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How to check CPU temperature in Windows 11
Checking your CPU temperature can be an occasional or frequent activity, depending on what you put your precious processor through. Those who use their PC for everyday work and casual gaming don't have to worry about it as much as others who are into things like gaming, video editing, or anything that demands the CPU's attention. It's also particularly crucial when you're overclocking the CPU, as the last thing you want to do is put up with an overheating or an unstable processor. Modern processors tend to run quite hot, especially if you're running one of the top desktop CPUs or using the best laptops on the market.
Sadly, unlike checking your graphics card temperature, there's no built-in tool for checking your CPU temps in Windows 11. You can, however, get through this glaring omission and check your CPU's temperature on a Windows computer in a few different ways.
How to lower your CPU's temperature
With the latest CPUs using up so much power and getting so hot, it's important to keep them cool. Here's how.How to check CPU temperature in Windows 11 using BIOS
Ideal to check system stability during boot
Your computer's BIOS will most likely show your CPU temperature by monitoring the temperature sensors on your processor and the socket. This is a lean method to check your CPU temperature, as it doesn't require you to install any third-party apps. On the flip side, you can only use the BIOS before your PC boots, not when you've already booted to the desktop.
Nevertheless, if you simply want to get an idea of the thermal situation inside your PC and dispel any fears about how efficiently your CPU cooler is working, this might be a useful method. Moreover, if you only need to check the CPU temperature once in a while, you might not want to install a third-party utility. The process here is simple, too.
1. Restart your computer and wait for the first screen to show up.
2. Press the displayed key to enter the BIOS or System or Setup, depending on your computer's model.
3. Look for a reading like CPU Core Temperature or CPU Temp to check your CPU temperature.
4. If you can't find it, check other tabs like Advanced, Power, Hardware Monitor, PC Health, or something similar, depending on your motherboard.
5. Note that some BIOS versions might not display the CPU temperature at all. In that case, you can use one of the other methods below.
: Windows 11 Now WILL Support Old CPUs (With a Catch) (ThioJoe)
Using the BIOS to check your CPU temperature gives you only an indication of idle temps, not the actual temperature your CPU might run at under load. For those temperature readings, you'll have to rely on a third-party application installed within the regular Windows environment.
How to check CPU temperature in Windows 11 using HWiNFO
A free and useful utility
If you want a more reliable method to check your CPU temperature and one that you can always use while using Windows, you'll have to install a third-party utility. Personally, I find HWiNFO to be the best option. It's available as an executable file, so no installation is required, and you can also monitor the temperature sensors for your graphics card, memory, motherboard sensors, and storage drives. You can also check fan speeds for your CPU fans and other system fans, all in a single, lightweight utility.
There's another nifty little feature here that allows you to get an idea of the average temperature over a long duration, say, a day or month. You can simply leave HWiNFO running in the background and come back anytime to see the average, minimum, and maximum temps for your CPU, GPU, and other components.
HWiNFO will shut down when you turn your computer off, so keep that in mind. You can always set it to start with Windows.
1. Download HWiNFO (installer or portable).
2. If you downloaded the launcher, install HWiNFO64 (Windows 11 is 64-bit only) and launch it. Otherwise, unpack the downloaded portable files and launch HWiNFO64.
3. Choose the Sensors-only mode and proceed. You'll see multiple sections with information about your CPU, motherboard, GPU, and more.
4. Scroll down to CPU [#0]: {CPU name}: Enhanced and check the CPU (Tctl/Tdie) (for AMD Ryzen) or CPU Package (for Intel) reading to know the CPU temperature. This is the temperature that fan control tools usually refer to.
