How to Measure GPU Temperature and Read GPU Sensors

If you want to squeeze extra performance out of your graphics card, or alternatively reduce its temperature and fan noise, you need to keep a close eye on its overall health, as well as every report from its sensors. Manufacturers offer integrated solutions in their drivers, but our preferred alternative remains GPU-Z, lighter and portable, with a recent update adding support for the latest cards on the market.

Some graphics cards are beginning to feel the passage of time, but with a light overclocking session they might respond better to the demands of modern games. On the other hand, several high-end models cry out to be squeezed to the maximum, as they were designed with that in mind. However, there is also another possibility: the cards in question generate a lot of heat, or their fans are noisy. In those cases, it might be preferable to apply some undervolting.

Regardless of the goal, you need to obtain accurate data from your graphics card. Temperature, fan speed, voltages, frequencies, overall load, and more.. Both AMD and Nvidia have advanced tools, but if you prefer a quicker and simpler alternative, then you should download a copy of GPU-Z. Its executable runs portably and doesn't drag dependencies, but you can install it the traditional way if you wish.

How to measure GPU temperature with GPU-Z

A brief review for those who have never used it before: The first tab focuses on all the technical information available about the graphics card, from the exact model, release date, and vendor to more advanced elements like bus width, frequencies (normal and Boost), and memory type. Some of these values change in real time. For example, the interface report is divided between the maximum supported version and the current one. Power-saving modes can "lower" the PCI Express link from 3.0 to 1.1, but it returns to its maximum state once the card receives load.

The "cream" of GPU-Z is inside the sensors tab. The sensor update delay is one second, but you can change that value to 0.1 seconds if you want more precision (generally, it's not necessary). GPU and memory frequencies, temperature, and fan speed dominate the upper part. Another option besides viewing current data is to prioritize minimums, maximums, or let GPU-Z calculate an average.

One of the most useful sensors is PerfCap, since it determines which is the main limiter for GPU performance. There are five possibilities: Pwr (limit by maximum power), Thrm (thermal limit due to high temperature), VRel (voltage stability), VOp (operating voltage), and Idle (the card is on standby).

The latest version of GPU-Z is v2.23.0, released on Tuesday, August 6. It includes improvements in support for the brand new Radeon RX 5700 series, detects new variants of Nvidia's RTX 2060 and RTX 2070 Super, and fixes several bugs, including a conflict with Valve's Anti-Cheat. It works with all versions of Windows from XP onward.

Official site and download: Click here