What Is a Bad GPU Temperature?

Have you ever experienced your video games starting to lag, or while designing a poster for your class project, suddenly your computer is unable to handle Photoshop? Well, it is most likely that your graphics card or graphics processing unit (GPU) is overheating, which is why its performance is reducing.

It is not uncommon for GPUs to start overheating. There can be many reasons, but one of the most common is when you push your GPU beyond its limits and do not get proper air regulation to counter the heat it produces. Another common reason is when users overclock their GPUs to perform better, which overheats them.

Read on to find out which temperatures are not safe for your GPU.

GPU Temperatures

Computer parts have a temperature just like everything else in the world. This is because they are electrical devices, and when housed inside a casing with other components, it may get quite heated inside, especially since some of the components have built-in exhaust fans.

That is why your GPU must handle itself better when faced with situations that will increase its temperatures. It not only allows your GPU to maintain a healthy temperature while running a hard video game, but it also enables you to play the game at its highest possible level of performance. In addition, better framerates and the ability to prevent potential technical problems are made possible by a GPU that is not overheated in your game.

However, a GPU that is overheated might result in various issues. First, stuttering crashes and other issues may begin, followed by more severe visual issues like seeing lines everywhere or nothing but distorted images.

Because of this, you must keep your GPU at a healthy temperature. The following sections will explain what that temperature should be and how to manage it.

Measuring GPU Temperatures

Before highlighting and understanding high temperatures, it is important to know how to measure your GPU temperature. Fortunately, Windows by itself have a feature that measures GPU temperature so that you can use that. Or you can use either third-party software or the BIOS software provided with your motherboard or device.

For the built-in Windows functionality, you can use the Windows Task Manager. Windows Task Manager allows you to manage different tasks running on your system and gives you system information, such as which hardware is used.

Here’s how you can use Windows Task Manager.

1. Press Ctrl + Alt + Del.
2. Click on “Task Manager”.
3. On the top, click on the tab “Performance”.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the section titled “GPU”.
5. Under the word GPU, you will find your GPU temperature.

You can also use third-party software such as CPUID-GPU Z or MSI Afterburner. However, you will have to install this software using their websites and find them a little advanced in terms of information provided by your system.

Good Temperature

As you are already aware, playing games put a great deal of additional strain on the CPU and GPU of your PC. Most of the time, that tension is directly converted into heat. Your hardware must run faster when you’re gaming to maintain performance standards. As a result, your components naturally get significantly hotter.

Looking back, the CPU was the primary performance requirement for games. However, games rely far more on GPUs to drive frame rates due to a recent shift in design. Naturally, this has knocked on the manufacturers since buyers now generally expect much better cooling systems and more power.

Brands such as AMD and Nvidia are fiercely competing to produce cards with better cooling solutions so that consumers can push the cards to their extreme limit without having to worry much about the heat. Unfortunately, due to the competition and need, typical temperatures vary widely across the board, giving you, the buyer, even additional factors to consider when making an upgrade purchase.

GPU temperatures can be classified into different types of uses (i.e., how you use your GPU and what should be the good temperature for it).

Listed below are the uses and the temperature ratings.

• Idle/Casual Use: This is when your computer is just on and not in use or used normally for browsing the internet or using MS Office.
  Temperature: 30° – 45° C.
• File Transfers: This is when you are using your computer to transfer files or move your storage around.
  Temperature: 65° – 85° C.
• Rendering/Encoding: This is when you are using your computer to render video editing or convert those files to a different format.
  Temperature: 70° – 80° C.
• Gaming on Maximum Settings: This is when you are using your computer for gaming, and all the in-game settings and resolutions are set to high.
  Temperature: 60° – 80° C.

Please note that the above-given temperatures are the typical temperatures for your graphics card that are suitable and will deliver optimum performance without any problems.

Bad Temperature

A bad GPU temperature will vary, as I said previously, depending on the manufacturer and the type of architecture they are using. It also depends on the cooling system they have deployed in the card. 

Below are the bad temperatures for graphics cards, depending on the manufacturer.

• AMD: Usually, AMD cards’ temperatures are higher than Nvidia. AMD GPUs (such as the Radeon RX 5700 or 6000 Series) may safely achieve temperatures as high as 110° C; however, optimal GPU temperatures are typically between 65° and 85° C under load.
• Nvidia: Most of the time, Nvidia’s graphics cards are kept at temperatures below 85° C. The GPU model, though, also plays a role in this. For instance, the highest specified temperature for the GeForce RTX 30 Series GPUs is 93° C.

Conclusion

With the information and temperatures highlighted above, you can check your GPU and ensure that they operate at the safest possible temperatures.