I've noticed that when I start playing games, like Rainbow Six Siege for instance, my computer temperatures shoot up drastically. Initially, my GPU temperatures were around 100°F and 120°F, but they spike up to 170°F and 210°F. This change in temperature occurs even after using fan control software. Before this, my temperatures were hitting 180°F and 220°F in gaming. Even my CPU jumps from about 165°F to 185°F. I've had my computer for several years, and although it seems fine so far, I recently started tracking temperatures with iCUE and I'm concerned about how hot it gets. Is this heat level harmful in the long run? Will my computer experience thermal throttling or other damage? I've already cleaned out dust, but that didn't help much.
2 Answers
Yup, that’s definitely overheating. Fortunately, CPUs do throttle to protect themselves from damage, but those high temps over time can lead to problems in your rig. Since cleaning didn’t resolve the issue, you might want to try reapplying thermal paste. Also, do you have a liquid cooler or is it just standard cooling?
It sounds like your CPU is working hard to keep performance up, and thermal throttling might already be kicking in. You should consider replacing the thermal paste and adding additional cooling fans. Older hardware tends to run hotter, so if you're pushing it while gaming, those temps are definitely high. Long-term exposure to those heat levels isn't good.
No liquid cooling, just 2 small fans. I plan to upgrade to a bigger case with 4 larger fans, which should help a lot!