Frequent freezing,random crashes,restart loops,blue screens, andloud fans, are some of themajor signsof CPU overheating.Performance degradationis certain but the most worrying factor is – this canreduce theprocessor’s lifespan.

A good way to start is bychecking the CPU temperature. Is it reaching90 or even going beyond 100 degrees?

It’s completely acceptable for CPUs to reach40 to 60°Cwhen performing normal tasks. And nearly85 to 90°Cwhenrunning intensive tasks, like gaming.

However, the safe temperature limit variesdepending on the processor.

For instance, the max. operating temperature for my Ryzen 5 5700G APU is 95°C. But when it reaches such a high temperature, it thermal throttles, causing a significant loss in performance.

Although that’s a good thing (prevents the CPU from overheating further), you wouldn’t want a slower speed with reduced performance.

Nonetheless, let’s move on with the fixes then.

Ensure Proper Air Flow and Ventilation

Your CPU cooler is meant to dissipate heat away from the processor. Besides, the accumulated hot air needs tomove out from the PC casing as well. Otherwise, even other components like GPU, PSU, and even themotherboard may overheat.

That said, where and how you havepositioned the PCmatters the most. Is it placed in thegroundorsomewhere inside a cabinet? If so, I doubt that the intake fans can take the cool air inside the casing.

An effective method to verify this isopening the side panel. Now, check if the temperature lowers slightly. Note that this will expose the internal parts to dust, and hence isn’t recommended for a long time.

If the above case is true, you need to move your PC to alocation where there’s proper airflow. ensure theintake and exhaust fansaren’t blocked by any means.

Keep in mind thatroom temperaturealso matters! That’s the reason I always prefer placing my PC in an air-conditioned room, which surely helps the system remain cool.

Clean the Fans and the Heatsink

Dust buildup can cause thefans to stop workingproperly or in some cases stop working completely.

In that case, I recommend you thoroughlyclean the Case Fansalong withthe coolers. While at it, don’t forget toremove dust from all the other PC components.

Check and Configure Fan Speed

CPU fans are meant to run at different RPMs, adapting to the change in processor temperature. This means that if the CPU overheats, it shouldrun at the highest speedpossible.

You cancheck the CPU fan speedfrom BIOS or even using an OEM-based utility. If yours isn’t optimized, I highly recommend going through mydetailed guide on controlling fanson any PC. This should help you set acustom or even manual speed curve.

The recommended setting is to keep theduty cycle to 100% at 75°C. But since your processor is overheating, tryreducing the limitto say 50 or 60 degrees. This will trigger the fans to run at full speed and help cool the CPU from the very start.

Besides CPU fans, I also recommend optimizing the speed of thecase and optional fans. And if you have installed anAIO or custom loop, ensure thepump is runningat all times. Also, check whether theradiator fans are spinning or not.

In case the CPU cooler isn’t working, you should meet with an error. This mainly happens when there are issues with theCPU Fan header. Reconnect or try a different motherboard fan connector if required.

Revamp Your OC Settings

If you haveoverclocked your CPU, there’s a high chance that the temperature is going beyond the specified limit. Many recommend stopping it, but I believe revamping the setting would be the better option for you.

Chances are yourOC settings weren’t optimizedin the first place. Setting the processor to a high clock speed can still make your PC boot up. But if youmonitor its temperature, I’m pretty sure you’ll get high readings.

That’s the reason I always recommend performing a stress test after increasing thecore ratio or base clock. This gives an idea of whether or not the computer is stable under the new OC settings.

Your system is likely to crash and theCPU overclocking won’t work, thanks to thermal throttling. In fact, you’ll likely meet with the“CPU Over Temperature limit” errorthe next time you start your PC.

Keep reducing the frequency andstress test each timeuntil the temperature doesn’t exceed 90 degrees. ensure your system is stable and can handle any intensive task without freezing or crashing. Indeed, this is the best way tooptimize CPU performance.

Another great solution isundervolting the CPU. This is beneficial for users who are facing extreme overheating problems despite the processor running at stock frequency.

Note:Most manufacturers recommendupdating BIOSto the latest version before overclocking the processor. If you hadn’t gone for an upgrade earlier, I recommend doing so this time for better compatibility.

Reapply Thermal Paste

Cleaning cannot help in most cases. If you or the one whobuilt your PCused a low-quality thermal paste,chances are it has dried. This has probably led to unexpected overheating issues despite everything looking just fine.

Such problems have come up several times in our workplace too! Simply reapplying a good-quality thermal paste helped us solve it.

Ceramicandcarbon-basedare the most popular ones and I recommend the same. You may experiment withsilicon,metal oxide,liquid metal, and other thermal paste typesto find what’s best for you.

Anamount equal to the size of a rice grainis usually enough. However, for some large-sized processors (for example,AMD Threadrippers), you’ll need to apply a little more.

That was the mistake I made last time and the CPU temperature had crossed 100°C when playingfast-paced games.

Besides, the thermal paste pattern also matters the most. Here aresome of the tested onesfrom my colleague,Abhishek, to help you choose the best:

After applying the paste, ensure youclean the heatsinkor AIO before reseating it. Sometimes, a gap remains between the IHS and the base plate, whichmay form air bubbles. This delays the heat transfer and thus the CPU overheats.

To prevent this, ensure you’ve properly screwed everything. Also, check whether yours comes with a back plate. Quicklyremounting the processorwouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Additional Tip:

These days, you may even findCPU contact framesthat have significantly improved cooling for most users. Currently, I’m usingone from Thermal Grizzlyon myLGA 1700 motherboard.

It has resolved the issue ofuneven contact pressurethat existed during the installation ofAlder LakeandRaptor Lakeprocessors. Thanks to the contact frame, the heat dissipation has significantly improved.

Upgrade Your Cooling System

If nothing helps, there’s probably something wrong with your cooling system. In case you’re still using the stock cooler, I highly recommendreplacing/upgrading to a better one.

you may go for either anair (HSF) or a liquid-cooling AIOsolution. Both have their own pros and cons. Also, their cheaper variants are trustworthy and much better than the stock ones.

During theCPU cooler installation, ensure you place the fans in the proper spot. For instance, in a twin-tower heatsink setup, twofans are mounted in the opposite direction. One pushes hot air out and another pulls cool air into the tower.

Along with these, ensure you’veadded enough case fans. This helpsmaintain proper airflowthroughout the system, preventing the CPU and even other components from overheating.

In case yourPC case is leading to poor air circulation, it might be time to upgrade it as well. No worries! We’ve got you covered with thebest airflow PC casesthat suit your needs.

For Experts:

Delidding the CPU is a professional technique to reduce CPU overheating. This involvesremoving the integrated heat spreader (metal base)andreplacing its inner thermal compound. However, this is only recommended for experienced users and enthusiasts.

Tests from professionals have shown that this helps temperature drop anywhere from3 to 15°C. So, only proceed if you think it’s worth going for it. Personally, this doesn’t seem quite fruitful for me and there’s a probable chance ofdamaging the processor.

Fix High CPU Usage

Checkyour Task Managerto see if theprocessor utilization has reached a high percentage. Just understand that 100% CPU usage ultimately leads to overheating.

In such a scenario, there’s usually one process thatconsumes the maximum resource.Ending its taskis always the best option, if you’re not utilizing it at the moment.

However, some might be essential to run in the background at all times. That said, you could identifywhat’s causing this problem andproceed to fix itinstead of ending it.

Here’s a detailed guide to help youlower CPU usage. And, if a specific process is the culprit,search for the relevant guide here.

Running Malware Scans

Unlike resource-hungry apps and processes, viruses do not appear in Task Manager. Yet, they keep running in the background significantly affecting CPU performance.

Running regular malware scans is a healthy habit. I prefer the built-in Windows feature (Virus and threat protection). You cango for one or more third-party anti-virus softwaretoo.

Some even suggestreducing the number of browser tabs,using fewer applications when multitasking, orlimiting FPSfrom in-game settings. That’s probably not what you seek for.

But if an application is malicious (leading to high CPU usage), it’s better touninstall/reinstall it.

Windows offers a dedicated power management option to control the processor state. Reducing it can helplower the CPU overheatingissue to some extent.

Navigate toControl Panel>System and Security>Power Options>Change Plan Settings>Change Advanced Power Settings.ExpandProcessor power managementand start lowering theMinimum processor state option.

Also, you may decrease theMaximum processor statevalue. I like to test this by reducing it by 5% each time.

You may tweak theSystem Cooling Policyoption to indirectly lower the temperature. What I mean here is setting it toPassive. This slows down the processor and with that, heat reduction is also somewhat reduced.