Core Temp questions on safety and Windows 11

Yes. Requirements for the current build include Windows 11 and Windows 10, plus Windows 8.1, 8, 7, and XP, and Windows Server from 2003 through 2025. You need an Intel, AMD, or VIA x86 processor. Version 1.21 drops Windows 2000. Dark mode needs Windows 10 or newer.

Some scanners flag the embedded driver Core Temp uses to read CPU registers. The author has said the program has no keylogger and no spyware. False positives have been reported for years. A file from an unofficial repack is a different risk and has installed extra software. Read the trust page before you override a warning.

A question mark means that sample was not marked valid. Some older Intel chips, including parts of the 45 nm Core 2 line, do not report very low temperatures. Older AMD K10 processors often expose one sensor for the whole package. A Ryzen reading that froze after sleep or reboot was fixed in 1.20.1, which is included in 1.21.

No. The main window reads CPU temperature, load, frequency, VID, TDP, and power when the processor exposes them. Version 1.21 fixed a crash when more than one Intel GPU, including an integrated GPU, is present. That is a stability fix, not a graphics-card temperature display.

The portable zip is the Windows build that does not run the installer, so it does not show the optional Goodgame Empire shortcut. It is still Core Temp 1.21. The button on the download page is ready and delivers the Core Temp installer.

Version 1.19.5 added Zen 5 support, including Granite Ridge. The home page screenshot is Core Temp on a Ryzen 9 9950X with 16 cores, Tj. Max at 95°C, and Tdie listed separately from the cores. Support still depends on the exact model exposing a sensor.

Yes, on the server releases listed for version 1.21: Windows Server 2025, 2022, 2019, 2016, 2012, 2008, and 2003. The processor still has to be Intel, AMD, or VIA x86.

Core Temp can write temperature samples to a text file on an interval you choose. You can open that file in a spreadsheet. Version 1.21 fixes a bug where a custom log path was not applied at startup. A separate grapher add-on can plot load and temperature per core.

Tj. Max is the junction temperature Intel uses as the top of the scale for the digital thermal sensor. Core Temp calculates an Intel core temperature as Tj. Max minus the delta the sensor reports. On the 2600K screenshot, Tj. Max is 98°C. On the 9950X screenshot it is 95°C. AMD and VIA use different registers.

No. It reads processor data and can hibernate or shut down Windows when a temperature limit is crossed. It is not a tuning utility and it does not set the CPU multiplier.

If you used the installer, remove Core Temp from Windows Settings or from Programs and Features. A portable copy is removed by deleting its folder. Uninstalling does not remove a game shortcut you already accepted. Delete that shortcut yourself if it is still on the desktop.

Run Core Temp on computers you own or are allowed to administer. Use the readings to look after that machine. Do not present a screenshot as proof of a temperature the program did not measure, and do not ignore an antivirus warning on a file you cannot trace.

No. Core Temp is freeware, and this site does not publish its source. The shared memory layout is documented so other programs can read temperatures, load, Tj. Max, frequency, VID, TDP, and power. Some add-ons publish their own source. That does not make the main program open source.

The buttons on the download page use an empty link until the 64-bit installer, the 32-bit installer, and the portable zip are attached. They are labeled with version 1.21 so the platform is clear. Do not substitute a file from a random mirror while you wait.