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How Do You Check Temperature Of Your CPU?

Whatever the reason be, many of us face overheating issues in our CPUs during extensive loads. This sudden rise in the temperature of your laptop harms the battery life of the device.

Not only this, overheating the PC can end up damaging your video card or other vital components. When a laptop battery produces more heat than its capacity, it can explode. However, this is not going to blast out but can leave severe burns behind. This makes it important to constantly monitor your CPU temperature.

And if you are not able to fix your CPU overheating, you might even want to upgrade desktop processor.

You can easily monitor your CPU’s temperature using BIOS/UEFI or downloading a trusted third-party application. The primarily used software to check CPU temperature is Real Temp, CPU thermometer, Core Temp, and H/W monitor.

This article is going to be a detailed guide on checking the temperature of your CPU and tips to avoid overheating the CPU.

How To Check Temperature Of Your CPU?

If you don’t wish to install any third-party application for checking the temperature of your CPU then BIOS/UEFI is good to start with. Here’s how to do that: Check Your CPU’s Temperature Without Any Software — From BIOS/UEFI

BIOS(Basic Input Output System) is a backend part of your system with the firmware settings. In the latest versions of Windows BIOS has been replaced with UEFI(Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). When it comes to performing tasks, both are mostly similar.

Here are the steps that will guide you in checking CPU temperature using BIOS/UEFI:

  • Go to the settings menu of your Windows PC and navigate to recovery options. Here you have to click on “Advanced startup” to proceed with BIOS. Click on Restart.
  • Your PC will restart and will display some advanced startup options before it restarts completely. Click on the Troubleshoot button and then Advanced options to proceed.
  • Select the Restart option and this will show you the BIOS of your PC along with the temp and other details of your Device.

Note: This method doesn’t work for all the PC users

Checking Your CPU’s Temperature Using Third-Party Applications

If you wish to monitor your CPU temperature very often then using a third-party application to get the job done will be a perfect option for you. I am listing below a few applications that can be used to monitor CPU temperature.

7 Best Applications To Monitor CPU Temperature

If you search “applications for checking CPU temp”, you will be shown dozens of applications claiming to do so. But to get the most appropriate results there are only a few that you can trust. I am listing 7 of them and I have tested them on my PC to observe the variations in the results.

HW Monitor

The first one on my list is the HW monitor. It is a hardware monitoring program from CPUID. Not only for checking temperatures but also for measuring voltages and currents across the CPU, GPU, and other components of your PC. Just having a giant gaming PC doesn’t mean that you will end up winning all the sports championships.

Here’s how you can check the temperature of your CPU using the HW Monitor application.

  • Download the HW Monitor app for your PC from the website. You have to choose the variant depending on your operating system. Once you have downloaded the setup, launch it and follow all the prompts to complete the installation process.
  • Open the HW monitor app from your downloads and you will temperature of your CPU cores. Along with temperature, you can also check the condition of various other components. This software is quite simple and free to use.

Core Temp

Core temp is a free, simple, compact, and powerful tool for monitoring your CPU temperature and other important information. This application tells you the temperature of every single core of the processor of your device. The live fluctuations in the temperature of your CPU can be seen using core temp. You can use custom standards to measure the temperature. Coretemp uses DTS(Digital Thermal Sensor) to monitor the temperature as it is a component present in all the processors. You can also add multiple plugins to the application to expand its functionality.

Here’s how you can check the temperature of your CPU Core Temp:

  • Download the Core temp app from the website and click on the downloaded setup file to continue the installation process. Accept all the prompts and install the application by clicking on the finish button.
  • Once you are done with the installation process, open the core temp app and it will directly show the current temp of your CPU cores. You can find other options for refreshing, customizing, etc on the same window.

Real Temp-Cpu Temperature Monitoring Tool

Real temp is another CPU temperature monitoring tool for all intel processors with single and multi-core processors. This tool also makes use of the digital thermal sensor(DTS) for examining the processor temp. Each core of the processor has a DTS that tells temperature to Tj max. Tj max is the maximum safe operating temperature for the processor.

Real temp can calibrate the temp for each CPU core. This application keeps track of the highest and lowest temperatures with a logging file. Older Pentium processors are not supported by this tool.

Here’s how you can check the temperature of your CPU Using Real Temp:

  • Download the Real temp app from the website. The application comes in form of a zip file which you need to extract. Once extracted, search for the app from the Start menu and launch it.
  • Once your app opens, it will show the temperature of your CPU along with a button for refreshing, sensor testing, and other settings.

Speccy

Speccy is a tool to know more and monitor your PC hardware. This software comes in handy when you have to monitor the temp of your Pc components or you are wishing to upgrade them. This saves a lot of time and presents you with detailed reports of the components such as RAM, CPU, GPU, etc. You can easily find out the issues caused by the rising temperatures of the CPU and fix them before any damage occurs. Once you have examined your CPU temperature and other information, speccy allows you to take the snapshot for easy sharing.

Here’s how you can check the temperature of your CPU Using Speccy:

  • There are 3 versions of Speccy depending on the pricing and features you require. Download the Speccy app from the website and install it using the setup file.
  • Once you open the Speccy after the installation, you will see multiple options to monitor your different pc components. Click on CPU and it will show all the details regarding your processor and temperature in detail.

HW Info- PC Hardware Diagnostic Tool

HWiNFO gathers all information about your pc hardware including the temperature of vital components in detail. You get the most accurate monitoring status and system failure predictions. This tool is mostly used by professionals for industry standards and is even used by NASA. HWiNFO allows you to save personalized reports on your hardware components. This tool provides extensions and third-party plugins for constant monitoring of the temperature of the processor.

Here’s how you can check the temperature of your CPU Using HWiNFO:

  • Visit the website and download the application for your system. Click on the downloaded files and start accepting the prompts to install the file. Once, you are done with the installation process, open the app and you will be asked to run the HWiNFO. Click on the start button.
  • After you enter into the application, click on sensors and then find your CPU cores and their temperatures. You can download all the information in form of reports.

NZXT CAM — PC Monitoring Tool

NZXT is a company for a custom PC build and gaming peripherals. NZXT Cam is a tool from the same company for monitoring the temperature, performance and overclocking, etc. Additionally, you can also see how all the applications running on your PC are utilizing the resources. You can also monitor your Hardware components in the middle of gaming sessions in case you sense any issues.

Major features of NZXT Cam Include:

  • Current FPS
  • CPU / GPU Temperature
  • Time Played
  • Battery Level
  • CPU / GPU Load

Here’s how you can check the temperature of your CPU Using NZXT CAM:

  • Download the App set up from the cam website and start with the installation process. Open the app and create an account or continue with the guest account.
  • You will see details of all your PC components including CPU, GPU, fan speed, etc. To know in detail about your processor temperature click on the CPU.

These were 7 different applications that you can use to check the temperature of your CPU and monitor other hardware components of your PC.

How Can I Prevent Overheating Of My PC?

Finally, here are some tips to keep your system cooler and prevent it from overheating:

Always keep your system’s case closed as this will stop debris and dust particles from clogging the cooling components. Clean your cooling fans regularly for effective functioning and upgrade them if required.

Try adding some extra cooling fans for memory, case, and power supply. A fan for the power supply is a must as it pushes out the warm air. Be extra careful when performing stress tests and overclocking components.

If you feel like all the fans or cooling pastes are failing to keep your CPU cooler, you can go for an optimal liquid cooling solution.

What is the Normal Temperature for CPUs?

The normal temperature for a CPU is subjective to the model, manufacturer, and load on it.

Under normal temperatures, the temperature of most CPUs lies in the range of 30 to 70 degrees Celsius (86 to 158 degrees Fahrenheit).

When your PC is simply ON, the ideal CPU temperature should be around 30 to 45 degrees Celsius (86 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit).

On running complex applications or playing graphics-intensive games, the CPU temperature can increase and reach around 60 to 70 degrees Celsius (140 to 158 degrees Fahrenheit).

The Conclusion

Your CPU and all other vital PC components must be taken care of for optimal performance and a longer lifespan. Monitoring the temperature of your CPU can help you predict any issues earlier reducing the chances of failure. The above-mentioned applications can help you in monitoring your PC temperature efficiently.