How to Check CPU Temperature on PC or Mac

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Just like you don’t want yours the phone gets too hotOverheating your computer is no joke. If your CPU temperature rises above a certain temperature, it will begin throttling performance to reduce excess heat. If your internal components take too long to heat up, it can shorten the life of your PC, not to mention burn your thighs if you use the laptop with bare feet.

Unfortunately, most computers don’t have user-friendly temperature monitoring tools, so you can’t easily check how hot your computer is at any given time. If you want to know how hot your computer gets, you’ll need to download additional software. Here’s what you need to check your car’s internal temperature.

How to Monitor CPU Temperature in Windows

Don’t want to install third-party software? The only way to monitor your PC’s internal temperature is BIOS screen. To access this menu, restart your computer and press a button on your keyboard that will interrupt the normal boot process (this could be “Delete”, “Esc” or “Enter” – it will be written on the screen).

Each BIOS screen is unique, so we can’t tell you where to look for a specific manufacturer, but the machine’s internal temperature should be displayed on the main screen. Some can even show CPU and motherboard temperatures separately. Unfortunately, this is not a way to constantly monitor your PC’s temperature, so you’ll have to use third-party software instead.

There are dozens of temperature monitoring programs, but I recommend Core temperature for most users. It provides a lot of information, but is not as cluttered as more detailed utilities, and comes as an installer and EXE file. Plus, it allows you to monitor the temperature from the Windows taskbar, which is great if you want to keep an eye on it over time. Download Core Temp, install it (uncheck the “Goodgame Empire” malware box) and run the program.

The top of the window shows your processor, its current load, and a few other technical details. The real meat is at the bottom where it says Temperature readings. In the left column you will see the current temperature, as well as the lowest and highest temperatures recorded since the last run. If you’re using an AMD processor, you’ll likely have one value here, while Intel processors will likely have one value for each processor core—just keep an eye on the hottest core to keep things simple.

I highly recommend going to Options > Settings and play with the options available here, especially those under Notification area tab that will allow you to view your CPU temperature in the taskbar. Personally, I recommend choosing Highest temperature here – then click the arrow on the taskbar and drag the Core Temp icon to the taskbar so that it is always visible.

How to Monitor CPU Temperature in macOS

Mac users can check the internal temperature using a terminal command. Open Launchpad > Other > Terminal to open the command prompt for macOS devices, then run this code:

Enter your computer’s administrator password, then click Enter. It may seem like nothing is happening, but if you wait a few seconds, the Terminal windows will display the current CPU die temperature. If you continue to wait, updated readings will appear from time to time. The only problem here is that you will have to re-enter this command every time you exit the terminal window.

If you want an option that doesn’t require you to remember this line of code, iStat Menu It’s widely considered the best system monitoring app, and if you’re a power user looking to keep an eye on your Mac’s internals, it’s worth $12. However, Fanny it’s a much simpler option—and it’s free. Download Fanny, unzip the app and drag it into your Applications folder. When launched, an icon should appear in the menu bar.

Fanny bills itself as a Notification Center widget, but it requires you to slide it out every time you want to check the temperature, which isn’t ideal. Change the Fanny icon to display the temperature instead. Click on the Fanny icon in the menu bar and select Preferences to change application settings. Change the menu bar setting to CPU temperatureand you will see the icon change to a value in degrees Celsius, which is ideal for monitoring the CPU temperature while running.

How hot or too hot?

If your processor gets too hot, trying to lower the temperature will reduce performance, meaning that whatever you’re doing during that time will likely run slower. This will also cause your fans to spin at high speeds, which means a lot of noise, and can cause permanent damage to your CPU, fan, or battery.

However, “normal” temperatures can vary greatly depending on the type of computer processor. Thin and Light ultraportable For example, a laptop that packs a powerful processor into a small space with little airflow will likely run hotter than a desktop PC with a low-power processor, even when performing the same tasks. And a processor running at 70 degrees will probably be just as efficient at that moment as a processor running at 40 degrees.

However, your processor has a maximum threshold – a certain temperature that it will try to avoid. This is known as the maximum junction temperature, or TJ Max. It varies from processor to processor, but for most chips it is somewhere between 95°C and 105°C. So if your computer regularly reaches this temperature, it’s likely throttling itself (and if it can’t lower the temperature, it may even shut down to prevent overheating.)

How to reduce CPU temperature

If you regularly experience this type of heat, you have several options. First, open your computer—either by removing the side panel on a desktop computer or unscrewing the bottom of a laptop case—and use a vacuum cleaner to blow out any dust bunnies. blower. This should help improve airflow and reduce temperatures. You can also adjust your CPU fan behaviorallowing it to operate at higher speeds more often.

If you have a desktop computer, you might even want to reinstall CPU cooler to make sure it makes good contact with the processor, and if your computer is quite old, new thermal paste can also help reduce temperatures. However, if you have a thin laptop that’s known to overheat, these tips may only get you so far—and you’ll just have to deal with the excess heat. Next time you buy a laptop, be sure to read detailed reviews which include heat and fan noise before making a decision.