The ideal motherboard temperature ranges between 68 degrees and 176 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 20 degrees to 80 degrees Celsius. The common idle temperature is around 50 degrees C, which is considered a safe motherboard temperature.
Unfortunately, many factors can cause a motherboard failure, such as thermal paste, power supply, proper ventilation, and cooling pads. When you finish reading the full article, you will learn more about the right ways to maintain an idle temperature across your motherboard.
Contents
How to Monitor the Temperature of Your Motherboard?
When monitoring the motherboard temperature, the temperature sensor is the most important component. Nothing can protect you from motherboard overheating if this part fails. Also, there are numerous applications that can monitor the temperature, such as Core Temp, HWMonitor, and MSI Afterburner, which are universal and can work on any motherboard.
What Is Considered a Normal Temperature?
Many experts believe that 40 degrees C is the normal temperature for your motherboard during regular use, which is half your room temperature. However, telling the exact temperature may sometimes be an issue because it is impossible to measure it directly. So, the only way to analyze the normal temperature is by comparing the temperatures generated from your RAM, graphics card, CPU, and many other components.
It is worth mentioning that we have not considered any other factors, such as cable management, case fan alignment, dust, and heat from the PSU, when calculating the temperature. All the factors shown here can and will affect the temperature if not appropriately treated. So, make sure to keep every component clean, change the thermal grease whenever necessary, and keep dust away as much as possible.
We will, however, discuss more about the factors that affect the normal temperature in the following sections of this article. Now, let us see the additional temperature ranges and how they are affected by your work. Keep reading the following section for more.
– Temperature Ranges During Everyday Use
Although the normal temperature is around 40 degrees C, it will never stay the same because it is affected by the amount of use. For example, you should expect the temperature to range between 20 degrees C and 80 degrees C. However, if it exceeds 80, this is considered the motherboard temperature high point, which can start damaging the other parts, including the CPU, RAM, and GPU.
If you live in colder parts of the world or have installed an incredible cooling system, you should expect the temperature to stay around 20 degrees C during regular use. On the other hand, the temperature will increase if you start using certain programs. Nevertheless, even after multitasking, the temperature should not exceed over 40 degrees C.
As soon as you start doing additional tasks such as reading, writing a document, surfing the web, or watching videos, the temperature is likely to go higher. It will range between 40 degrees C and 60 degrees C, which is still considered a safe temperature. However, be aware that the other parts’ temperature will go higher too, so make sure to monitor it carefully.
Finally, editing, gaming, and programming tasks will drive up the average temperature between 60 degrees C and 80 degrees C. However, make sure to disable overclocking if you do not want to exceed 80 degrees C, which can be lethal to certain components.
Potential Culprits for the Overheating Motherboard
The motherboard temperature may overheat due to many factors, and although we have mentioned several previously, we will learn more details about them in this section. The most common reasons for overheating are:
- Abnormally high room temperature
- Poor case ventilation
- Dust and dirt
- Faulty fans
- Loose heatsinks
- Overclocking
- A low-quality power unit
- Wrong preset temperature
- Manufacturing defect
As you can see, many factors should be considered, and even if you take care of your unit properly, things can go south.
– Abnormally High Room Temperature
Although your computer may have an incredible cooling system, the temperature of your motherboard may go higher due to a high room temperature. It sounds logical because the components will get hot, and thus, affect the overall temperature of your motherboard.
Since most computers nowadays are air-cooled, they need cool air around the components to keep the temperature low. However, the air temperature is more important than airflow, so make sure to keep your room cool. Although water-cooled systems are more expensive, consider getting one for an ultimate idle temperature.
– Poor Case Ventilation
We have discussed the importance of air temperature in the previous section of this article, but this is not the only important thing, as availability is crucial too. For example, if you put your unit in a confined area, like a closed door or cabinet, expect the temperature of all your components to go higher, including your motherboard, GPU, CPU, and PSU.
This is why it is important to keep airflow and ventilation as good as possible because it can make a huge difference. In addition, make sure to reorganize the internal wires and cables because they can block the airflow around your internal parts., which may cause overheating. Now, keep reading the following section of this article, where we explain more about dust and dirt.
– Dust and Dirt
Another factor that was discussed previously was dust and dirt. The dust buildup is something every gamer faces daily because every computer component is always covered in layers of dirt after a short period. No matter how much you try to keep things under control, dust will clog the heat sinks eventually, including the air inlets, which are crucial for proper heat control.
Consequently, the layers of dust and dirt prevent proper air circulation, thus, causing overheating. We recommend regularly cleaning the air inlets, heat sinks, and computer components, especially if you see thick layers of dust and dirt. Let us learn more about the following culprit without further ado.
– Faulty Fans
Another important factor in overheating computer components, especially motherboards, is faulty fans. Imagine yourself in a scorching car where the AC is not working. It does not sound good, right? Think of your computer in the same manner because it also requires fans to keep the temperature cool or prevent overheating during heavy use. So, a fan that does not spin or spin at a slow rate is one of the main reasons for overheating, so make sure to check them regularly.
In addition, you should choose the number of cooling fans depending on your average room temperature, ventilation, and the type of your computer. If your fans are spinning at a decent speed, you should clean the dust and dirt, which will improve the cooling impact. No gamers want dirty fans.
– Loose Heat Sinks
Most motherboards come with preinstalled heat sinks on the chipset. The heat sinks are used to prevent overheating because they draw most of the heat components produced. However, if heat sinks get loose and do not have full contact with the motherboard, they will not draw as much heat as necessary. So, check the heat sinks a couple of times every year.
– Overclocking
Whenever you decide to overclock your system, you must keep some things in mind. First, you need to determine whether the internal components can handle the additional work and pressure. Second, overclocking your computer pushes things to the limits so that everything will get hotter after a certain time.
Eventually, the components will overheat if the system runs at higher speeds and cannot withstand the pressure. Once most of your components overheat, the motherboard will face the same problem too. So, do some research before you try to test the limits of your computer.
– Low-quality Power Supply Unit
The power unit is one of the most important components, along with the other vital parts. So, spending more money on a good-quality power unit is essential for the proper function of your setup. On the flip side, a cheap PSU will cause your motherboard to overheat after extended use and the other internal components. This is not something you will want to go cheap.
– Wrong Temperature
The high-temperature notification you receive does not always have to be a serious threat. The sensors inside your computer can report inaccurate data, as discussed previously, so make sure to gather data from various resources. You should never fully rely on third-party applications because the data may be misleading.
It would be best if you used trustworthy software to conclude whether the temperature is truly high or the data is inaccurate. Finally, it is possible to check the heat sink temperature manually, but you have to open the case.
– Manufacturing Defect
We wrap up this article section with the last possible culprit, which is a manufacturing defect. This is another possible reason because new and untested parts can contain defects. If your motherboard is new and is overheating, check all the previous reasons. You should contact your local dealership if none of the earlier factors applies.
There is some defect with the unit, which will either be repaired, or the motherboard will be replaced. Now that you understand a lot more about the potential culprits, let us learn how you can lower the temperature without spending hundreds of dollars.
How To Lower the High Temperature?
Lowering a high component temperature can be as simple as dusting your computer. On the other hand, you might be in serious trouble if the problem is more serious. Nevertheless, it is important to know how to react and the methods you can try, so we compiled a bullet list showing some common fixes:
- Adjust and align the case fan
- Reapply thermal paste
- Clean and dust the unit
- Change the PSU
As you can see, there are four common methods for lowering the high temperature. Now, we will explain the various techniques in more detail, as shown in the following sections.
– Adjust and Align the Case Fan
One of the first things you should try is to adjust and align the case fan because, as explained previously, decent airflow means proper cooling and air intake. You should always align the case for maximum air intake, so place it somewhere safe. In addition, purchase additional fans if you think a single cannot get the job done. Now, let us continue to the next solution.
– Reapply Thermal Paste
Another common fix is reapplying thermal paste whenever necessary, especially for your CPU and GPU. We have previously taught you that many components affect the motherboard’s temperature, so every unnecessary heat source must be eliminated.
Therefore, you should remove the part and reapply a good amount of paste because it has probably dried out.
– Clean and Dust the Unit
Cleaning and dusting your internal components are as important as reapplying paste or adjusting the case fan. On this article, we have already mentioned that dust can be your motherboard’s worst enemy, especially if it has piled up for a long time. One of the best ways to get rid of dust is to use compressed air in a can or your vacuum cleaner.
– Change the PSU
If nothing works, and it is impossible to lower the temperature of your internal components, you should consider changing the PSU. We have already explained the importance of good-quality PSUs, so you know the effect they can have on your full setup. However, this solution is only necessary if nothing else works.
So, after reading every section of our complete guide carefully, you need a lot more about the factors that affect the temperature and the methods you can use to solve the issue.
Conclusion
The ideal internal computer components range between 68 degrees and 176 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 20 degrees to 80 degrees C. Since this article delivered an abundance of important facts, we have created a bullet list to summarize the most important, as shown here:
- A proper component temperature is important for the longer lifespan of your computer.
- The ideal internal temperature should not exceed 176 degrees F or 80 degrees C.
- Many factors can affect the internal temperature, including room temperature, fan speed, airflow, and many others.
- You should use various resources to check the exact temperature of your internal components.
- At least four common solutions can lower the internal temperature, although some are more expensive.
Having high internal components temperature can have fatal consequences for your expensive setup, especially if you are a gamer. So, wait no more, check all the essential parts of your build, and look for signs of overheating.