![]() Pick the right thermal paste for your CPU.And what happens when you ignore obvious warning signs, like a check engine light? Instant engine failure. Running a CPU without thermal paste is like driving a car without oil. Thermal paste fills in the gaps between a CPU processor and the heatsink and aids in efficient heat transfer. Good to know: use an AIO cooler to help with your graphics card. However, air cooling is more affordable and easier to maintain. Overall, liquid coolers offer better performance and are quieter. While you can create your own custom loop liquid cooling system, they’re difficult to make – but they perform far better than any other solutions. ![]() A fan is attached to the radiator, much like with a heatsink, to dissipate any built-up heat. Add liquid coolant through tubes and radiators to help cool the CPU. Liquid coolers use small shrouds to attach to the CPU. This is the most common setup and the reason you’ll hear the fan running harder with increased CPU usage. With air cooling, the heatsink with a fan is attached to the CPU using thermal paste. It’s also beneficial to understand the difference between air cooling and liquid cooling, which are the two main ways CPUs are cooled. If you want to look into this more, see our guide on how to choose the right CPU cooler for your PC. If your CPU cooler/heatsink is out of date, then the reuse of this heat won’t be cooled down. The entire process is essentially reusing the same heat that was originally generated by the CPU. Then, as a general rule of thumb, keep the processor’s temperature 20 to 30☌ (68 to 86☏) below that maximum at all times to ensure you’re not toeing the danger line. You’re looking for a statistic called “TJunction” or “TJ Max.” This number is the absolute maximum it can take before problems arise. If you’re using an Intel CPU, search for the specifications of your processor. If you’re not doing much, an average CPU temperature is usually near this range. ![]() At this time, an average idle temperature of around 30 to 40☌ (86 to 106☏) should be fine. “Idle” is when you boot up the PC but don’t open anything, and the operating system isn’t doing other intensive things (such as Windows’ Superfetch process). Regardless of your processor model, ideal idle temperatures don’t differ much. There are certain parameters you should stay within while idle and when under heavy processing. For instance, a temperature of 80☌ (176☏) can be shrugged off by some processors in some scenarios and seriously damage others. As such, they each have their limits as to how far you can push them. Different CPUs are built in different ways. This is where things get a little complicated. Tip: assign specific CPU cores to applications to further control your processor. Linux fans can check their CPU temperature using the psensor tool. When he isn't working on a computer or DIY project, he is most likely to be found camping, backpacking, or canoeing.Mac users can grab Fanny, which doesn’t go into as much detail as Speccy, but sits as a widget in your notification center for easy access to your CPU and fan stats. He has designed crossovers for homemade speakers all the way from the basic design to the PCB. He regularly repairs and repurposes old computers and hardware for whatever new project is at hand. He enjoys DIY projects, especially if they involve technology. He also uses Proxmox to self-host a variety of services, including a Jellyfin Media Server, an Airsonic music server, a handful of game servers, NextCloud, and two Windows virtual machines. He has been running video game servers from home for more than 10 years using Windows, Ubuntu, or Raspberry Pi OS. Nick's love of tinkering with computers extends beyond work. In college, Nick made extensive use of Fortran while pursuing a physics degree. Before How-To Geek, he used Python and C++ as a freelance programmer. ![]() He has been using computers for 20 years - tinkering with everything from the UI to the Windows registry to device firmware. Nick Lewis is a staff writer for How-To Geek. ![]()
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