The Open Hardware Monitor supports most hardware monitoring chips found on todays mainboards. The CPU temperature can be monitored by reading the core temperature sensors of Intel and AMD processors. The sensors of ATI and Nvidia video cards as well as SMART hard drive temperature can be displayed. The monitored values can be displayed in the main window, in a customizable desktop gadget, or in the system tray. The free Open Hardware Monitor software runs on 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft Windows XP / Vista / 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 and any x86 based Linux operating systems without installation.
Temp Monitor displays the name, description, current value, min/max value, status and even a history graph of all available sensors in your Mac included temperature, voltage, current, and power sensors.
Is your CPU too hot? Well, it isn't hard to find out. Checking your PC's CPU temperature is similar to checking your car's oil: You don't need to do it every day, but you should check your temperatures every few months to ensure your system operates at its peak potential. Luckily, checking your CPU temperature is easy and doesn't require opening up your PC and sticking a thermometer inside. Instead, every CPU comes with built-in digital temperature sensors, so all you need is a bit of software to read the measurements in Windows 10 or Windows 11, or other operating systems.
This is especially true if you regularly strain your system with heavy loads like you'll do with the best CPUs for gaming or if you're an enthusiast who strives for the best performance in CPU benchmarks. Ultimately, keeping your CPU temperatures under control improves performance and reliability. The easiest way to check your CPU temperature is to download a simple utility, like Core Temp or NZXT's CAM, to see your CPU temps.
Checking your CPU temperature is as easy as installing and using monitoring software and then reading the output, and you can use the same techniques to check your CPU temperature in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
There are multiple CPU temperature monitoring programs to choose from, with the best tools for checking CPU temperature, including Core Temp, NZXT's CAM, AIDA64, HWiINFO, or HWMonitor. If you're overclocking your CPU and want more in-depth measurements, Intel's eXtreme Tuning Utility (XTU) and AMD's Ryzen Master software are designed by the chipmakers and also offer expansive options.
These are just a few examples of many, but we'll show you how NZXT's CAM and Core Temp work because our testing found that these two are the easiest to install and use. You can download CAM it here.
While CAM is intended to be used with NZXT's products, it works really well as a casual monitoring tool in Windows 11 or Windows 10, even if you don't have any NZXT hardware. You can use the software in Guest Mode to avoid creating a user account, and you can also disable the program from starting automatically with Windows if you don't plan on using it often.
Once installed, CAM offers an easy-to-use user interface (UI). The first block (PC Monitoring) tells you the CPU's status, which shows the load, temperature, clock speed, and cooler fan speed. You can click on this block to access further details, as shown in the second image in the album above.
CAM also has an overlay, which automatically turns on when you enter a game when CAM is running. This overlay can show you your CPU's status while in-game, providing you with temperature measurements during your favorite game.
You can also use the Core Temp tool, one of the best CPU temperature tools for Windows 11 and Windows 10, to monitor the temperatures (download here). This is a simpler tool that works with a more basic UI. Just be sure to untick the freeware option during installation.
Core Temp provides temperature measurements for every core in your CPU. The left-hand side of the measurements shows the real-time temperature of each CPU core, and you can also see the measurements in the taskbar. But we're more interested in the Min and Max columns, which show the absolute minimum and the absolute peak temperature recorded while the program runs. So, for example, the CPU in the above image has had a minimum temperature of 32C and a maximum of 51C and is, therefore, running at a normal temperature.
If you want to check your PC's CPU temperature during normal use, you can leave Core Temp running while you perform common tasks. However, if you want to measure the maximum possible temperature, you can check by running a Prime95 stress test for about 30 minutes (download here) on Windows 10 or Windows 11. Just be aware that this program puts an extremely heavy load on your PC, so you might encounter a blue screen of death (BSOD).
The best way to check your CPU temperature while gaming is to game for an hour or more and then check the program to see the maximum recorded CPU temperature. You should be concerned if this figure is at or beyond 95C. Anything between 80C and 95C leaves room for improvement.
When the CPU is idle, a good temperature is anything under or around 50C. Under higher load, such as when playing a game, rendering a video, or other intensive tasks, your CPU consumes more power and, thus, runs at a higher temperature. This 'load temperature' is more important than idle temperatures (assuming idle temps are fine), so you'll want to periodically monitor your CPU temperature under load to ensure it's adequately cooled.
Meanwhile, Intel's highest-end Core i9 12th-Gen Alder Lake and 13th-Gen Raptor Lake processors will run up to 100C during normal operation. These temperatures are within spec and expected for these specific processors.
As such, while the 80C threshold serves as a good general indicator, it is important to ensure that your processor doesn't exceed its 'TJ Max' (Temperature Junction Maximum) temperature, which is the safe limit for any given processor. The TJ Max varies by chip, but most monitoring software lists the value or you can check the chip's specifications on the manufacturer's page.
For older chips, you have some wiggle room to creep past 80C, but anything above 95C is typically critical. At this point, some CPUs will begin throttling, meaning the chip will reduce its clock speed and slow down to ensure it doesn't overheat, and your PC may turn off.
More advanced users who want the utmost confidence that their CPU can handle aggressive workloads should stress test their CPU to 100% using a program like Prime95 or AIDA64. When running a stress test, keep a close eye on the CPU temperatures and back off once they reach too high (above 95C). We consider an ideal stress test to be one hour long, though your maximum temperature will likely level off after 10-15 minutes. If you're looking for specific advice about temperatures and overclocking, head to our How to Overclock a CPU guide.
Additionally, as part of any PC tune-up, you'll want to make sure that your cooler is adequate. Many of the stock CPU coolers that come either bundled with the CPU or installed in pre-built systems aren't adequate to give you the full performance of the chip. This often applies to Intel CPU coolers on Core i5 and above processors. You'll need to follow the stress testing steps outlined above to check CPU temperatures under load in Windows 10 or Windows 11 to ensure that the cooler doesn't get overwhelmed by the CPU when it is under heavy load.
I did a search on this forum and it seems that we don't have a simple z wave temp monitor setup. I understand that transmitting through a steel box is not ideal, and it seems that no one makes a probe/transmitter setup. Am I correct that this is a dead end? There are tons of wifi monitors available. Is there way to integrate? The end goal is temperature reporting on the dashboard. Thank you all.
I do remember on the SmartThings forum someone took apart a ZigBee device that reported temperature and made a probe out of the sensor. He had to drill into the freezer and insert the probe though the box and the Zigbee guts stayed on the outside of his freezer.
Thanks to a heads-up from @habitat, I am successfully using a Hue Motion Sensor to report temperature, illuminance and motion from inside my fridge and freezer. It is useful as you are able to detect when the freezer or fridge door is opened and the resultant effect on temperature.
I am using Iris v1 contact sensors in both of my freezers and a Iris v2 motion sensor (that for some reason won't sense motion anymore but still works for temp) in my refrigerator. No issues at all, but I have a strong ZIGBEE mesh. The freezer sensors always show single digits but continue to work nonetheless.
SONOFF SNZB-02 ZigBee Temperature & Humidity Sensor Real-time Temperature & Humidity Feedback Measure the temperature and humidity in real time, and sync data to your mobile phone in no time. Improve the Comfort Level of Your Home Wish your...
You could try using the "Fibaro FBGS-222 Smart Implant" with DS18B20 temp probe. This would be very easy to setup and is a Z-Wave option without having to tinker around, this is exactly the type of situation the Smart Implant was created.
I use SmartThings Zigbee contact sensor for monitoring my large freezer (0F). The device works perfectly and the battery lasts more than 8 months easily. These contact sensors are discontinued but still available on ebay!
The CORE sensor measures both core body temperature and skin temperature. Those metrics are displayed live in the CORE app and on compatible sports tech devices. The app and some Garmin devices also display the real-time Heat Strain Index, which shows the amount of heat stress the body is experiencing.
Heat training adapts the body to perform more efficiently at elevated core temperatures. It also builds blood plasma and hemoglobin, which increases performance (increased power at both lactate threshold and VO2max) in both cool and hot conditions alike.
To get the most precise data during sports activity, we highly recommend pairing with a heart rate monitor. Heart rate helps the sensor accurately convert measured heat flux into core body temperature. During everyday activity (ie. non-sports), core temperature data is accurate both with and without a heart rate monitor.
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