion, Alienware and so on. There are often water-cooled solutions to keep them under. others come with desktop graphics cards that need high power cooling solutions.
While many high-end gaming laptops now come with case fans in addition to standard CPU coolers for heat dissipation, addressing laptop overheating issues and enabling their optional thermal performance remains a bigger challenge. This is especially true for gaming-focused machines that come with higher clocked processors and discrete graphics. However, you can easily monitor the CPU temperature on your laptops and lower the CPU temperature on your gaming laptops using the methods detailed above.
How to Lower CPU Temperature on Laptops and Desktops
To lower the temperature of your desktop computer, open the case and use air and a cloth to clean it, paying particular attention to both the CPU cooling fan and the case fans. With a laptop, you’ll need to use a little more elbow grease to get inside. Once there, use the same procedure to clean the device. This should lower the CPU temperature in most cases.
If that doesn’t work, scan your computer for possible malware. To do that, you should check out our list of the best Antivirus programs for Windows. Also uninstall programs that you no longer use, as some of them may be using too much system resources in the background, causing the CPU to overwork, increasing its temperature and shortening its lifespan.
To check which processes are taking up too much resources, open the Task Manager by simultaneously pressing the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys. Then check for faulty processes that are clogging your CPU or drawing too much power. In any case, they are responsible for your PC’s overheating problem. Remove them if they are not used much, or look for an alternative if you need to use a similar program.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
How Can I Check My CPU Fan Speed in Windows 10 and Windows 7?
The CPU fan is usually controlled by system resources based on usage. However, you can override this using third-party utilities on desktop computers. We recommend SpeedFan (Free) is one of the best programs to control fan speed on Windows 10 and Windows 7 machines. Note that you can only control the fan speed using third-party utilities on desktop computers, but not laptops. However, you can still use FanSpeed to monitor the fans on your laptop.
-
Is 85 Degrees Too Hot for My CPU?
As mentioned earlier, different CPUs have different levels of heat tolerance depending on the manufacturing process and how they are grouped. A temperature of 85°C (185°F) is highly undesirable but can be tolerated by some processors, but has an immediate effect on thermal throttling in others. In fact, most regular CPUs for consumer laptops and desktops can be severely damaged by these temperatures, so it’s best to shut down your computer and let it cool before using it again.
-
Does My System Need Liquid Cooling?
It depends on what you are doing with your computer. If you use it heavily for spreadsheets, word processing, emails, and Netflix, no, it doesn’t need liquid cooling. In fact, for most such systems you don’t even need to invest in aftermarket HSF (heatsink and fan). However, if you’re a hardcore gamer who plays graphics-intensive games, it’s definitely an option. Especially if you are into modding and overclocking. For most regular users, though, you don’t have to worry about that. Just keep your computer physically clean and don’t litter.
-
What Happens If Your CPU Gets Too Hot?
Most of today’s computers, both laptop and desktop computers, have built-in mechanism for detecting overheating. So when your CPU starts to get hot, the BIOS can detect it and increase the fan speed to fix this problem. However, if the temperature continues to rise, the self-defense mechanism kicks in harder and you experience what is known as ‘thermal throttling’. So the processor starts running at a slower speed to dissipate less heat. This slows down your computer and causes frequent lag and lag. Eventually, most computers will automatically shut down to protect themselves from destruction.
-
How Do I Know If My CPU Is Overheating?
You can review the methods described in this article to check the CPU temperature on your laptop or desktop computer. At idle you shouldn’t get temperatures well above 40 degrees Celsius, but anything up to 60 degrees is generally considered acceptable when under some stress.
Easily Check CPU Temperature on Your Computer
Constantly high CPU temperatures are a surefire way to harm your computer. So, to easily check the CPU temperature on your PC, take a look at the above methods and act according to the steps described above. If you follow the T guide, you hope you will prevent the premature death of your beloved computer and even improve its performance while it is running. So how hot is your computer running? Let us know in the comments below.
Support our work ❤️
If you enjoyed this article, consider leaving a tip to help us keep publishing great content.
