{"id":24594,"date":"2023-11-29T15:02:04","date_gmt":"2023-11-29T14:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/g100.us\/?p=24594"},"modified":"2023-11-29T15:02:10","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T14:02:10","slug":"what-is-cpu-package-temperature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/g100.us\/what-is-cpu-package-temperature\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is CPU Package Temperature and Is It Important?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today, we\u2019ll be answering questions and other commonly-asked head-scratchers about CPU package temperature, including when you should be alarmed by the reading and what you can do to reduce it.<\/p>\n<p>But before the extras, let\u2019s establish the basics and answer the titular question.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_39 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">TABLE OF CONTENTS<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6684419ac0cf0\" class=\"cssicon\"><span style=\"display: flex;align-items: center;width: 35px;height: 30px;justify-content: center;direction:ltr;\"><svg style=\"fill: #7f11e0;color:#7f11e0\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #7f11e0;color:#7f11e0\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\" \/><\/svg><\/span><\/label><label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6684419ac0cf0\" class=\"cssiconcheckbox\">1<\/label><input type=\"checkbox\" id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6684419ac0cf0\" checked><nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 \"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/what-is-cpu-package-temperature\/#A_Brief_on_CPU_Thermals\" title=\"A Brief on CPU Thermals\">A Brief on CPU Thermals<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/what-is-cpu-package-temperature\/#What_Is_CPU_Package_Temperature_and_Is_It_Important\" title=\"What Is CPU Package Temperature and Is It Important?\">What Is CPU Package Temperature and Is It Important?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/what-is-cpu-package-temperature\/#FAQ\" title=\"FAQ\">FAQ<\/a><ul class=\"ez-toc-list-level-3\"><li class=\"ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/what-is-cpu-package-temperature\/#What_CPU_Package_Temp_Is_Too_High\" title=\"What CPU Package Temp Is Too High?\">What CPU Package Temp Is Too High?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/what-is-cpu-package-temperature\/#What_Is_The_Average_CPU_Package_Temperature_at_Idle\" title=\"What Is The Average CPU Package Temperature at Idle?\">What Is The Average CPU Package Temperature at Idle?<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/what-is-cpu-package-temperature\/#How_Do_I_Reduce_CPU_Package_Temperature\" title=\"How Do I Reduce CPU Package Temperature?\">How Do I Reduce CPU Package Temperature?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/what-is-cpu-package-temperature\/#Over_to_You\" title=\"Over to You\">Over to You<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p>Alternatively, you can use the Table of Contents above and completely subvert the intended reading order of this article. I\u2019m sure none of you would do that, though \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Brief_on_CPU_Thermals\"><\/span>A Brief on CPU Thermals<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>So, electronic devices necessarily exhaust heat by consuming electricity that produces friction. The CPU inside your PC also needs to exhaust heat, but can\u2019t really do so sufficiently unless you have a CPU cooler attached.<\/p>\n<p><strong>With a CPU cooler, all the heat from your CPU passes through your IHS (Internal Heat Spreader) and a layer of thermal paste into the coldplate.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>From there it will feed into the heatsink fins and be dissipated, or circulated throughout the loop and cooled in the radiator if you\u2019re using a liquid cooler.<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-14586\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/12\/How-do-CPU-coolers-work.jpg\" alt=\"How do CPU coolers work\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/12\/How-do-CPU-coolers-work.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/12\/How-do-CPU-coolers-work-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/12\/How-do-CPU-coolers-work-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/12\/How-do-CPU-coolers-work-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/12\/How-do-CPU-coolers-work-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-14586 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"How do CPU coolers work\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/12\/How-do-CPU-coolers-work.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/12\/How-do-CPU-coolers-work-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/12\/How-do-CPU-coolers-work-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/12\/How-do-CPU-coolers-work-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/12\/How-do-CPU-coolers-work-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2021\/12\/How-do-CPU-coolers-work.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Basically, CPU cooling is about spreading and dissipating heat from the CPU as fast as possible in order to keep temperatures low, throttling to a minimum, and, therefore, performance high<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Temperature throttling occurs when your CPU cooler isn't powerful enough to dissipate the heat your CPU is generating, meaning it would theoretically keep on heating up more and more until it fails (gets too hot). Throttling gradually reduces your CPU's core frequencies so your heat output becomes lower or equal to what your cooler is capable of dissipating.<\/p>\n<p>To make all of these automatic adjustments in real-time, the CPU has built-in sensors that are constantly monitoring various areas inside of your CPU.<\/p>\n<p>Which brings us to: <strong>What is CPU <em>package<\/em> temperature<\/strong>?<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_CPU_Package_Temperature_and_Is_It_Important\"><\/span>What Is CPU Package Temperature and Is It Important?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hwinfo.com\/forum\/threads\/need-some-cpu-temp-info-and-explanations-please.1961\/#:~:text=HWiNFO%20Author&amp;text=Core%20Max%20or%20CPU%20Package,among%20all%20sensors%20in%20CPU.\" target=\"_blank\">HWInfo's Author states<\/a>, &#8220;CPU package temperature is a <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">256-millisecond average of the hottest temperature recorded by all of the CPU\u2019s sensors<\/span>&#8220;<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>It should almost always be the highest temperature reading on your CPU. You may see this reading in any number of contexts, but it\u2019s most popular as a HWInfo metric.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve embedded a screenshot of my own CPU package temperature highlighted below:<\/p>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"561\" height=\"595\" class=\"wp-image-24597\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/11\/cpu-package-temperature.png\" alt=\"CPU package temperature\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/11\/cpu-package-temperature.png 561w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/11\/cpu-package-temperature-283x300.png 283w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 561px) 100vw, 561px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"561\" height=\"595\" class=\"wp-image-24597 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20561%20595%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"CPU package temperature\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20561%20595%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 561w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 561px) 100vw, 561px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/11\/cpu-package-temperature.png 561w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/11\/cpu-package-temperature-283x300.png 283w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/11\/cpu-package-temperature.png\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>CPU package temperature may be pretty important (and definitely a good metric to eye for general cooling performance), but it isn\u2019t the only one that matters<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Checking per-core temperatures makes it much easier to identify a problem like improperly-applied thermal paste, or lower-quality cores that don't boost well, for example, since some cores will naturally get much hotter than others in that scenario.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"FAQ\"><\/span>FAQ<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_CPU_Package_Temp_Is_Too_High\"><\/span>What CPU Package Temp Is Too High?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24234\" src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-Thermal-Throttling.jpg\" alt=\"What is Thermal Throttling\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-Thermal-Throttling.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-Thermal-Throttling-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-Thermal-Throttling-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-Thermal-Throttling-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-Thermal-Throttling-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\"><\/noscript><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-24234 lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"What is Thermal Throttling\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%202048%201080%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-Thermal-Throttling.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-Thermal-Throttling-300x158.jpg 300w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-Thermal-Throttling-1024x540.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-Thermal-Throttling-768x405.jpg 768w, https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-Thermal-Throttling-1536x810.jpg 1536w\" data-src=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/media\/2023\/10\/What-is-Thermal-Throttling.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>As with CPU temperatures in general, it\u2019s understood that you want to try and keep your CPU below ~90-95 degrees Celsius (range depending on CPU) whenever possible<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Whenever your CPU hits that hot zone, it will be forced to <em>thermal throttle<\/em>, which refers to a processor reducing its performance in hopes of reducing temperatures and preventing overheating or crashing.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Is_The_Average_CPU_Package_Temperature_at_Idle\"><\/span>What Is The Average CPU Package Temperature at Idle?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Your average CPU package temperature at idle may vary a bit depending on your cooling setup, CPU, and so on<\/strong>. However, idle temperatures generally shouldn\u2019t exceed ~50 degrees Celsius.<\/p>\n<p>High idle temperatures (especially pushing into ranges expected during actual use, like 70-80 degrees) can be a sign you need a <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/the-best-thermal-paste-for-your-needs-beginners-guide\/\"><strong>thermal paste replacement<\/strong><\/a> or there are deeper system cooling issues at play.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_Do_I_Reduce_CPU_Package_Temperature\"><\/span>How Do I Reduce CPU Package Temperature?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>In order to reduce your CPU package temperature, you need to start taking steps to reduce your system temperatures in general<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Fortunately for you, I\u2019ve already written a fairly detailed <a href=\"https:\/\/g100.us\/thermal-throttling-guide\/\"><strong>Thermal Throttling Guide<\/strong><\/a><strong>,<\/strong> wherein I include a detailed list of methods to <em>prevent<\/em> thermal throttling! Including all of that advice here would be out of the scale of <em>this<\/em> article, but I\u2019ve linked to it above in case you need help cooling down your CPU temperatures.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Over_to_You\"><\/span>Over to You<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>And that\u2019s all, at least for now!<\/p>\n<p><strong>I hope this article helped clarify what CPU package temperature is and how important it is as a metric for gauging the health of your PC.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Your other temperature readings matter too, but your package temperature is easily one of the most important ones to refer to when monitoring your CPU performance.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Have any other questions about CPU temperatures or PC hardware? <a href=\"#comments\">Comment<\/a> down below so me or another member of the G100 Team can come to your assistance! We\u2019ll be happy to help. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Alternatively, you can interact with a wider community of Experts and Enthusiasts in long-form discussions on our Forum, if you prefer that environment.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Until then or until next time, happy computing!<\/strong> And remember: you should try and replace your desktop CPU thermal paste once every two years, at least. If you\u2019ve found yourself here without doing <em>that...<\/em>well, there you go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today, we\u2019ll be answering questions and other commonly-asked head-scratchers about CPU package temperature, including when you should be alarmed by the reading and what you can do to reduce it. But before the extras, let\u2019s establish the basics and answer the titular question. Alternatively, you can use the Table of Contents above and completely subvert...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2339,"featured_media":24595,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[74],"tags":[117],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24594"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2339"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24594"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24796,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24594\/revisions\/24796"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/g100.us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}