Are you monitoring your temps and finding them higher than average? If you find yourself constantly hitting the temperature limit, here are some tips to cool down your CPU temps:

Vacuum your PC: Get the dust bunnies out of the CPU fans. If you have a laptop (especially an older one), open it up and clean out the fans. If you’re nervous about taking the cover off, you can use compressed air dusters to unclog the inner workings of your PC and the CPU fan.

Use a laptop stand: A handful of laptop stands on the market either lift the computer or place it vertically to allow for more air flow. Laptop stands have other usability benefits too, so you don’t have to keep checking your computer temp.

Keep your environment cool: Don’t place your laptop or PC in direct sunlight or heat, and keep the ambient temperature as cool as possible. Never leave your laptop completely on while it’s in a laptop bag; set it to idle or sleep mode, or turn it off first.

Replace your cooler and thermal paste: If the fans and cooler inside your PC aren’t up to their tasks, replace them with a more powerful cooler or install a water-cooling solution. While you’re replacing the fan, you should also remove the CPU and refresh the thermal paste or even replace it with a better one.

Keep it malware-free: Some viruses produce constant CPU usage, drastically increasing the core load and temperature. That’s why you should regularly run a malware scan, which can detect and remove malware on your PC. That’ll keep things from running hot. Download free antivirus for Windows 10 or Windows 11, and run free malware scans whenever you need to.

Turn off background applications and close programs: Use a dedicated tune-up tool like Avast Cleanup. Its built-in Sleep Mode automatically puts resource-draining apps and programs to sleep, reducing the load on your system and lowering CPU temperatures. Avast Cleanup will also clear unnecessary junk from your PC, keeping your system running like new.