How to Check CPU Temp in Windows 11 (2026)

Windows shows your graphics card’s temperature and hides your processor’s. How-To Geek’s long-running guide puts it flatly: “Neither Windows 10 nor Windows 11 has a built-in way to see your computer’s CPU temperature, so you’ll need a third-party program for this.”

I checked what my own desktop exposes, a Ryzen 7 7800X3D and RTX 5080 on Windows 11 Home 25H2. One command printed the GPU at 60 C. The two thermal sources Windows offers to scripts came back empty.

So the CPU number has to come from the firmware or from a tool that reads the chip’s sensors. This page covers the four routes that work and which reading to trust. It also covers two commands that came back empty on my desktop. Already have a number and want to know if it is too hot? The safe CPU temperature guide has the ranges by chip. If it is too hot, CPU overheating sorts out the cause by when it happens.

How to check CPU and GPU temperature in Windows 11 or 10

Windows does not put CPU temperature in Task Manager. For a quick CPU reading, restart into the BIOS or open a sensor tool such as Core Temp. On a supported desktop Ryzen processor, AMD’s Ryzen Master gauges show the current CPU temperature and its maximum. Use HWiNFO when you need CPU package and per-core readings beside motherboard, storage, or GPU sensors.

For a dedicated GPU, open Task Manager > Performance > GPU and read Temperature. That GPU field does not expose the processor temperature. Windows 10 and Windows 11 have the same split: Task Manager for the supported GPU reading, firmware or a hardware monitor for the CPU. Check idle first, then leave the monitor open while you repeat the workload that made you concerned. That gives the temperature context instead of one unexplained number.

Which number to watch

Open a serious monitoring tool and you get several CPU temperatures. HWiNFO’s author explained why on his forum in June 2024, answering a 7800X3D owner who could not tell which to trust: “There are dozens of various temperature sensors inside the CPU (CCD or IOD) and each of those values takes a different set of sensors into account and uses a different evaluation formula.” He added that “AMD doesn’t fully disclose all details about the exact meaning.”

Two tools reading different sensors can disagree. That alone does not mean one is broken.

• On a Ryzen, I watch CPU (Tctl/Tdie). The author labels Tctl the control temperature. HWiNFO shows that single CPU (Tctl/Tdie) line when the two values are the same. On a chip with an offset it lists Tctl and Tdie separately, and in 2018 he put a Ryzen 7 2700X’s gap at 10 C, with Tdie as the real temperature.
• Expect CPU Die (average) to read lower. In the author’s words it “is the average value among multiple sensors during a certain period. So it will always be somewhat lower than the instant (max) value.”
• On Intel, users on HWiNFO’s forum describe a CPU Package reading next to the per-core values.
• Judge idle and load separately. A number means little until you know what the PC was doing.

Method 1: the BIOS, no software needed

Microsoft’s own route from Windows 11 starts in Settings. Select System, choose Recovery and select Restart now under Advanced startup. On the next screen select Troubleshoot. Choose Advanced options. Select UEFI Firmware Settings and choose Restart. The PC reboots straight into the firmware.

Where the temperature sits depends on the board maker. Check your manual. On ASUS boards that stop at boot with a CPU Over Temperature Error, the company’s support page tells owners to “Press [F1] to enter into BIOS Setup EZ Mode,” where the current CPU temperature is shown in EZ Mode, in red when it is too high. How-To Geek’s Windows 11 guide says you “might find your CPU’s current temperature next to the ‘CPU Core Temperature’ or a similar option.”

The catch is what the PC is doing at that moment. Nothing.

The same guide notes that “this method shows your CPU temp when Windows 11 isn’t loaded,” so it is good for spotting a cooler that is not mounted and useless for judging how the chip runs in a game.

Method 2: Ryzen Master on an AMD CPU

AMD’s own utility is the first thing I would open on a desktop Ryzen. AMD’s user guide lists desktop processors on the AM4 and AM5 sockets, plus SP6. AMD describes it as offering “real-time monitoring of per-core clock rates, temperature and voltages including average and peak readings,” and says that for the CPU “you can monitor individual CCDs.” The current download covers Ryzen 5000 processors and later, with separate builds for older generations. I have Ryzen Master 3.1.0.5185 installed on my desktop.

Read it while the load is still running.

A CPU’s temperature falls quickly once a load stops, as the Reddit example further down shows. AMD’s user guide defines the CPU Temperature gauge as the current processor temperature, so after twenty minutes of play the number you see when you alt-tab out has already started to fall. Keep the window on a second screen while the game runs.

Method 3: Core Temp, the quick check

Core Temp does one job. Its maker calls it “a compact, no fuss, small footprint, yet powerful program to monitor processor temperature and other vital information,” and says it is “capable of displaying a temperature of each individual core of every processor in your system.” It reads the processor’s digital thermal sensor, which the site says “provides more accurate and higher resolution temperature readings than conventional onboard thermal sensors.” It supports both Intel and AMD processors. The current release is 1.20.1, dated May 2, 2026.

Method 4: HWiNFO, every reading at once

HWiNFO is what I would use to settle an argument between two tools. It lists the instant and averaged CPU readings side by side. Its site offers it as a free download and describes it as “Comprehensive Hardware Analysis, Monitoring and Reporting for Windows and DOS.” On a Ryzen whose Tctl and Tdie match, CPU (Tctl/Tdie) and CPU Die (average) sit together in its sensor readings. The gap between them is the averaging the author described. I have not installed HWiNFO or Core Temp on this desktop, so the details for both come from their makers and from the HWiNFO author’s forum answers.

Method 5: MSI Afterburner in a game overlay

Use the CPU entry by name.

MSI’s Afterburner monitoring guide documents CPU temperature as an on-screen statistic. Install the bundled RivaTuner Statistics Server as well; MSI says RTSS supplies the on-screen display.

Open Afterburner, choose Settings > Monitoring, find CPU temperature, enable its check mark, select it, then enable Show in On-Screen Display and choose Apply. Leave Afterburner and RTSS running while the game is open.

The entry still depends on Afterburner exposing a supported CPU sensor on that machine. If CPU temperature is absent, stuck, or does not move when the workload changes, the overlay has not produced a trustworthy processor reading. Do not select GPU temperature and relabel it; that is the graphics card. Use HWiNFO or Core Temp above for the CPU instead. The overlay is a display route, not a reason to change Afterburner’s clock, voltage, power or fan controls.

GPU temperature: Task Manager and nvidia-smi

Task Manager does show one temperature. Microsoft added it in August 2019: “If you have a dedicated GPU card, we will now bubble up the current temperature next to its listing in the Performance Tab.” It needs a graphics driver “which supports version 2.4 (or higher) of WDDM.” To check yours, Microsoft says to “press WIN+R and enter dxdiag. Under the Display tab, it will say your WDDM version next to Driver Model.” The value is shown in Celsius only.

On an NVIDIA card the driver’s own tool is faster. I ran this in a terminal:

nvidia-smi --query-gpu=name,driver_version,temperature.gpu,utilization.gpu,power.draw --format=csv

It printed my RTX 5080 at 60 C on driver 616.56, at 99 percent utilization and 350.20 W. The safe GPU temperature guide shows how to compare that reading with the exact limit reported by a supported NVIDIA card.

If your card reaches its limit under a similar load, the GPU overheating guide is the next stop.

The commands that came back empty on my desktop

Search results still hand out a PowerShell or Command Prompt query of MSAcpi_ThermalZoneTemperature as the no-download answer. On the day I checked, Bing’s answer box told readers to run the Command Prompt version as administrator. On my desktop the PowerShell version, run without administrator rights, answered “Not supported.” Windows’ own Thermal Zone Information performance counter did no better: “The specified instance is not present.” I did not run either one elevated. I would not send anyone down that route when the four above work.

Check that the reading is real

A real CPU temperature moves. It drops within seconds of the PC going idle and climbs as soon as a load starts. A poster on r/techsupport shared exactly that shape this month, reading a Ryzen 7 5800X on a 240 mm AIO: 34.1 C doing nothing, 60 C when Firefox opened before it “quickly returns to 35,” and 83.2 C during a game. Does your number barely change whatever you do? Then you are probably watching the wrong sensor.

Then compare the load number with your chip’s limit. On my 7800X3D that ceiling is about 89 C, lower than most Ryzen chips. The safe temperature guide lists the rest. If the peak climbs toward the limit on a light load, old paste is a common culprit, and the CPU overheating guide covers the repaste. On an X3D chip already near its limit, the 9800X3D undervolt guide can buy back a few degrees on its efficiency path, though the guide says neither result is guaranteed on your chip.

Temperature monitoring, benchmarks and SSD checks

A sensor reading and a benchmark score answer different questions.

Name the sensor. Record the workload and time with each temperature; then compare the exact CPU’s limit in the temperature guide. For GPU temperature, use the Task Manager or nvidia-smi method above. MSI also documents selecting CPU temperature under Afterburner’s Settings > Monitoring in its monitoring guide; available readings depend on hardware support.

For a CPU performance test, Maxon’s free Cinebench measures rendering performance and provides current platform requirements. For a gaming graphics benchmark, UL’s official 3DMark download page directs users to the Steam demo. Use the same test version and preset for comparisons. Neither result is an FPS forecast for every game, and a temperature utility does not produce either score.

SSD health is another check. The SSD health guide explains Windows’ NVMe health fields and temperature, with a recorded example. CrystalDiskMark measures storage performance; its publisher warns that results depend on test size, file position and other conditions. A speed result cannot substitute for a health log or prove that important data is safe. Back up before investigating a drive showing errors.

To investigate a CPU fan, compare its reported RPM with the cooler manual and the actual temperature trend. A reading of zero needs context: the wrong header, a supported fan-stop mode or a missing tachometer signal can differ from a stopped cooler. Follow the cooler wiring and fan-warning checks and power off before inspecting connections. Do not use a stress benchmark as the first test of a cooler suspected of failing.

Sources

• How-To Geek, How to Monitor Your Computer’s CPU Temperature (Whitson Gordon and Chris Hoffman, updated January 31, 2022)
• GeeksforGeeks, How to Check Your CPU Temperature on Windows 11 (updated February 2, 2026)
• How-To Geek, How to Check Your CPU Temperature on Windows 11 (Mahesh Makvana, updated November 11, 2023)
• Windows Insider Blog, Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 18963 (August 16, 2019; GPU temperature in Task Manager)
• Microsoft Support, Windows 11 and Secure Boot (steps to UEFI Firmware Settings)
• ASUS Support FAQ 1043819, CPU Over Temperature Error occurs after bootup (updated 2025-11-25)
• AMD, Ryzen Master utility
• Core Temp (ALCPU), version 1.20.1
• HWiNFO
• HWiNFO Forum, Is CPU Tctl value is still a Tdie value on Ryzen? (replies by the HWiNFO author, May 25, 2018)
• AMD Ryzen Master User Guide 3.1.0, Gauges
• AMD Ryzen Master User Guide 3.1.0, Supported Platforms
• HWiNFO Forum, Tctl/Tdie vs Tdie (replies by the HWiNFO author, June 20, 2024)
• HWiNFO Forum, CPU Package Temperature Different For Intel DTS Sensor And Enhanced Sensor (September 1, 2023)
• Reddit r/techsupport, Post-Build: My PC is giving off a lot of heat during gaming (September 2026)