CPU Maximum Temperatures

Following on from the cooling article we look at the maximum temperatures of CPU's. Even though we use fans and heatsinks CPU temperatures can still raise if they are being used at full power for a long period of time. Using CPU's at high temperatures can lower cause system crashes in the short term and in the long term cause the life of your CPU to be greatly reduced. In extreme cases your CPU could burn out or melt onto the motherboard. This usually happens when a fan breaks down and goes unnoticed. Today's motherboards come with temperature monitoring software and hardware which actually shuts the computer off if the CPU temperature gets too hot. Even these however are not 100% fail proof. The only way to be sure is to check your fans and other cooling equipment regularly and also use CPU thermometers to check your CPU temperature is stable and not raising over time. CPU's have a rated maximum temperature sometimes called a critical temperature. What this boils down to (quick pun :} ) is what the manufacturer states is the maximum temperature the CPU will operate at. This is not to say you want your CPU to operate at this temperature as it will be borderline between working and burning out. Always try to keep at least 20C below this value if you can. Below is a table showing you the critical temperatures for most of the CPU's we use today.

Please be aware that as faster models are released even under the same name the thermal requirements may change. this table is meant for a guide only. Critical temperature is often referred as Critical Case temperature as CPU core temperatures are difficult to report accurately.

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CPU	Critical Temperature
AMD Athlon Series
AMD Athlon (socket) upto 1Ghz	90°C
AMD Athlon (slot) all speeds	70°C
AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.1Ghz+	95°C
AMD Athlon MP 1.33Ghz+	95°C
AMD Athlon XP 1.33Ghz+	90°C
AMD Athlon XP T-Bred upto 2100+	90°C
AMD Athlon XP T-Bred over 2100+	85°C
AMD Athlon XP Barton	85°C
AMD Athlon 64	70°C
AMD Athlon 64 (Socket 939, 1.4 volts)	65°C
AMD Athlon 64 FX (sledgehammer)	70°C
AMD Athlon FX (San Diego + Toledo + Windsor)	63°C
AMD Athlon X2 (Manchester + Toledo)	65°C
AMD Athlon X2 (Windsor)	70°C-72°C (1.35v - 1.25v)
AMD Athlon X2 (Brisbane)	78°C (1.25v)

AMD Phenom
AMD Phenom	70°C
AMD Phenom X3	70°C
AMD Phenom X4 (9100, 9750, 9850)	61°C
AMD Phenom X4 (9550, 9650)	70°C

AMD Sempron
AMD Sempron (T-bred/Barton core)	90°C
AMD Sempron (Paris core)	70°C
AMD Sempron (Manila)	69°C/78°C Model dependant
AMD Mobile Sempron	95°C


Intel Pentium D
Pentium D (Smithfield 805, 820)	63°C
Pentium D (Smithfield 830, 840)	69.8°C
Pentium D (Presler 915, 920, 930, 945, 960)	63.4°C
Pentium D (Presler 940, 950)	68.6°C

Intel Celeron Series
Celeron D (Prescott)	67°C
Celeron D (Cedar Mill)	69.2°C
Mobile Celeron	100°C

Intel Core 2 Duo
Intel core 2 Duo (Conroe E4300, E4400, E6300, E6400)	61.4°C
Intel Core 2 Duo (Conroe E4500, E4600, E4700)	73.3°C
Intel Core 2 Duo (Conroe E6320, E6420, E6540, E6550, E6600, E6700, E6750, E6850)	60.1°C
Intel Core 2 Duo (Wolfdale)	72.4°C
Mobile Core 2 Duo	100°C

Intel Core 2 Extreme
Intel Core 2 Extreme (Conroe)	60.4°C
Intel Core 2 Extreme (Kentsfield Q6700)	71°C
Intel Core 2 Extreme (Kentsfield Q6600)	62.2°C
Intel Core 2 Extreme (Kentsfield QX6700, QX6850)	64.5°C
Intel Core 2 Extreme (Kentsfield QX6800)	54.8°C
Intel Core 2 Extreme (Yorkfiled Q9300, Q9450, Q9550)	71.4°C
Intel Core 2 Extreme (Yorkfield QX9650)	64.5°C
Intel Core 2 Extreme (Yorkfield QX9770)	55.5°C
Intel Core 2 Extreme (Hypertown QX9775)	63°C

Intel Itanium 2
Intel Itanium 2 below 1Ghz	66°C
Intel Itanium 2 1Ghz - 1.6Ghz	83°C

To Illustrate what could happen to your CPU without adequate cooling Toms Hardware guide made a short video. This really is a must see. It shows you what happens to to CPU's should the heatsink/fan is removed. The results are very interesting. Get the video here (9.63Mb) / Toms Hardware Guide homepage.

Also for more a in depth look at processor specifications take a look at this page

More Articles in this series

Why cool your CPU