Optimal CPU & GPU Temperature [PC & Laptops]

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Optimal CPU and GPU Temperature

Looking for a list of Optimal GPU and CPU Temperature?

Then you’ve arrived at the right place. There can be many factors that can cause a Computer to overheat.

If you’re worried that your PC Temperature is too high, this guide will help you out to find whether it is optimal or not. And, this article applies to both the Desktops and Laptops.

I’ve mentioned the Average Temperate Range of both CPU and GPU and the safe temperature limit as well. And in case your system’s temperature is close to the max recommended value, there are various tips here that you can apply to lower down the temperature to a great extent.

The GPU is a critical component in a dedicated game server, responsible for delivering high-quality graphics, ensuring smooth gameplay, and enabling advanced features. Investing in a powerful GPU helps enhance the gaming experience, attract players to the server, and provide the necessary performance and scalability for hosting multiplayer games.

How Hot Should my CPU be?

Well, the answer is not as simple as you think. Every Processor is different and depending on the ambient room temperature and the cooling solution used, the CPU Temperature may vary.

During General Usage, your CPU Temperature can have any value between 30-65 °C.

But with Extended Gaming and Heavy Usage, the temperature can easily reach a range of 65-90 °C.

How Hot is Too Hot for Your CPU?

Every Processor has a maximum safe temperature limit. I’ve listed the maximum temperature of almost all the recent Processors of Intel and AMD. You can scroll down and look for your Processor on the list.

But for most Processors, the maximum temperature limit is somewhere around 90-95 °C.

Here’s a video by Linus to help you understand Safe PC Temperatures better.

As you are now aware of the problems that can be caused due to high temperature, let’s dig into whether your CPU Temperature is too high or not.

First up, we have the Ideal & Max Temperature Range for CPUs. Later on, we will look at the optimal temperature for Graphics Cards and HDD/SSD.

    Optimal CPU Temperature

In General Usage, most processors will have an average temperature between 40-70 °C.

The lower the temperature, the better. Low temperature is recommended for the efficient performance of your Computer.

Here is the optimal temperature range for the most popular Processor Series of Intel and AMD.

Processor Series Average Temperature Range
Intel Core i7 50-65 °C
Intel Core i5 50-62 °C
Intel Core i3 50-60 °C
Intel Core 2 Duo 45-55 °C
Intel Pentium Pro 75-85 °C
Intel Pentium Mobile 70-85 °C
Intel Pentium 4 45-65 °C
Intel Pentium 3 60-85 °C
Intel Celeron 67-85 °C
AMD A10 50-60 °C
AMD A6 45-57 °C
AMD Athlon 85-95 °C
AMD Athlon 64 45-60 °C
AMD Athlon FX 45-60 °C

Credits: Computer Hope

The above table can give a basic idea of the Normal CPU Temperature in most scenarios.

Note: This is the general range of the temperature for most processors. However, the actual Temperature may vary from model to model and from generation to generation. Also, the ambient temperature and the cooling solution being used will affect the average temperature.

If your Processor’s Temperature falls in this range (or lower than it), there’s absolutely no reason to worry.

But if the CPU Temperature is higher, you should check the next section and ensure that it is lower than the maximum temperature stated by the manufacturer. Anything lower than the Maximum Temperature can be considered safe.

    Maximum CPU Temperature

Both the Intel and AMD have a specified maximum temperature value which is mentioned in your Processor’s Specification. The same value is also mentioned down below.

During heavy usage, it is a must to ensure that the CPU Temperature stays below this number.

For Intel Processors

Here is a list of Intel 8th, 7th, 6th, and 5th Generation Desktop & Laptop Processors along with their maximum temperature.

If you’re not sure about your Processor’s Model Number, Download CPU-Z and it will display all the details of your Processor.

According to Intel, Junction Temperature (TJUNCTION) is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor die and Case Temperature (Tᴄᴀsᴇ) is the maximum temperature allowed at the processor Integrated Heat Spreader.

In the following table, all the values are for TJUNCTION  temperature. But for a few processors, I’ve used Tᴄᴀsᴇ and have mentioned it there if that particular value is for Case Temperature.

Series Processor Name Maximum Temperature
10th Generation Core i9
 10920X, 10900X 94°C
10980XE, 10940X 86°C
Core i7 10710U, 1065G7, 1060G7 100°C
Core i5 10510U, 10210U, 1035G7, 1035G4, 1035G1, 1030G7, 1030G4 100°C
Core i3
 10110U, 1005G1, 1000G4, 1000G1 100°C
Pentium 6405U 100°C
Celeron 5205U 100°C
9th Generation Core i9 9920X, 9900X 92°C
9940X 88°C
9960X 85°C
9980XE 84°C
9900KS, 9900K, 9900KF, 9000, 9880H, 9980HK 100°C
Core i7 9800X 95°C
9700K, 9700KF, 9700F, 9700, 9750HF, 9750H, 9850H 100°C
Core  i5 9600K, 9600KF, 9400F, 9400, 9300H, 9400H 100°C
Core i3 9350KF, 9300, 9100, 9100F 100°C
Pentium Gold G5620, G5420 100°C
Celeron G4950, G4930 100°C
8th Generation Core i9 8950HK 100°C
Core i7 8086K, 8700K, 8700, 8700T. 8850H, 8750H 8559U, 8650U, 8550U, 8809G. 8709G, 8706G, 8705G, 8305G 100°C
Core  i5 8600K, 8600, 8600T, 8500, 8500T, 8400, 8400T, 8400H, 8300H  8269U, 8259U, 8350U, 8250U 100°C
Core i3 8121U 105°C
8350K, 8300, 8100, 8109U, 8130U 100°C
8300T, 8100T 82°C
Pentium Gold G5600, G5500, G5400 100°C
G5500T, G5400T 88°C
Celeron G4920, G4900 100°C
G4900T 88°C
7th Generation Core i9 7940X 102°C
7960X 98°C
7920X, 7900X 95°C
7980X 94°C
Core i7 7800X, 7740X, 7700K, 7700, 7920HQ, 7820HQ, 7820HK & 7700HQ, 7660U,  7600U, 7567U, 7560U, 7500U, i7-7Y75 100°C
7820X 99°C
7700T 80°C
Core  i5 7640X, 7600K, 7600, 7500, 7400 & 7440HQ, 7300HQ, 7360U, 7300U, 7287U, 7267U, 7260U, 7200U, 7Y57, 7Y54 100°C
7600T, 7500T, 7400T 80°C
Core i3 7350K, 7320, 7300, 7100, 7101E, 7100H & 7167U, 7130U, 7100U 100°C
7300T, 7100T 92°C
Core m3 7Y32, 7Y30 100°C
Pentium G4620, G4600, G4560, 4415U, 4410Y 100°C
G4600T, G4560T 92°C
Pentium Silver J5005, N5000 105°C
Celeron G3950, G3930, 3965U, 3865U 100°C
G3930T 92°C
J4105, J4005, N4100, N4000 105°C
6th Generation Core i7 6700K,  Tᴄᴀsᴇ = 64°C
6785R, 6700 Tᴄᴀsᴇ = 71°C
6700T Tᴄᴀsᴇ = 66°C
6970HQ, 6920HQ, 6870HQ, 6820HQ,

6770HQ, 6700HQ, 6660U, 6650U,

6600U, 6567U, 6560U, 6500U

 100°C
Core  i5
 6600K Tᴄᴀsᴇ = 64°C
6685R, 6600, 6585R, 6500, 6402P, 6400 Tᴄᴀsᴇ = 71°C
6600T, 6500T, 6400T Tᴄᴀsᴇ = 66°C
6440HQ, 6360U, 6350HQ, 6300HQ,

6300U, 6287U, 6267U, 6260U, 6200U

 100°C
Core i3
 6320, 6300, 6100 Tᴄᴀsᴇ = 65°C
6300T, 6100T, 6098P,  Tᴄᴀsᴇ = 66°C
6167U, 6157U, 6100H, 6100U, 6006U 100°C
Core m7 6Y75 100°C
Core m5 6Y57, 6Y54 100°C
Core m3 6Y30 100°C
Pentium 4405U, 4405Y 100°C
Celeron G3902E, G3900E, 3955U, 3855U 100°C
5th Generation Core i7 5950HQ, 5850HQ, 5750HQ, 5700HQ,

 5650U, 5600U, 5557U, 5550U, 5500U

 105°C
Core i5 5350H, 5350U, 5300U, 5287U, 5257U, 5250U, 5200U 105°C
Core i3 5157U, 5020U, 5015U, 5010U, 5005U 105°C
Pentium 3825U, 3805U 105°C
Celeron 3755U, 3205U 105°C
Core M 5Y71, 5Y70, 5Y51, 5Y31, 5Y10c, 5Y10a, 5Y10 95°C

To know the Maximum Temperature of Previous Generations, visit Intel’s Official Website.

As you can see, in case of most of the Processors, the maximum temperature is 100°C. Just for some extra precaution, ensure that your CPU Temperature is always at least 10°C lower than the maximum value.

For AMD Processors

Here’s the list for AMD’s CPUs and APUs. AMD hasn’t mentioned the temperature limit for all their processors but I managed to find it for the latest generations and that includes Ryzen.

Series Processor Name Maximum Temperature
Ryzen 4000 Series (Zen 3 and Zen 2) Ryzen 7
 4800H, 4800U, 4700U 105°C
Ryzen 5 4600H, 4600U, 4500U 105°C
Ryzen 3 4300U 105°C
Ryzen 3000 Series (Zen 2 and Zen+) Threadripper 3990X, 3970X, 3960X 95°C
Ryzen 9 3900X 95°C
Ryzen 7 3700X, 3800X 95°C
3700U, 3750H 105°C
Ryzen 5
 3400G, 3600, 3600X 95°C
3550H, 3500U 105°C
Ryzen 3 3200G 95°C
3300U, 3200U 105°C
Ryzen 2000 Series (Zen+ and Zen) Threadripper 2920X, 2950X, 2970WX, 2990WX 68°C
Ryzen 7 2700X 85°C
2700 95°C
2700U, Pro 2700U, 3750H 105°C
Ryzen 5 2600, 2600X 95°C
2400GE, Pro 2400GE, 2400G, Pro 2400G, 2500U, Pro 2500U 105°C
Ryzen 3 2200GE, Pro 2200GE, 2200G, Pro 2200G, 2300U, Pro 2300U, 2200U 105°C
Ryzen 1000 Series (Zen) Threadripper 1950x, 1920x, 1900x 68°C
Ryzen 7 1800x, Pro 1700x, Pro 1700, 1700 95°C
Ryzen 5 1600X, Pro 1600, 1600, 1500X, Pro 1500, 1400 95°C
Ryzen 3 1300X, Pro 1300, Pro 1200, 1200 95°C
Bristol Ridge A12 9800, 9800E, Pro 9800, Pro 9800E 90°C
A10 9700, 9700E, Pro 9700E, Pro 9700 90°C
A8 9600, Pro 9600 90°C
A6 9550, 9500, 9500E, Pro 9500, Pro 9500E 90°C

For the Ryzen Processors, there’s something important that you need to keep in mind. In Ryzen Master Utility, the Temperature that is being reported is around 20°C higher than the actual junction temperature. Here’s a news from AMD that confirms the same.

So, if in the Ryzen Master Utility the reported temperature is 65°C, then the actual junction temperature is just 45°C.

    GPU Temperature

The Temperature of the GPU usually stays in a normal range unless you start a GPU intensive job.

Optimal Temperature of an idle GPU should be around 35-55 °C. During Gaming and Heavy GPU Usage, the average GPU Temperature is generally around 60-80°C.

A major problem with the GPU Temperature can arise when you play games for an extended period of time. It is necessary to ensure that even after a long period of gaming, the GPU Temperature stays at least 5-10°C lower than the maximum temperature specified by the OEM.

For Nvidia GPU

Here is the Maximum GPU Temperature for Nvidia GeForce 10, 900, 700, and 600 Series.

For older Graphics Cards, you can look for it on Nvidia’s official website. If you’re unable to find it on their website, just comment below and I’ll look it up for you.

Series GPU Name Maximum GPU Temperature
GeForce 20 Series Titan RTX 89°C
RTX 2080 Ti 89°C
RTX 2080 Super 89°C
RTX 2080 88°C
RTX 2070 Super 88°C
RTX 2070 89°C
RTX 2060 Super 89°C
RTX 2060 88°C
GeForce 16 Series GTX 1660 Ti 95°C
GTX 1660 95°C
GTX 1650 92°C
GeForce 10 Series TITAN V 91°C
TITAN Xp 94°C
GTX 1080 Ti 91°C
GTX 1080 94°C
GTX 1070 Ti 94°C
GTX 1070 94°C
GTX 1060 94°C
GTX 1050 Ti 97°C
GTX 1050 97°C
GT 1030 97°C
GeForce 900 TITAN X 91°C
GTX 980 Ti 92°C
GTX 980 98°C
GTX 970 98°C
GTX 960 98°C
GTX 950 95°C
GeForce 700 GTX TITAN Z 95°C
GTX TITAN Black 95°C
GTX 780 Ti 95°C
GTX 780 95°C
GTX 770 98°C
GTX 760 97°C
GTX 750 Ti 95°C
GTX 750 95°C
GT 740 98°C
GT 730 98°C
GT 720 98°C
GT 710 95°C
GeForce 600 GTX 690 98°C
GTX 680 98°C
GTX 670 97°C
GTX 660 Ti 97°C
GTX 660 97°C
GTX 650 Ti 105°C
GTX 650 98°C
GT 640 98°C
GT 630 98°C
GT 620 98°C
GT 610 102°C

On average, the Maximum Temperature limit for Nvidia’s Graphics Cards is between 90°C and 100°C. The GTX 650 Ti and GT 610 are the exceptions for this rule as their max temps is 105°C and 102°C respectively.

For most systems, try to ensure that the GPU temperature doesn’t go over 85°C.

For AMD GPU

Even though AMD hasn’t specified a maximum temperature limit for their Graphics Cards on their website, I confirmed from various sources that Temperature limit of AMD Radeon GPUs is around 90-95°C and that is same as the most Nvidia GPUs.

GPU Max Temperature
AMD Radeon Series 90-95°C

Once again, make use of sufficient cooling to keep the temperature below 85°C for safe working.

    Optimal Hard Disk / SSD Temperature

Should you bother about the Temperature of your Hard Disk or Solid State Drive?

Well, in most cases, the answer is no. It is very less likely that your HDD/SSD Temperature will go anywhere near the maximum value.

But still in many cases, it could be possible and it severely affects the performance of your Disk. In the long run, it can also lead to disk failure.

Here’s the Operating Temperature limit for most popular HDDs and SSDs. If the one you own is not present in this list, you can find the details in the user manual of your product.

Name Operating Temperature
WD Blue HDD 0-60°C
Seagate Barracuda HDD 0-60°C
ADATA Ultimate SU800 SSD 0-70°C
Samsung Evo 860 SSD 0-70°C
WD Green SSD 0-70°C
Samsung Evo 960 m.2 SSD 0-70°C
Intel Optane Memory 0-70°C

In case of most Internal Storage Drives, the temperature range is usually between  0°C to 60°C or from 0°C to 70°C.

    How To Monitor CPU & GPU Temperature

There are various tools like AIDA64, Speccy, and HWMonitor by using which you can easily monitor your PC Temperature.

I personally prefer HWMonitor and it is free as well.

You can easily monitor the CPU, GPU, and Hard Disk Air Flow Temperature using this tool. It also monitors the maximum and minimum Temperature that the component has reached since you started HW Monitor. If you want to reset the Min/Max Stats, go to View in Menu and select Clear Max/Min.

Here’s a Screenshot of HWMonitor.

HW Monitor Temperature Screenshot

Monitor Temperature While Gaming

The HWMonitor is a great tool but you can’t use it in-game.

Here’s when the MSI Afterburner comes to the rescue. It not only displays the Utilization and Temperature of your Components, but it can also show the in-game FPS.

MSI Afterburner

After Installing MSI Afterburner, open it and click on the Gear (Settings icon).

This will take you to the MSI Afterburner Properties.

MSI Afterburner Temperature Settings

Inside the Monitoring Tab, click on the Components that you want to be displayed during the game.

Now tick the “Show in On-Screen Display” checkbox for every component that you want to be displayed.

When you’re done press OK. Make sure that MSI Afterburner is still open.

Now go to Windows Taskbar and click on the RivaTuner Statistics Server. This should look like the one shown in the image below.

RivaTuner Statistics Server

Make sure that On-Screen Display support is On.  By using the On-Screen Display Palette, you can change the color of the text that appears inside the game.

Now, move around the On-Screen Display Zoom slider depending on how big or small you want the text to appear in the game.

Once, you’re done setting it up. Start your game to monitor the thermals.

What to do if my CPU/GPU Temperature is not within the safe limits?

There could be many reasons behind an abnormal temperature value. Before we can come to any conclusions, move to the next section and apply the PC Cooling Tips. If you don’t succeed, it is better to visit a Computer Store or Service Center to get your PC checked.

    Cooling Solutions for PC and Laptop

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The following Cooling Tips can significantly lower the temperature of your PC or Laptop. Make sure to try as many as possible and each one of them will contribute to the thermal levels.

1) Clean Dust

Remove all the dust inside your CPU Case by using an Air Blower. Do it slowly ensuring that you don’t damage any components. If you use a Laptop, use Compressed Gas to gid rid of Dust. But the more efficient way is to open the Laptop and then remove the dust.

Make sure that the Case Fan as well as the CPU Fan is free from dust and is working optimally.

2) Apply a New Thermal Paste

Use Isopropyl Alcohol to clean the existing Thermal Paste and replace it with a new one. The Arctic Silver is one of the most trusted and best Thermal Compounds out there. Don’t apply too much Thermal Paste either. A pea-sized amount is the most effective technique to apply thermal paste.

3) Upgrade to a Better CPU Cooler

A good fan can keep the CPU Temperature significantly lower. If you’re using a stock cooler, it is better to get rid of it and use a better one. The Cooler Master Hyper RR-212E-20PK-R2 will do an excellent job. It is one of the most effective CPU Coolers out there.

4) Add More Case Fans

If your Case has lower than 3 fans, add a few more for more optimal air-flow to and from the components. The CPU Cooler only works on the CPU while the Case Fans will take care of all the PC Components.

5) Get a Laptop Cooling Pad

So, we already had enough talk on PC Fans and Coolers. So, what about Laptops?

The Laptops Cooling Pads work very well in keeping the CPU Temperature low. We actually have a guide on Laptop Cooling Pads and Tips.

6) Make Your Room Cool

One of the biggest cause of PC Overheating is the Surrounding Temperature. You may not realize it but the temperature difference of PC Components during Summers and Winters can be huge.

Turn On your Room Cooler or Air Conditioner and it will reduce the CPU Temperature.

    References



3 thoughts on “Optimal CPU & GPU Temperature [PC & Laptops]”

  2. With the newer high performance gaming laptops it seems the thermal paste is so much better that they say its no longer necessary to change the thermal paste. I have also always been a believer in changing thermal paste.
    For a laptop cooler I built myself one with 3 x 120mm fans connected variable fan speed controller to 12v 1amp transformer.
    I also find on the Alienware laptops when gaming to enable the performance fan mode to help with temperatures.

    Reply

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