Whether you are a gamer, content creator, or just a regular computer user, knowing your PC’s heat limit is essential to keep it running at its best.
When you open your PC, it generates heat and high temperatures can cause serious damage. So It’s important to know your PC’s safe idle temp range.
In this article, I’ll discuss all about good idle CPU temps and how to maintain them.
So without further due, let’s jump in.
What is the Safe Idle Temperature for Your CPU?
In General, your CPU temperature should be 30 to 40℃ (86 to 104℉) when idle. But if you reside in tropical areas or any hot environment, the temperature can get up to 70℃. Additionally, the overclocked CPUs run at high temperatures. But if your numbers are higher than 80, you may have some cooling issues.
You have to know how hot is too hot for your CPU. Because running your PC at high temperatures can cause CPU shutdown issues.
In that case, you need to connect extra fans to your motherboard. It will insert more air into your rig and make it cooler.
However, you should plug in the case fans correctly and make sure you have set the right fan directions. Otherwise, the heat won’t go down.
There is a popular myth that AMD gets hotter than intel. That brings us to our next topic.
Intel vs AMD CPU Temperature Range
People usually think AMD processors tend to get more heat than Intel. Well, that’s not true; it’s the opposite. The latest model AMD CPUs run cooler than their intel counterparts.
This section will give you a comparison table between Intel and AMD temperatures. It will provide you with more information about CPU Thermals.
Here is the temperature comparison between some Intel and AMD processors:
| Intel | AMD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model | Idle Temp | Load Temp | Model | Idle Temp | Load Temp |
| Core i5-9600K | 28 to 35 °C | 55 to 75 °C | Ryzen 5 1600 | 30 to 35 °C | 50 to 64 °C |
| Core i7-9700K | 30 to 40 °C | 60 to 80 °C | Ryzen 7 1700 | 35 to 44 °C | 50 to 65 °C |
| Core i5-10600K | 30 to 40 °C | 62 to 83 °C | Ryzen 5 2600 | 35 to 44 °C | 55 to 70 °C |
| Core i7-10700K | 30 to 45 °C | 55 to 80 °C | Ryzen 5 3600 | 35 to 44 °C | 55 to 70 °C |
| Core i5-11600K | 28 to 37 °C | 60 to 77 °C | Ryzen 5 5600x | 40 to 46 °C | 65 to 85 °C |
| Core i7-12700K | 29 to 38 °C | 65 to 78 °C | Ryzen 9 5900x | 60°c-75°c | 86 to 98 °C |
You need to input a good CPU cooler compatible with your processor to maintain the heat in your PC.
How to Check Your CPU’s Temperature
You need to install some third-party application to see your CPU temperature. Various free applications like CPUz, HWmonitor, SpeedFan, etc. provide accurate results.
Also, many companies develop apps for their respective products, like Asus’s armory crate, MSI Dragon Center, etc. If you use their hardware, you can install those to measure CPU heat.
In this section, I will discuss the process to see your ideal temperature heat in HWmonitor. Because the application is very lightweight and provides accurate results.
Follow the steps below to check Your CPU’s Temperature using HWmonitor:
- Open any browser and download the HWmonitor installation file.
- Install the application and double-click on it.
- Scroll down to the Temperatures section.
In the temperatures section, you will see your CPU’s current temperature. You can also see the core-wise heat in degrees celsius in this section.
You should learn to monitor CPU temps while gaming. It will help you to avoid thermal throttling issues in your PC.
How to Lower CPU Idle Temperature
Maintaining a steady temperature in your PC is a must for increasing the lifespan and ensuring good performance. Because heat is the main enemy of your PC. But you can easily keep your PC’s heat at bay if you follow some steps.
This portion will give you some tips and tricks to maintain your PC’s temperature. Let’s see how to maintain the temperature on your PC.
Follow the tips and tricks to maintain your CPU temp easily:
- Running your PC in a Cold environment keeps your heat at bay.
- You should add additional fans to your case front. It will help alleviate airflow concerns.
- Unblock the Vents of your pc case to maintain proper and sufficient airflow.
- You should change your CPU thermal yearly; otherwise, the idle temperature will increase.
- You must clean your CPU fans regularly. Because dust can increase the heat of your rig.
These are some tips to control your CPU temp. You should follow them to increase your PC’s lifespan and production quality. Also, choosing the right CPU cooler is mandatory for maintaining a decent temperature. So you should also keep that in mind.
FAQs
Is 50 degree Celsius too hot for a CPU idle?
No, 50℃ is pretty normal for today’s mid to high-range CPUs. But if you just use a low-end CPU, you should try to keep the temperature between 45-48℃.
What is considered Idle CPU?
The CPU becomes idle when you don’t run any programs on your PC. An Idle processor only runs the OS and related registry programs to support It.
How cold is too cold for a CPU?
If your CPU goes below the ambient temperature (35 ℉ or 1.7℃), It considers too cold. In the temperature, your PC parts can freeze and flex. So it’s not a good idea to use your PC at this temperature.
Conclusion
Long story short, universally tech enthusiasts consider 40-50℃ as the best CPU ideal temperature. The temperature can fluctuate from 2 to 5℃ for newer CPUs. However, any temperature over 80℃ is very bad. In that situation, you need to upgrade your cooling system.
After reading this article, I’m sure you got all the answers you needed. Comment if you need any other information.
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