If you are an avid gamer, you should be conversant with CPU temperature and the impact that computer games can have on them. The average computer game places more pressure on CPUs than many other applications, which is why many gamers report intense hotness when they play games for hours on their systems. Overheating is a common factor you should prepare for if you play games on your system, but how much heat is too hot for your CPU? At what heat level should you be worried that your system will crash?
In this blog post, we will point out the normal CPU temperature for gaming and the causes of overheating. Hopefully, at the end of this post, you will be better informed.
What Is Considered A Normal CPU Temperature?
When gaming, the normal CPU temperature accepted by system experts is between 142° Fahrenheit – 164° Fahrenheit. In Celsius, that is between 61°C-73°C. However, this depends on the type of CPU you have. Some have a higher heat capacity than others, but your CPU should never exceed 176° Fahrenheit or 80°C. If it does, it runs the risk of breaking down due to overheating.
Some experts recommend adequate ventilation to maintain temperature, such as placing a small external fan on the CPU, but this may not work in all cases.
Why Do CPUs Overheat?
Now that you know the proper CPU temperature for gaming, we want to look at some of the key reasons why CPUs overheat. We believe that if you are familiar with some of these reasons, you will be better placed to prevent such an occurrence and, by extension, protect your CPU from crashing.
Here are some key reasons why this happens.
Inadequate Ventilation
One of the common reasons for CPU overheating is inadequate ventilation. Processers are installed on cabinets with openings for free entry and exit of air. If these openings are blocked, or the CPU is running at an extremely high frequency that produces too much heat, the air holes will be inadequate. This situation can lead to overheating.
Placing your CPU close to a wall or in a hot room can lead to this.
Solution
- Open the PC case with a screwdriver to let in more air
- Add more fans at the base for more air production
- Ensure that fans blow inside, not outside the CPU
- Screw the fans in place, so they don’t fall off.
Heavy Load
Another reason why the CPU may overheat is if the RAM is overburdened. If you must know, games use a lot of RAM, which causes your CPU to work at a feverish speed to keep up. The longer this continues, the hotter the CPU will become, and the fans will try to reduce the temperature. Sometimes the fans succeed, and at other times they don’t.
If you notice that your CPU is overheating, you should act fast to save it from crashing it developing internal mechanism problems.
Solution
- Consider stopping the game and switching off the computer so it cools down
- You may choose to upgrade your memory card to a higher version, but this option is quite expensive.
If you notice that it overheats, often avoid playing games with the computer for too long, and if you can’t help it, you may need to buy a stronger processor.
How To Know If Your CPU is overheating
Some gamers discover that their CPU is overheating too late, but this should not be the case. Each time this happens, you are putting your CPU at risk. Here are quick-fire ways to tell if your CPU needs to cool down.
Use An App: You can use apps like HWMonitor or NZXT CAM. These apps offer accurate heat readings and will analyze your CPUs workload, fan, temperature, and clock speed in real time. They also offer an accurate reading from the lowest to the highest temperature.
For a complete list of must have apps, check this awesome video by Jayz2c:
Automatic Reboot: If your system reboots on its own while you are playing a game, this may be an indication that it is overheating. The screen may turn blue while programs are still active or launch an app that has nothing to do with the game you are playing. This indicates that the CPU is too hot and requires downtime to cool down. An automatic reboot is an anti-heat trigger to keep a close eye on.
Alarm Trigger: Some computers come with an alarm trigger that wants users when the temperature becomes too hot. Pay heed when you notice this, and turn your system off for a while.
Overactive Fan: If you notice that the fan has become quite noisy or running at a feverish rate, this is an indication that it is working overtime to cool the CPU because of rising heat, remember. In such a scenario, this may be the time to quit your game for a while.
Should You Buy A New Computer
If you notice any of the above issues and no stop-gap measure appears to work, you should consider getting a new computer for your gaming. There are special CPUs designed to handle the rigors of modern gaming, and they will serve you well. These CPUs run faster and better than conventional CPUs and can handle more workload.
Secondly, they don’t overheat frequently, but you will have to spend a substantial amount to acquire one as they are quite expensive.
When shopping for gaming CPU, take your time to read the description and understand the technical capacity of each option in the market. Ryzen 3000-5000 processors are quite durable but are expensive. However, you will get the value you desire.
Conclusion
The normal gaming CPU temperature is about 142 Fahrenheit or 61° Celsius but never allow it to exceed the 176° Fahrenheit (80° C) mark to avoid a system crash.
