The heat dissipation of modern processors, amounting to several tens of watts, requires reliable operation of the cooling system. Dust accumulating in a heatsink or a malfunctioning fan can cause the computer's main chip die to heat up to dangerous temperatures (over 100 degrees). To prevent this, processors have built-in temperature sensors. The data received from them is used by the motherboard for emergency shutdown of the computer in a critical situation.
You can find out the processor temperature even before the system boots by entering the BIOS setup. To enter the BIOS setup mode, you need to press a special button at the beginning of the computer boot, most often it is “Delete”, sometimes “F2” (in Intel motherboards) - in any case, the appropriate prompt will appear on the screen (“BIOS setting F2”, “Del BIOS setup", etc.). The location of the required section in the menu can also be different.
For example, like this:
This is what the "Hardware Monitor" itself looks like:
CPU Temperature - this is the temperature of the central processor. In this case, it is equal to 34°C. Here you can also view the fan speed and system voltage.
Another variant:
In this case, the required section is called "PC Health Status", in translation - "Health status of a personal computer".
"Current CPU Temperature" - "The current temperature of the processor", in this example it was 29 degrees.
There are other names, such as "H / W Monitor" (short for "Hardware Monitor"). In any case, it is not difficult to find this BIOS setup section, while it makes it possible to preliminarily evaluate the performance of the cooling system. If already at this stage of the test the temperature quickly rises to fifty degrees, it is recommended to urgently check the condition of the radiator (degree of clogging with dust), fan and thermal paste (which could dry out).
More objective data on the temperature of the processor while working with the programs used can be obtained using special utilities, which are often available on the disk included with the motherboard (you can also download them from the official website of the manufacturer support.asus.com.tw by selecting the product, series and model, then the operating system and going to the item "Utilities").
Example - "PC Probe" from Asus:
There is also special software that can work with any motherboards and processors. Of the free programs, Core Temp should be especially noted. The official site from which you can download this application is www.alcpu.com
This is what the Core Temp window looks like:
The screenshot shows that the program shows much more detailed information than the utility from the motherboard manufacturer. You can find out not only the temperatures of all processor cores, but also the frequency at which it operates at a given time. The program supports Intel, AMD and VIA processors. Through the "Service" menu, you can get even more detailed information about the system, take a screenshot. In the "Options" menu, it is possible to enable overheating protection, while the program will inform the user that the processor has reached the specified critical temperature, you can also automatically turn off the system in this case or put it into sleep mode after a specified period of time.
The temperature of a computer, like that of a person, is one of the most important “health” parameters that must be monitored, and if deviations from the norm are detected, carry out appropriate preventive procedures (In the case of a computer, cleaning from dust and replacing thermal paste).
From this article on the site, you will learn how to find out the temperature of the hottest or laptop - processor, video card, how to conduct a simple overheating test under load, and how to interpret the results.
How to find out the temperature of the computer / laptop processor? AIDA64 program.
For control cpu and video card temperatures I use AIDA64 program. You can download a free 30-day version (the functionality is enough for us) with official website program developers. Or, you can search for cracked AIDA on torrents.
After downloading and running the program, you will see the main window.
You need to select "Computer" in the menu on the left, then "Sensors". You will see something like this:
This is on my computer in a lightly loaded state (actually writing this article - a browser is running, an FTP client is running, music from VK is playing.). We are interested in 2 parameters here, namely:
CPU temperature (CPU) and its nuclei. For me it is 35-40 degrees.
Graphics card temperature (GP diode) = 39 degrees Celsius.
I recently cleaned my computer of dust and changed the thermal paste, so all parameters are normal.
What temperature of the processor and video card is normal operating, and what is critical?
In general, each processor and video chip is different. For exact information, I recommend looking for the specification for a particular processor.
From my own experience, I will say that the temperature of the processor on a laptop in a calm state should be kept within 40-60 degrees. And under load should not exceed 75-80 degrees.
Temperatures over 90 degrees are critical for any processor. At this temperature, irreversible destructive changes begin in the silicon that makes up the processor. Usually, when the temperature reaches 90-100 degrees, the device’s self-preservation instinct kicks in, and the laptop / computer turns off abruptly, saving its life. 🙂
As you understand, the temperature at rest is not an indicator. The most important thing for you and me is to find out what values the temperature reaches under heavy load (games, heavy programs, watching HD video).
How to check computer temperature under load?
I will please you, you do not need to download additional software - you can give the maximum load on the processor and video card using the functionality of the program AIDA. Go to the Tools menu System stability test.
In the window that appears, check the Stress GPU checkbox (To check the video card at the same time) and click Start. After pressing this button, the processor and video card will be artificially loaded at 100% power.
We are waiting for 5-10 minutes, watching how the temperature of your processor and video card rises, and how the fans in your laptop or system unit begin to spin more and more powerfully.
In advanced cases, even one minute is enough to understand that the laptop needs to be urgently cleaned of dust and change the thermal paste. As we remember, the critical temperature for the processor and video card is 90 degrees. When this temperature is reached, it is better to press the Stop button in the test window so as not to force the device once again.
So, let's see what my computer shows after 7 minutes of testing in AIDA64:
As we can see, my Scythe super-quiet CPU cooler and GD900 thermal paste do a great job of keeping the i5-4460's CPU from getting over 58 degrees, which I think is pretty good.
But the temperature of the MSI GeForce GTX 760 video card is rather high (81 degrees). However, I did not panic ahead of time, but after googling, I came to the conclusion that such a temperature for this video card is quite normal. Sometimes it happens.
What else I want to draw your attention to in this window is the parameter CPU Throttling.
Throttling is when the processor, when overheated, begins to forcibly reduce its power so as not to burn out completely. If during the test the CPU Throttling inscription lights up red and the computer starts to "stupid" - this also means that it is urgent to clean the cooling system.
How to find out the temperature of the processor and video card [VIDEO]
Especially for those who perceive information better visually - I posted it on my YouTube channel video on how to view PC temperature:
What to do if the processor temperature is too high?
For any electronics, high temperatures are detrimental. Overheating greatly reduces the stability and life of your devices.
So, if during the load test, any component of your computer or laptop has heated up over 85-90 degrees, it's time to clean the dust and replace the thermal paste.
If on a computer cleaning with minimal accuracy is available even to a child, on a laptop everything is a little more complicated. If your hands grow out of nowhere, it’s better not to get into the laptop yourself, but entrust the cleaning to professionals at the nearest service center. I have, for example, the cost of such cleaning 1500 rubles. At this price and focus.
In general, this article is more about diagnosing the problem. More details about why your laptop is overheating and what to do about it- you can read in my blog site.
As I said, everything is much simpler on a computer. How to clean your computer from dust so that it turns on after that, I will definitely tell you in one of the following articles. Do not miss!
Hello, dear readers of the blog site. Everyone probably knows that any electronic component has resistance, and if current passes through it (and without current, the computer and all its components cannot work), then it heats up. Computers and laptops are designed in such a way that excess heat is removed to the outside and thus the normal temperature of the computer is maintained. this is how a new system unit or laptop works.
And almost all users completely forget that over time, the heat removal system can change its characteristics and then overheating of the components is inevitable. You will most likely find out about overheating through unstable system operation, reboots, a blue screen of death, or what is completely bad through a burnt component (motherboard, processor, memory or video card). I hope that this did not happen to you and you are reading this article to prevent overheating and checking the computer temperature for you will now be a simple procedure.
So, for starters, let's decide what temperature is considered normal for each of the components and which one will be critical.
What is the normal temperature of the computer, and what is already critically high
For each component of the system, its own specific temperature is considered normal.
- what should be the temperature of the cpu
The normal temperature of the processor lies in the temperature range up to 55 degrees in the mode of continuous operation. Of course, it is better to keep the optimal temperature of the processor in the region of 30-40 degrees. How to optimize heat dissipation I will tell a little lower. If the temperature goes over 60 degrees, the processor system starts to slow down to cope with overheating. It will be expressed in slow work. When the temperature bar reaches 80 degrees, the system will start to reboot and turn off to save the life of the processor. Therefore, controlling the temperature of the processor in optimal values will allow your computer or laptop to work faster.
- What is the normal temperature for a graphics card?
For a video card, the situation is slightly different. And this is due to the large loads on the graphics processor. Accordingly, the normal temperature of the video card for each individual case is different. But general recommendations are better to know to understand the operating temperature of the video card. The main thing is to determine for what purposes it is used. It is designed and developed for long gaming sessions or it is a video card for an office computer where graphics work is minimal. Plus, it is important to understand how powerful the cooling system is installed on it. For example, you run a powerful game on a weak video card, and it is designed for simple office work, then you will get a correspondingly higher temperature. In general, the best temperature for operation will be a range of up to 70 degrees. This is quite normal and not critical. However, for weak old cards, this can be deadly. The maximum temperature of the video card, after which we should expect some consequences, is 90-95 degrees.
- normal motherboard temperature
With motherboards, everything is much simpler. They do not perform powerful calculations like a video processor and a processor, and, accordingly, there are practically no problems with overheating. However, it is worth knowing the normal operating temperature of the chipset. Range up to 45 degrees normal operating temperature.
- normal temperature inside the case
By and large, the temperature inside the case does not play a special role, if all components are working in normal ranges. It is worth bothering with the temperature in the case only if you have done everything to reduce the heat on the components themselves, and overheating does not go away. Then you should think about the removal of heat from the case. Perhaps you stuffed an old case with so many powerful components that there are not enough holes for heat circulation in the case to remove it.
- hard drive temperature
In my personal experience, I will say the following - the lower the temperature of the hard drive, the longer it will last you without problems. Try to keep the temperature under 30 degrees.
How to check computer temperature. Program for measuring computer temperature
There are several ways to view and test the temperature of components, including programs that allow you to check how the computer behaves under load.
1. Computer BIOS. This is a system written into the flash memory of the motherboard that allows your laptop or computer to boot. And most motherboards allow you to see the temperature of the components. Although this is not required. Some don't show. You can press either F2 or Del or F12 right after turning it on, depending on the type of BIOS and motherboard. There is only one "BUT". The BIOS shows the temperature as if at "idle" of your computer. Therefore, this option, although it shows it, is not very informative. Although, even if the computer overheats in this mode, then the affairs of your device are very bad. Turn it off and look for a solution to the problem.
2. The second and most correct option is a program for checking the computer temperature. There are a lot of them, but we will consider the best. And there are two in my opinion.
The first program for measuring computer temperature is HWMonitor. It is very easy to install (no installation required) and easy to use. Download the archive with the program from this link. Download one of the files (setup will need to be installed, the archive is a program that does not need to be installed). I downloaded the portable version, unpacked and ran the 64 bit version.
The window that you will see is the whole program for measuring computer temperature. We look at specific values and analyze. Shows the minimum, maximum and current values for the period since the start of the program.
Another program is a more advanced solution for analyzing and viewing characteristics. The most useful for us in this case will be a computer temperature test under load. It is called AIDA64 and you can download it from the site. There is also a version for both installation and a portable version. The program is paid, but it works for free in trial mode for a full 30 days.
Downloaded, unpacked and launched.
The temperature is displayed in the tab computer -\u003e sensors. But the most interesting is hidden in the tab " Service -> Test"
Here you will already see how your system behaves under load. We press the Start button and see how the load grows to 100 percent and the temperature rises. At some point, during high heating, Throtting appears, the processor skips frequency cycles, i.e. tries to reduce the load to lower the temperature. Despite this, my processor did not cross the critical temperature limit.
Causes of overheating and how to fix the problem
In case you have already detected overheating of the system, you should take measures:
- The first and most common solution to the problem is to clean your system unit or laptop. In the literal sense of the word. We open the system unit and clean all fans, cooling radiators and all openings in the case from dust for normal air circulation.
- Secondly, it is necessary to check whether the fans work at all and how easily they spin. If the fan is worth it, be sure to replace it. I think this will solve most of the problems.
- Third - if the first two points did not help, then it is necessary to cool the space around the radiators. This implies the creation of forced ventilation and blowing warm air. Install one blower fan first and check how much the temperature has changed.
CPU temperature monitoring - gadget for Windows 7 (video)
We all love summer for the long-awaited opportunity to bask in the gentle rays of the sun. However, this is a really tough time for our PCs due to an insidious enemy called overheating.
As you know, all computer components, and especially processors, emit a certain amount of heat during operation. For the normal functioning of the system, it must be removed, ensuring optimal temperature conditions. This task becomes much more difficult with the arrival of the summer heat, when standard COs can no longer cope, especially if you have been overclocking your PC.
The result of overheating can be either a complete failure of the computer or a permanent instability of the system, which is expressed in the appearance of strange errors, freezes and sudden reboots. In order to prevent such unpleasant consequences, it is necessary to keep the temperature of PC components under control using special programs, an overview of which we bring to your attention.
core temp | www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp
Core Temp is a compact, lightweight real-time CPU temperature monitoring tool. The utility works with both Intel and AMD processors, and a very wide range of models is supported, including the latest designs. CoreTemp can display in the system tray the temperature, frequency, or load for each core. In addition, a special gadget is available for download that displays these parameters on the Desktop, as well as a plug-in for Windows Media Center. The application has an overheat warning feature in the form of a tooltip.
speedfan | www.almico.com/speedfan.php
SpeedFan is one of the oldest and most popular programs of this type. Its capabilities go far beyond simple temperature monitoring: it is able to read voltages, frequency, fan speed, SMART data, hard drive temperature, as well as display the current values of selected sensors in the tray. The main feature of the application is the ability to adjust the fan speed depending on the temperature of the processor. In addition, the utility maintains statistics and saves information to a log file, draws graphs of changes in temperature, voltage, and cooler rotation speed.
Real Temp | www.techpowerup.com/realtemp
Real Temp is a temperature monitoring program designed exclusively for Intel processors (Core, Dual Core, Quad Core and Core i7). Works under all versions of Windows and does not require installation. Data is read directly from the sensor located in the CPU core, so the readings of the utility, according to the developers, are closest to real ones. Real Temp has the function of warning or emergency shutdown of the computer when the limit values are reached. With the application, you can also test the temperature sensor and CPU speed.
hmonitor | www.hmonitor.net
Hmonitor is able to monitor CPU and hard drive core temperatures, voltages and fan speeds. The program has a wide range of options for setting the display of monitored parameters. The choice of various actions performed by the utility in case of processor overheating will allow you to automatically respond to extreme situations. This could be beeping, automatically shutting down the system, or running an entire script (for example, sending an email to an administrator). Hmonitor is paid (shareware) and can be used in all versions of Windows.
CPU Thermometer | www.cputhermometer.com
This program is probably the easiest to review. All she can do is display temperature and CPU usage in the system tray. The utility is a heavily truncated version of the Open Hardware Monitor discussed above, in which only one function was left. In the settings, it is allowed to specify the color of the indication and autostart along with the system startup. However, such limited functionality had little effect on the appetites of the application - this thermometer is much more voracious than its much more advanced competitors. Despite the free status, CPU Thermometer is unlikely to be the best choice.
PC-Wizard | www.cpuid.com/softwares/pc-wizard.html
PC-Wizard is a whole software package that is capable of monitoring and diagnosing almost any computer components. This application can be used to analyze system configuration and test hardware, including CPU performance, RAM, hard drive speed, and more. When minimized, PC-Wizard can display the main system parameters, including the CPU temperature, in the form of a small display located on top of all windows. Thus, you can always see them and respond quickly.
Open Hardware Monitor | openhardwaremonitor.org
The program is a product of the open source developer community. It monitors temperature sensors, fan speeds, voltages, load and clock speed of the computer's processor. Open Hardware Monitor supports most modern motherboards for Intel and AMD platforms. In addition, the utility can read SMART readings from hard drives and video adapter sensors. Any parameter can be displayed as a special gadget on the desktop or as a tray icon. The application is used not only in all versions of Windows, but also in Linux.
Temp Taskbar for Windows 7 | anonymous-thing.deviantart.com
The program is intended purely to demonstrate the temperature of the processor, but it does it in a very unusual way. After starting the Temp Taskbar, the entire Windows Taskbar becomes an indicator, on which a green CPU temperature scale appears, and the application buttons located on the panel do not interfere with its display at all. Upon reaching a high level, the scale turns yellow, and at critical values, it turns red. The corresponding parameters and colors are set in the utility settings. It is controlled by an icon in the system tray.
