How to Check CPU Temp on MSI Afterburner (And What the Numbers Mean)

MSI Afterburner is best known as a GPU overclocking tool, but it also pulls in CPU temperature data — making it a convenient one-stop monitor for your entire system during gaming, rendering, or stress testing. Here's how to find that data, what affects how it displays, and why two setups running the same software can look completely different.

Does Afterburner Actually Monitor CPU Temps?

Yes — but with an important caveat. Afterburner reads CPU temperature through HWiNFO64, a separate hardware monitoring tool that it can integrate with. On some systems with certain motherboard chipsets, Afterburner may read basic CPU data natively. On others, especially modern AMD Ryzen or Intel 12th/13th/14th Gen builds, you'll need to run HWiNFO64 alongside it to get accurate, complete readings.

This is one of the most common reasons users open Afterburner and can't find CPU temperature at all — the integration hasn't been set up yet.

Step-by-Step: Enabling CPU Temp in Afterburner

1. Install HWiNFO64 (if not already installed)

Download and install HWiNFO64 from its official site. During launch, you can run it in Sensors-only mode, which is the standard approach when pairing it with Afterburner.

2. Enable Shared Memory Support in HWiNFO64

Inside HWiNFO64, go to Settings → General and check "Shared Memory Support." This opens a data bridge that Afterburner can read from.

3. Restart MSI Afterburner

Close and reopen Afterburner after enabling shared memory. This forces it to re-detect available sensor sources.

4. Open the Afterburner On-Screen Display (OSD) Settings

In Afterburner, click the settings gear icon, then navigate to the Monitoring tab. You'll see a long list of hardware metrics.

5. Find the CPU Temperature Entries

Scroll through the monitoring list. With HWiNFO64 active, you should now see CPU-related entries — these may appear as CPU temperature, CPU package temp, or individual core temperatures depending on your processor.

6. Enable Graph and OSD Display

Click on the CPU temperature entry you want, check "Show in On-Screen Display," and optionally enable "Show in graph." Repeat for any additional CPU cores or package sensors you want visible.

7. Apply and Launch a Game or Benchmark

Hit Apply, then launch your application. Your CPU temp will appear in the overlay alongside GPU stats. 🌡️

What You're Actually Seeing: Sensor Types Explained

Not all CPU temperature readings mean the same thing. Understanding the sensor type matters when interpreting data.

For AMD Ryzen CPUs, Tdie is generally the most reliable number to watch. For Intel CPUs, CPU Package is the standard reference point. Mixing these up can lead to misreading whether your system is actually running hot.

Variables That Affect What You See

No two systems will display or behave identically in Afterburner. Several factors determine both what data appears and how the temperatures themselves behave:

Hardware generation — Newer CPUs, especially AMD's 3D V-Cache chips and Intel's hybrid-architecture processors, report temperature differently. Some run warmer by design under normal loads, which can alarm users who don't know what baseline to expect.

Cooler type and quality — A 240mm AIO, a tower air cooler, and a stock cooler will all produce meaningfully different temperature curves under the same workload. What looks alarming on a stock cooler may be normal for that configuration.

Thermal paste application and age — Dried or improperly applied thermal paste significantly raises CPU temps. If readings seem unexpectedly high, paste condition is one of the first variables to consider.

Case airflow — A well-ventilated mid-tower will have lower ambient temperatures than a compact mini-ITX build with restricted airflow, even with the same components inside.

Workload type — A CPU doing sustained video encoding produces a very different thermal profile than one handling short gaming bursts. Afterburner's graph view helps distinguish between these patterns over time. 🖥️

Motherboard sensor accuracy — Some budget boards report CPU temperatures less precisely than others. If Afterburner's native reading looks odd and HWiNFO64's reading looks different, the board's sensor calibration may be a factor.

Normal Ranges vs. Concern Thresholds

While specific "safe" temperatures vary by CPU model, some general benchmarks are widely referenced:

• Idle temps typically fall in the 30–50°C range for most desktop CPUs with adequate cooling
• Gaming or moderate load commonly sits between 60–80°C
• Sustained temps above 90–95°C are generally considered a thermal concern for most consumer desktop CPUs, though some processors are rated to throttle or protect themselves at those levels
• Thermal throttling — where the CPU reduces clock speed to cool down — is detectable in Afterburner when you see CPU frequency drop in parallel with temperature spikes

These are general reference ranges, not guarantees for any specific chip.

The Reading Is There — But What It Means for Your Setup Is Another Question

Afterburner gives you the data. But whether a 78°C CPU temperature during gaming is fine, borderline, or a sign something needs attention depends on which processor you have, what cooler is installed, what workload is running, and what your case's thermal environment looks like. ⚙️

Two users can see identical numbers and be in completely different situations — one with headroom to spare, the other already pushing limits. The tool does its job once it's configured correctly. What those readings tell you about your specific system is the part only your setup can answer.