Keep Cool and Carry On: How to Monitor Your CPU Temperature

Just as you don’t want your phone getting too hot, an overheating computer is no joke. If your CPU gets over a certain temperature, it will start throttling performance in an effort to reduce excess heat. Still, if your internal components get too hot for too long, it can decrease the lifespan of your PC, not to mention burn your thighs if you’re using your laptop on bare legs.

Unfortunately, most PCs don’t have built-in temperature-monitoring tools, so you can’t easily check how hot your computer is getting at any given time. If you want to see how hot your computer is running, you will need to download some extra software. Here’s what you need to check your machine’s internal temperature.

Windows: Monitor CPU Temperature with Core Temp

Core Temp provides as much information as you need
(Credit: Core Temp / ALCPU)

There are dozens of temperature-monitoring programs out there, but for most users, I recommend Core Temp(Opens in a new window). It provides plenty of information without being as overwhelming as more thorough utilities, and it comes both as an installer and in standalone EXE format. Plus, it allows you to monitor your temperature from the Windows taskbar, which is great if you want to keep an eye on it over time.

Download Core Temp, install it (be careful to uncheck the “Goodgame Empire” bloatware), and launch the program. The top portion of the window lists the CPU you have in your system, its current load, and a few other technical tidbits. The real meat is at the bottom of the window, where it says Temperature Readings. 

You will see the current temperature in the left column, alongside the lowest and highest temperatures the program recorded since you last launched it. If you’re using an AMD CPU, you’ll probably just have one value here, while Intel CPUs will likely have one temperature reading per CPU core—just keep an eye on the hottest core to keep things simple.

I highly recommend heading to Options > Settings and playing with the options available here, especially those under the Notification Area tab, which will let you view your CPU temperature in the taskbar. I personally recommend selecting Highest Temperature here—then click the system tray’s arrow and drag Core Temp’s icon to the taskbar to keep it visible at all times.

MacOS: Monitor CPU Temperature with Fanny

Fanny includes easy-to-use options
(Credit: Fanny Widget / Daniel Storm)

If you’re using a Mac, iStat Menus(Opens in a new window) is widely regarded as the best system monitoring app around, and if you’re an advanced user looking to keep an eye on your Mac’s internals, it’s well worth the $12. However, for most folks, Fanny(Opens in a new window) is a much simpler choice—and it’s free.

Download Fanny, unzip the app, and drag it to your Applications folder. When you start it up, you should see the icon appear in the menu bar. Fanny bills itself as a Notification Center widget, but this requires you to slide it out every time you want to check the temperature—not ideal. 

Instead, I recommend changing the Fanny icon to display the temperature. Click on Fanny’s menu bar icon and choose Preferences to adjust the app’s settings. Change the Menu Bar setting to CPU Temperature, and you should see the icon change to a value in degrees Celsius, which is ideal for monitoring your CPU temperature as you work.

How Hot Is Too Hot?

iStats Menus can monitor temperature spikes
(Credit: iStat Menus)

If your CPU gets too hot, it will reduce performance to try and reduce the temperature—meaning whatever you’re doing at the time will probably run slower. It will also keep your fans spinning at high speeds, meaning lots of noise. Plus, high temperatures over long periods of time can decrease the lifespan of your CPU, not to mention other components like the fan and battery.

“Normal” temperatures, though, can vary wildly depending on the CPU in your computer and what type of computer it is. A thin and light ultraportable laptop that crams a powerful CPU into a small space with little airflow, for example, will likely get hotter than a desktop PC with a low-power CPU, even when performing the same tasks. And a CPU running at 70 degrees is likely to be just as effective as a CPU running at 40 degrees in that given moment.

That said, your CPU does have a maximum threshold—a specific temperature it will try to avoid going over. This is known as the maximum temperature junction, or TJ Max. It varies from CPU to CPU, but for most chips, it lies somewhere between 95° C and 105° C. So if your computer is regularly hitting that temperature, it’s probably throttling itself (and, if it can’t decrease the temperature, it may even shut itself off to prevent overheating.)

How to Lower CPU Temperature

You can control fan speed from MSI Afterburner
(Credit: MSI)

If you’re regularly seeing that kind of heat, you have a few options. First, open up your computer—either by removing the side panel on a desktop or unscrewing the bottom case on a laptop—and blow out any dust bunnies with an air blower(Opens in a new window). This should help improve airflow and reduce temperatures. You can also adjust your CPU’s fan behavior, allowing it to run at higher speeds more often. 

If you have a desktop, you may even want to reseat the CPU cooler to make sure it’s making good contact with the CPU, and if your computer is rather old, some new thermal paste could help lower temperatures as well.

If you have a thin-and-light laptop known for overheating, though, these tips may only take you so far—and you’ll just have to deal with the excess heat. The next time you buy a laptop, be sure to read thorough reviews that include heat and fan noise before you commit.