How to Check CPU Temperature on Windows 11
Monitoring your CPU temperature is important for maintaining the health and performance of your computer. Running at high temperatures for extended periods can potentially damage hardware components. Thankfully, Windows 11 offers various easy methods to check on your processor’s thermal situation.
Why CPU Temperature Matters
Your CPU temperature indicates how hot the processor inside your computer is running. CPUs generate significant heat under load when gaming, editing media, or running other intensive tasks.
Excessive heat over time can throttle your CPU’s performance or even cause permanent damage. That’s why monitoring tools exist to gauge temperature.
Ideal CPU temperatures typically range from 30°C to 50°C when idle, and up to 90°C under heavy CPU loads. Going above 90°C risks seriously degrading the lifespan and effectiveness of your computer’s brain.
Signs of overheating can include random shutdowns, system instability, throttling, and greatly reduced FPS in games. Addressing high temperatures can require re-applying thermal paste, upgrading CPU coolers, or improving case airflow.
Checking CPU Temperature via Windows 11
Windows 11 itself provides an easy way to glance at current CPU temperature without any extra software.
Steps to View CPU Temp in Windows 11:
- Open the Task Manager via CTRL+Shift+Esc keyboard shortcut or by right-clicking the taskbar and selecting Task Manager
- Go to the Performance tab
- Check the CPU temperature reading under Thermal Power Monitoring or the Temperature graph
Note: You may need to click “Open Resource Monitor” at the bottom to see temperature.
The value displayed is your current CPU temperature in Celsius. Keep an eye on this number to spot any abnormal spikes.
If your system only shows CPU usage, try updating Windows, BIOS, chipset, and monitoring drivers from your manufacturer to enable reading the thermal data.
Using BIOS to View CPU Temperature
Your computer’s BIOS (basic input/output system) can also show CPU temperature before Windows boots. This checks the CPU’s condition at a base level.
To view CPU temp in BIOS:
- Restart your PC
- Press the BIOS access key during startup – F1, F2, DEL, ESC, etc. depending on motherboard
- Check for CPU temperature reading on the main BIOS status page
- If not visible go into advanced settings, monitoring values, or hardware info to find CPU temperature
The benefit of checking BIOS is seeing CPU temp prior to software and background tasks muddying the data. A high reading here indicates serious cooling issues needing urgent troubleshooting.
Monitoring CPU Temperatures with Software
For more detailed real-time monitoring, dedicated third party apps exist too. Top-rated options include:
HWiNFO
- Lightweight and portable system information utility
- Displays extensive temperature readings on all hardware components
- Tracks thermal data over time via graphs and logging
- Free version available with all key functions
AMD Ryzen Master
- Tailored to AMD Ryzen CPUs
- Shows current and average CPU temperature
- Lets you view temperature by CCX and core
- Advanced overclocking capabilities
Intel Extreme Tuning Utility
- Designed for Intel platforms
- Monitors CPU temperature, voltage, and load
- Provides handy graphs tracking thermal trends
- Can adjust power settings to find cooling sweet spot
We recommend running at least one dedicated software monitor to keep tabs on CPU health over time – especially when overclocking or gaming for hours on end.
Adjusting fan speed control can also prevent dramatic temperature spikes. Some apps allow setting custom temperature warning triggers too.
Maintaining Safe CPU Temperatures
Suggestions to keep CPU temperature in check:
- Monitor temperature routinely via Windows, BIOS, and software apps
- Ensure PC case has adequate cooling airflow
- Upgrade stock CPU cooler or add liquid cooling
- Replace thermal paste between CPU and cooler
- Dust out PC regularly to promote ventilation
- Tweak BIOS settings or undervolt to reduce power/temps
Vigilantly keeping your CPU temperature under 90°C under load gives yourself headroom should workloads intensify. Throttling kicks in above 95-100°C on most chips.
Finally, if tweaks don’t sufficiently cool things down, determine if the CPU itself needs replacing, or other failing parts are heating neighboring components.
Conclusion
Checking your Windows 11 computer’s CPU temperature takes only moments via tools provided by Windows itself or robust third party apps.
Monitor CPU temp to maintain the stability, performance, and longevity of your expensive processing hardware against overheating dangers.
With BIOS, software, fan controls, and preventative PC maintenance combined, keeping CPU temperature in an optimal safe zone becomes easy.
Let us know if have any other questions on managing CPU thermals! Proper cooling pays dividends allowing your computer to perform at its peak.