It is no surprise that laptop gaming or heavy usage will definitely cause your laptop to run at high temperatures.
This is to be expected but like with everything, there is a danger zone.
There might be several reasons why your laptop enters the danger zone when gaming. Read on to find out on how to address the laptop if your laptop temperature isn’t normal.
What is The Normal GPU/CPU Temperature Under Gaming?
Temperatures of 70-80 degrees whiles gaming are fine. Anything higher and you have every right to be worried. High temperatures during gaming can cause thermal throttling .
In some cases, it might cause your laptop to shut down as a way of protecting itself.
High temperatures over time can also cause damage to the CPU and GPU.
Most CPU and GPUs have their maximum temperatures capped at 95 degrees celsuis.
That doesn’t mean you should allow your CPU or GPU to reach such temperatures.
Depending on the manufacturer, CPUs and GPUs have different normal and maximum temperatures.
Here Are Some Tables That You Can Use As A Guide.
Intel Processor Optimum Temperatures
| Intel Processor | Average Temperature in Fahrenheit | Average Temperature in Celsius |
|---|---|---|
| Intel Pentium Pro | 165.2°F – 186.8°F | 74°C – 86°C |
| Intel Pentium II | 147.2°F – 167°F | 64°C – 75°C |
| Intel Pentium III | 140°F – 185°F | 60°C – 85°C |
| Intel Pentium 4 | 111°F – 149°F | 44°C – 65°C |
| Intel Pentium Mobile | 158°F – 185°F | 70°C – 85°C |
| Intel Core 2 Duo | 113°F – 131°F | 45°C – 55°C |
| Intel Celeron | 149°F – 185°F | 65°C – 85°C |
| Intel Core i3 | 122°F – 140°F | 100°C |
| Intel Core i5 | 122°F – 145.4°F | 100°C |
| Intel Core i7 | 122°F – 150.8°F | 100°C |
| Intel Core i9 | 122°F – 150.8°F | 100°C |
AMD Processor Optimum Temperatures
| AMD Processor | Average Temperature in Fahrenheit | Average Temperature in Celsius |
|---|---|---|
| AMD A6 | 113°F – 134.6°F | 45°C – 57°C |
| AMD A10 | 122°F – 140°F | 50°C – 60°C |
| AMD Athlon | 185°F – 203°F | 85°C – 95°C |
| AMD Athlon 64 | 113°F – 140°F | 45°C – 60°C |
| AMD Athlon 64 X2 | 113°F – 131°F | 45°C – 55°C |
| AMD Athlon 64 Mobile | 176°F – 194°F | 80°C – 90°C |
| AMD Athlon FX | 113°F – 140°F | 45°C – 60°C |
| AMD Athlon II X4 | 122°F – 140°F | 50°C – 60°C |
| AMD Athlon MP | 185°F – 203°F | 85°C – 95°C |
| AMD Athlon XP | 176°F – 194°F | 80°C – 90°C |
| AMD Duron | 185°F – 203°F | 85°C – 95°C |
| AMD K5 | 140°F – 158°F | 60°C – 70°C |
| AMD K6 | 140°F – 158°F | 60°C – 70°C |
| AMD K6 Mobile | 167°F – 185°F | 75°C – 85°C |
| AMD K7 Thunderbird | 158°F – 203°F | 70°C – 95°C |
| AMD Opteron | 149°F – 159.8°F | 65°C – 71°C |
| AMD Phenom II X6 | 113°F – 131°F | 45°C – 55°C |
| AMD Phenom X3 | 122°F – 140°F | 50°C – 60°C |
| AMD Phenom X4 | 122°F – 140°F | 50°C – 60°C |
| AMD Sempron | 185°F – 203°F | 85°C – 95°C |
NVIDIA Maximum Optimum Temperatures
| NVIDIA | Maximum Temperature in Fahrenheit | Maximum Temperature in Celsius |
|---|---|---|
| Titan V | 195.8°F | 91°C |
| Titan Xp | 201.2°F | 94°C |
| Titan X (Pascal, 2016) | 201.2°F | 94°C |
| RTX 2080, 2070 and 2060 | 201.2°F | 94°C |
| GTX 1080 Ti | 195.8°F | 91°C |
| GTX 1080, GTX 1070 Ti, and GTX 1070 | 201.2°F | 94°C |
| GTX Titan X (Maxwell, 2015) | 201.2°F | 94°C |
| GTX 980 Ti | 195.8°F | 91°C |
| GTX 1060 6GB and GTX 1060 3GB | 201.2°F | 94°C |
| GTX 980 | 208.4°F | 98°C |
| GTX 970 | 208.4°F | 98°C |
| GTX 780 Ti and GTX 780 | 203°F | 95°C |
| GTX 770 | 208.4°F | 98°C |
| GTX 590 | 206.6°F | 97°C |
| GTX 1050 Ti and both GTX 1050 (3GB and 2GB) | 206.6°F | 97 °C |
| GTX 960 | 208.4°F | 98°C |
| GTX 670 | 206.6°F | 97°C |
| GTX 580 | 206.6°F | 97°C |
| GTX 950 | 203°F | 95°C |
| GTX 760, GTX 660, and GTX 660 Ti | 206.6°F | 97°C |
| GTX 480 and GTX 570 | 206.6°F | 97°C |
| GTX 750 Ti | 203°F | 95°C |
| GTX 560 Ti | 210.2°F | 99°C |
| GTX 560 Ti (448 Cores | 206.6°F | 97°C |
| Limited Edition) | ||
| GTX 470 | 221°F | 105°C |
| GTX 750 | 203°F | 95°C |
| GTX 650 Ti | 221°F | 105°C |
| GT 1030 | 206.6°F | 97°C |
| GTX 560 | 210.2°F | 99°C |
| GTX 460 | 219.2°F | 104°C |
| GT 740 and GT 740 (DDR5) | 208.4°F | 98°C |
| GT 650 | 208.4°F | 98°C |
| GTX 550 Ti | 212°F | 100°C |
| GT 640 | 208.4°F | 98°C |
| GT 640 (DDR5) | 203°F | 95°C |
| GT 730 (DDR3, 128-bit), GT 730 (DDR3, 64-bit), and GT 730 (DDR5) | 208.4°F | 98°C |
AMD Maximum Optimum Temperatures
| AMD | Maximum Temperature in Fahrenheit | Maximum Temperature under load in Celsius |
|---|---|---|
| RX Vega 64 | 185°F | 85°C |
| RX Vega 56 | 167°F | 75°C |
| R9 Fury X | 149°F | 65°C |
| RX 580 | 156.2°F | 69°C |
| RX 480 (4GB and 8GB) | 176°F | 80°C |
| R9 Fury | 172.4°F | 78°C |
| R9 Fury Nano | 163.4°F | 73°C |
| RX 570 | 165.2°F | 74°C |
| R9 390 | 150.8°F | 66°C |
| R9 290X | 201.2°F | 94°C |
| RX 470 | 167°F | 75°C |
| R9 380X | 159.8°F | 71°C |
| R9 290 | 201.2°F | 94°C |
| HD 7970 | 165.2°F | 74°C |
| RX 560 4GB | 143.6°F | 62°C |
| R9 380 | 158°F | 70°C |
| R9 280X (XFX) | 158°F | 70°C |
| HD 7950 | 147.2°F | 64°C |
| HD 5970 | 185°F | 85°C |
| R7 370 | 156.2°F | 69°C |
| R9 270X | 183.2°F | 84°C |
| HD 7870 | 163.4°F | 73°C |
| RX 460 | 147.2°F | 64°C |
| HD 7850 | 149°F | 65°C |
| HD 6970 | 176°F | 80°C |
| R7 260X | 167°F | 75°C |
| HD 6950 | 172.4°F | 78°C |
| HD 5870 | 192.2°F | 89°C |
| HD 7790 | 156.2°F | 69°C |
| HD 6870 | 158°F | 70°C |
| HD 5850 | 168.8°F | 76°C |
| Vega 11 (R5 2400G integrated) | 134.6°F | 57°C |
| R7 260 | 152.6°F | 67°C |
| HD 7770 | 159.8°F | 71°C |
| HD 6850 | 179.6°F | 82°C |
| R7 250X | 158°F | 70°C |
| HD 7750 | 154.4°F | 68°C |
| Vega 8 (R3 2200G integrated) | 129.2°F | 54°C |
| R7 250 | 149°F | 65°C |
| HD 5770 | 190.4°F | 88°C |
| HD 6570 | 179.6°F | 82°C |
| HD 5670 | 167°F | 75°C |
| R7 240 | 185°F | 85°C |
What causes High Temperatures during Gaming?
Overclocking your CPU/GPU
Overclocking your CPU/GPU is basically making it run faster than it is supposed to it.
An overclock CPU/GPU consumes more power consumed and heat produced. If you have overclocked your laptop.
And you do not have a great cooling system in your laptop or a cooling accessory, your laptop will run at very high temperatures during gameplay.
Dust
Dust in the laptop can cause high temperatures in your laptop. Dust blocks the vents of the laptop preventing cool air from getting into it.
Bad Cooling System
If your laptop doesn’t have a good or great cooling it will struggle to get rid of the heat being produced when under heavy usage. This will eventually result in high temperatures. You might also have a faulty fan which is not doing its job well.
Laptop Placement
A laptop placed on a pillow or bed is going to have a higher temperature compared to when to it put on a hard and flat surface. The pillow might block the vents of the laptop preventing cool air from getting into it or hot air from escaping.
Manufacturers
Manufacturers can also be the reason why your laptop is overheating. If the laptop is not properly manufactured you might experience some overheating.
An example is the Acer Predator Helios 300 (the black and red model) which is popularly known to have high temperatures when gaming. Another example is the AMD A-series chips which were also known to have high temperatures when being used.
Room Temperature
The higher the room temperature the higher the temperature of your laptop.
How To Reduce High temperatures during Gaming
Here are some few ways you can solve your high-temperature problem
Undervolting
Undervolting is reducing the amount of power consumption in a laptop. By decreasing the amount of power consumed by the CPU or GPU you will be able to reduce the amount of heat produced.
Effectively reducing the risk of your laptop running at high temperatures. If you decide to go down this route make sure you check expert guides.
Thermal Pasting
Thermal pasting is a great way to deal with high temperatures. Thermal pastes are used as an interface between heat sinks and heat sources by eliminating air gaps or spaces.
Therefore maximizing heat transfer. Better heat transfer allows heat to be conducted away very quickly.
Cleaning Your Laptop
Cleaning your laptop once in a while will great rid of dust blocking the air vents. Allowing cool air to get into the laptop.
Get a Cooling Pad/Chill Mat
A cooling pad/chill mart can help in reducing high temperatures.
Get Your Manufacturer To Replace Or Fix It.
If your warranty covers it or hasn’t expired get your manufacturer to give you a replaceable or fix the problem.
By far this is the best problem if your manufacturer provides top-notch service.
How To Monitor CPU/GPU Temperatures during Gaming
There are several software utilities you can measure your CPU/GPU temperature. Some are free others you need to pay.
Here are the free software utilities you can use to monitor your CPU/GPU during gameplay.
Intel Extreme Tuning Utility
Apart from monitoring your laptop’s system, you can use it to overclock and stress a system.
It is novice-friendly and can also be used by experienced gamers and enthusiasts. It is not compatible with all Intel CPUs make sure to check before downloading it.
You can get it here.
MSI AfterBurner
A quite popular software. The MSI Afterburner is a completely free software that you use to monitor your system including temperatures.
The MSI Afterburner also allows you to overclock your GPU and it is compatible with all graphics card brands.
You can download it here.
Ryzen Master
The Ryzen master is used to overclock Ryzen processors from AMD. It allows you to tailor performance to how you want it by creating up to four custom user-profiles.
It also monitors your per-clock rates and temperature (average and peak).
You can download it here.
Nvidia Control Panel
The Nvidia control panel is already included when your laptop has an Nvidia dedicated graphics card.
You can monitor your temperatures, voltage and adjust create custom profiles to maximize system stability and performance.
Final Thoughts
You should never let your PC or laptop run at high temperatures. Because of the damage it will sustain and reduction in lifespan. Moreover, you will experience performance drops and crashes.
Always make sure your laptop is running cool if you want to keep it for a long time.
