What Is a Normal CPU Temp While Gaming? Proven Guide 2023

It may get too hot if you play demanding games on your computer for a long time. what is a Normal CPU Temp While Gaming? When gaming, the CPU temperature is usually between 61° C and 75° C (142° F and 167° F).

It depends a lot on your chip type, but as a general rule, the CPU temperature shouldn’t go above 85° C (185° F). If it does, you risk overheating.

If the temperature of your CPU is average, it can lead to good things. When a processor gets too hot, it can cause your PC to crash or cause damage so bad that your CPU stops working and your computer stops working unless you replace the processor and processor cooler.

How can I check my CPU temperature? What is the highest temperature my CPU can reach? What are average CPU temperatures while gaming? We will answer all of these questions in length in this article.

Why Do CPUs Get Hot? 

Contrary to what most people think, heat doesn’t easily damage CPUs. They can handle temperatures that are way too high. But there are always limits. Anything under 60 degrees Celsius, or 140 degrees Fahrenheit, is predicted. But as things heat up, problems can start to show up.

A safe range for games is between 70 and 80 degrees Celsius (158 and 175 degrees Fahrenheit). It means the CPU is working hard, but there shouldn’t be too much cause for concern.

When the temperature goes above 80 degrees Celsius, that changes. You enter the danger zone at 90 degrees Celsius (194 degrees Fahrenheit).

At this point, damage to the CPU is almost inevitable. You could have a sudden problem with your machine that makes it useless. On the other hand, the high temperatures could make the part last less long in general. No matter what, you don’t want it to be too hot.

In a hurry? Check out my new post on How hot is too hot for CPU

Most likely, your computer has some ways to cool down the CPU. If you notice that the temperatures are rising, but the CPU levels aren’t changing much, you’ll need to check those cooling methods. Putting on more thermal paste or buying a better cooling system can keep CPU temperatures under control.

Keep a tracking overlay on while you play games. It should track how much the CPU is used and how hot it is. The use of RAM and GPU can also be helpful.

What Normal CPU Temp While Gaming?

There is no sure way to answer this question precisely. This is because your processor’s ideal temperature can be very different. These temperatures are in the normal range and can be used as a starting point:

• At low load, the temperature of a processor should be between 30° C and 50° C (86° F to 122° F).
• Temperatures of up to 203° F (95° C) are possible when the computer is under a lot of stress, such as when running programs or games that use a lot of processing power.
  CPUs don’t last as long when the temperature is very high.
• The highest temperature a CPU can reach varies on the type, but it should be below 212° F (100° C).

Intel CPU temperatures at idle and under load while gaming

Is your Intel CPU getting too hot when you play games? Find out what the safe settings for an Intel CPU are. Intel gives more information about the temperatures of processors.

AMD CPU temperatures at idle and under load when gaming

Is your AMD CPU getting too hot when you play games? Find out what the safe settings for an AMD CPU are. You can also look at AMD’s official specs.

Show and Read CPU Temperature

Display CPU temperature (without program) in BIOS

First, you can use the BIOS on your computer to check the temperature of the CPU core. But this way will only tell you how hot the CPU is when it is not doing anything. It won’t help if you stress-test your system or want to know how hot it is when playing a game.

Also, check out our separate post on CPU Overheating

Also, the temperature shown in your BIOS is always just a little bit higher than it is, say, when Windows is not running. The BIOS always starts your processor with higher voltage settings to ensure it is initialized.

• Depending on the manufacturer, you can reach the BIOS by hitting the DEL, F1, or F2 keys several times during startup.
• Look for the words Hardware Monitor, H/W Monitor, PC Health, or something similar in the BIOS.
• Find the item CPU Temperature by using the arrow keys to move around.

Read CPU temperature while gaming

With the MSI Afterburner program, you can keep an eye on your CPU’s temperature, clock speed, and power while playing a game. This can be very helpful if you want to find out if your CPU only gets too hot when you play certain games. At the same time, MSI Afterburner lets you keep an eye on your GPU’s temperature immediately.

What to Do if the CPU gets too Hot While Gaming?

If you play games that make the engine get too hot, it could fail. It would help if you did the following things before that happens.

Cleaning

The first step should always be to clean the case and its parts well. If the processor’s temperature keeps rising, it could be because dust is building up on parts and between fans’ fins.

Most of the damage is on the top of the PC. You can fix it with a vacuum cleaner or a spray can of compressed air with a tube attached.

Resetting the push pins of the CPU cooler

High temps can be fixed by moving the push pins on the processor fan. Follow these steps to remove the fan and put it back on.

Thermal paste

On a subatomic level, there are a lot of tiny cracks and bumps between the cooler and the processor. The air in these spaces, which doesn’t conduct electricity well, can be quickly bridged with thermal paste. There are a lot of different pastes on the market. The ones made of metal carry electricity the best.

CPU cooler

These must always be matched to the type of processor or socket in terms of how they work and look. There are so-called low-profile coolers, single-tower coolers, and big double-tower coolers that use air or water to cool.

Copper as a material is more expensive than aluminum, but it is also better. Hybrid types are often used. First, a copper layer removes heat, and then an aluminum layer is used.In addition to how well it cools, noise is always an essential factor.

Conclusion

Depending on the model, the temperature of a game processor is between 131° F and 185° F (55° C and 85° C). Not all more expensive computers can handle higher temperatures.

Here, it’s not possible to make a broad statement. Different things make each machine work. The makers only give vague details and hard-to-understand formulas for figuring it out. When the CPU is not doing anything, it is usually between 86 and 108 degrees Celsius.

The CPU temperature is too high when you see changes in the game’s graphics. When the processor gets too hot, it instantly slows down. In a few cases, slowing doesn’t work, so the CPU doesn’t cool down and shuts down for safety.

If you haven’t boosted or changed your processor any other way, you don’t need to worry too much about the game temperature. But you should check out the cooling system if the CPU gets too hot when it’s being used, which slows it down.

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