Is High-Temperature CPU Usage Bad?

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The PC becomes slow and choppy most of the time when it does some heavy work such as gaming, editing, or simulation. It is because the temperature in the CPU rises higher with the usage. Now the question arises is high-temperature CPU usage bad?

High temperature in the CPU due to usage is bad for the CPU and for the performance as well. Crossing the limit of the temperature of the CPU may result in damage to the processor and the motherboard. 

Apart from the high temperature, the performance of your PC may also get affected if the CPU temperature gets higher. It takes more time to complete work than usual because of the over usage of the processing power of the CPU. In this article, we shall learn about the causes and effects of the CPU temperature when it elevates than the standard limit.

Is high-temperature CPU usage bad? – More detailed

High-temperature usage of the CPU is bad for both performance and the processor. When idle or low usage, a very small amount of current passes through the pins of the processor. But, if you heavily use the PC for Gaming, Video editing, and making, Simulations then the story is different. At that time, the CPU consumes maximum current from the power supply and over throttles to keep up with the performance for your expectation. 

This high usage of current passing through the metallic pins of the CPU causes a rapid rise in temperature. The usual cooling system of the CPU cannot keep up with the rising temperature of the CPU. Therefore, the temperatures keep getting higher until it triggers the safety mechanism of the CPU called Thermal Throttling.

You will notice low performance while working in high CPU usage. While playing heavy games, lags, low graphics, drop of frame rate, network dropping can be seen frequently. All these happen due to the sudden rise of temperature in the CPU. You will fail to work smoothly and properly due to a lack of response.

On the other hand, the rise of temperature in the CPU if not controlled can cause damage to the systems as well. The CPU is made up of small pins which connect with the mainboard with a direct system. Now, overheating of the CPU may cause permanent damage to the CPU and to the socket of the motherboard as well.

Regular overheating of the CPU will slowly degrade the lifespan of the processor. The processing speed of the CPU will be lowering from time to time. Hence, your work and gaming experience will also get affected. For all these reasons, regular high-temperature CPU usage is bad for the user and the system.

What can we consider as a high temperature for the CPU?

The lower and higher limit of the temperature of the CPU varies with the brands and manufacturers. The two most competitive CPUs in modern time come from AMD and Intel. Again, the physical structure, core, and thread distribution of the CPUs are different. Therefore depending upon the usage and components used, the temperature rise can vary as well.

Now, considering a standard, all CPUs have minimal, average, and high-temperature readings. For a standard gaming PC, the highest temperature of the CPU can be up to 90 degrees celsius. But, on average you could be observing a temperature rise of 76 to 80 degrees of celsius.

All these readings stated are meant for very heavy usage of the CPUs such as Gaming and simulation. But, on average and usual usage the temperature of the CPUs vary from 40-50 degrees celsius only. Here, we can raise a question: Is 90 degrees Celsius hot for a CPU while gaming? 

Therefore, we can now say that the temperature rise to 90 degrees is extremely hot for a CPU while gaming. This type of over-limit temperature causes thermal throttling in the CPU and the system refers to immediate shutdown. That is why it is safe to say that a high temperature such as 90 degrees Celsius for CPU is not safe for operating.

What can happen if the temperature is high?

High temperatures in the CPU can cause many troubles. This section will state the negative impacts a PC and user may face due to high-temperature CPU usage.

Performance Degradation

When the temperature of the CPU rises, the overall performance of the PC lowers down. The more the temperature, the lesser the processing speed of the CPU. This causes the software and apps to run disrupted. You cannot get constant smooth performance in your gameplay or other activities.

The lagging in the software and choppy phenomenon while opening or closing a software may happen when the CPU temperature gets high.

Thermal Throttling of the CPU

Every CPU has a higher limit of withstanding temperature. When the temperature exceeds the limit for a longer time, it triggers the thermal throttling of the CPU. It is a phenomenon that shutdowns the entire system immediately without any prior notice. All the running activities become lost because of this. It can be a great loss if something important was running in the background.

Physical damage to the CPU

The system constantly running at high temperatures means the processor is consuming a high amount of current. This current comes from the power supply and has no limiting power. Therefore, the CPU is forced to receive the supplied current to carry out the work.

This leads to damaging the small connector pins of the processor. The deformation of the pins is caused because of the high temperature of the CPU. Besides, the CPU being connected to the motherboard directly also causes the socket of the motherboard.

Higher Consumption of Electricity

The CPU of the PC gets high temperatures when heavy loads of work are done by it. Therefore it uses the amount of electricity required from the power supply. Hence, using the CPU at higher power with hot temperature for a long amount of time results in more electricity bills.

Here we added a tutorial video about CPU high temperature, watch the video below to know how to fix the CPU high-temperature problem:

Conclusion

Using the CPU of your PC at a high-temperature causes instant loss of performance. Moreover, your PC may face permanent CPU damage for prolonged use of it in high temperatures. These are needed to be known by all the heavy PC users and Gamers who want to keep their PC safe. That is why it is important to know if high-temperature CPU usage is bad.

This will help you monitor and control your activity on the PC. Therefore, you can keep your PC healthy for a long amount of time. And you can use a better cooling system to keep your CPU safe and cool to increase its performance. So, I think now you have enough idea about the question – is High-Temperature CPU Usage Bad?

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Gary Scott

Hi There, I am Gary Scott, a Computer Engineer, and owner of this website. My friend and I created this website to share our knowledge, expertise, and experience with our fellow Computer community and pc enthusiast. I am a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). I have been writing for Motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM, Power Supply, Intel/AMD comparisons, CPU/GPU benchmarking, Gaming performance, Xbox, Play Station, and How to build your own PC. I will be regularly updating this website with new resources, If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.

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