As you know, all PCs get hotter to a greater or lesser extent, and this is increased with the arrival of summer. If your PC gets too hot and therefore makes too much noise or even turns off, then we are going to give you a series of tips to prevent overheating and lower the operating temperature of the PC.
The problems that the temperature produces in the PC are multiple and varied: from blackouts (with possible loss of data) to unbearable noise produced by the fans running at maximum speed, but in any case it is something that we should avoid whenever possible because the results are always harmful in one way or another.
How to check the temperature of the PC?
If your PC has symptoms of overheating, the first thing you should do is check its temperature to find the root of the problem. For this you have multiple free programs, among which we recommend HWMonitor or OpenHardwareMonitor for example, where you will find practically all the information related to the operating speeds, load level and temperatures of your hardware.
It does not matter the program you use, as long as it is able to read the temperature sensors of your hardware, and especially those of the processor and the graphics card since they are the components that produce the most heat in the PC.
What temperature ranges are the most optimal?
This obviously depends on your hardware, but we can give you in general terms the temperature that you should not exceed in your hardware components (however, do not take it as something “written in stone” because, as we say, it depends on the brand and the model of each component).
- Processor: 70ºC
- Graphics card: 85ºC
- Hard disk: 50ºC
- NVMe SSD: 65ºC
- RAM memory: 50ºC
The PC components are designed to work with enough heat, and for this reason they usually carry mostly heatsinks to avoid overheating. However, there are many reasons why they can operate above their recommended temperatures, and it is in those moments when the fans start to work at maximum and the PC makes a lot of noise. In fact, if the cooling systems you have are not enough, it is when temperature blackouts occur in the PC.
For this reason, although a processor can work at 70ºC or even more without problems, in reality it is recommended that it work at the lower the temperature the better because this way it will have a longer useful life, it will deliver better performance (since Thermal Throttling does not occur ), and its fans will make less noise by not having to run as fast.
What to do if the PC gets too hot?
The first thing you should do is check the air flow , especially that all the fans on the computer are working (it could be that some of them have broken and are not working, producing hot air pockets inside the PC). Keep in mind that you must have a good air flow design to optimize temperatures, with one or more fans in front, bringing fresh air into the box, and other fans behind (and even on the ceiling) taking hot air outside.
If all the air flow seems to be fine and the fans are working properly, then it may be a good time to do a thorough cleaning of the interior of your PC , since as you know the dust that enters turns into solid soot that can get to plug the vents. It never hurts to do a good cleaning inside to make sure that the air flow is working at its maximum potential (and in addition, this probably also reduces the noise made by the PC).
If your problem is that the processor is getting too hot, it may be that the heatsink is not properly anchored, or even simply that it is time to change the thermal paste , since it has a certain level of degradation, it solidifies and loses its properties, and it must be changed from time to time. This also applies to the graphics card, as long as this is the component that is causing the temperature problems.
Finally, we also recommend that you consider the physical location where you have the PC case: if you have it in a hole that is not well ventilated (with enough space both in front and behind and on the sides) it may be producing hot air pockets, which causes that the thermal performance is diminished. If possible, the ideal location for the PC case is on the table, and at least 10 centimeters away from anything else.
Other alternatives if the PC gets too hot
Of course there are other alternatives if, after checking and trying all of the above, the PC continues to suffer from “hot flashes”, although in this case most involve having to invest money:
- Redesign the air flow of the box with more and / or better fans.
- Change the box for one that has better refrigeration.
- Change the processor heatsink for a better one.
- Install or purchase a fan control to make it run faster.
In any case, if your PC gets too hot and you suffer from overheating, what is clear is that you cannot leave it like this and you will have to do something about it.
