To check GPU temperature, press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager and see whether the GPU entry on the Performance tab shows one; if it does not, use the NVIDIA app statistics overlay (Alt+R) or AMD Software Performance Metrics. Which of these works depends on your graphics card maker and driver, so this guide for Windows PCs lists only the paths confirmed in official Microsoft, NVIDIA and AMD documents on September 30, 2026. If you also record while you play, watch load as well as temperature, and reducing GPU load while recording covers that side. This article only shows how to read the temperature; it does not cover how to lower it or whether a given reading is dangerous.
Bottom line: open Task Manager first, then a maker tool if nothing shows
For NVIDIA graphics cards the NVIDIA app is the documented route, and for AMD Radeon it is AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition, both of which name temperature metrics in their official pages. For Intel we only confirmed where to switch on the Intel Arc Control telemetry overlay, not whether it lists a temperature. Task Manager needs no installation, so it is worth opening first, but whether its GPU entry shows a temperature can vary with the GPU and driver, so we do not promise either outcome. If frame drops are what sent you looking at temperatures, also read why FPS drops while recording.
Steps to check GPU temperature
- 1Open the GPU entry in Task Manager — Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager, choose the Performance tab in the left menu and click the GPU entry (GPU 0 and so on). Microsoft tells you to review the Performance tab to identify components using high resources. If a temperature shows there, use it; if not, move on to the maker tools below. With several GPUs, the numbers follow PCI location order. Microsoft's DirectX developer blog says Task Manager's GPU utilization and memory data need a driver that supports WDDM 2.0 or later, and we could not confirm that the same condition governs temperature. You can see your WDDM version by running dxdiag and opening the Display tab > Drivers section > Driver Model.
- 2Turn on the NVIDIA app statistics overlay — NVIDIA says GeForce RTX and GTX 600 Series-and-newer desktop and laptop users can enable in-game performance metrics, including frame rates, clock speeds and GPU temperatures, in one overlay. First turn on In-Game Overlay under Settings > Features in the NVIDIA app. In game, the default Alt+R toggles the statistics overlay and Alt+Shift+R cycles through the metrics. The overlay appears at the top right. Adjust transparency and how many metrics show under Alt+Z > Statistics > Configure heads up display. If no temperature appears right away, cycle the metrics with Alt+Shift+R and look at that setting too.
- 3View Performance Metrics in AMD Software — This is supported on systems with an AMD Radeon graphics card and a full installation of AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition. Click Start, launch AMD Software, type Metrics in the search box and click the Performance Metrics result. The default is a grid view, and Additional Metrics lets you show others. The temperature metrics are GPU Current Temperature and GPU Junction Temperature, both reported in Celsius (°C). The document does not define Junction Temperature or say which GPUs support it, so this guide does not interpret it. To show it over a game, turn on Show Metrics Overlay on the Overlay tab; by default CTRL+SHIFT+O toggles the overlay and CTRL+SHIFT+L toggles performance logging.
- 4On Intel, confirm where the overlay is switched on — The procedure confirmed in Intel's document is to press Alt+I to open Intel Arc Control, open the Performance tab, turn on the telemetry overlay switch and pick the metrics to monitor. The document does not list metric names, so we could not confirm that GPU temperature is among them. Check the list yourself, and if it is missing, consult Intel support.
- 5Look up the maximum temperature for your model — We found no official basis for a single safe temperature that fits every card. The spec table on NVIDIA's GeForce graphics card comparison page has a Maximum GPU Temperature (in C) row, and the value differs by model. On the September 30, 2026 page, the RTX 5070 lists 85 and the RTX 5080 lists 88. NVIDIA notes the table follows Founders Edition or reference designs and may vary by add-in-card manufacturer, so check the maker's site too. It is a desktop card table, so do not apply it to laptop GPUs, and we could not confirm AMD per-model maximums, so look them up on AMD's official product pages.
Methods compared (checked against official docs, September 30, 2026)
| Method | How to open it | Confirmed conditions and caveats |
|---|---|---|
| Task Manager | Ctrl+Shift+Esc > Performance tab > GPU entry | Nothing to install. Whether a temperature appears can vary with the GPU and driver, so check for yourself. |
| NVIDIA app statistics overlay | Alt+Z to open, Alt+R in game to toggle | NVIDIA GPUs only. In-Game Overlay must be on under Settings > Features, and NVIDIA states the overlay shows GPU temperatures. |
| AMD Software Performance Metrics | Launch AMD Software > search Metrics > Performance Metrics; overlay with CTRL+SHIFT+O | Needs an AMD Radeon graphics card and a full Adrenalin Edition install. GPU Current Temperature and GPU Junction Temperature are reported in Celsius. |
| Intel Arc Control | Alt+I > Performance tab > telemetry overlay switch | The document does not name the metrics, so we could not confirm a GPU temperature appears. |
If nothing shows up, check these
- Did you check whether the GPU entry on the Task Manager Performance tab shows a temperature, and move to a maker tool if not
- Is In-Game Overlay turned on under Settings > Features in the NVIDIA app
- Do you have a full installation of AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition, and is Show Metrics Overlay on under the Overlay tab
- If you changed shortcuts, did you check the current ones under Alt+Z > Settings (gear icon) > Shortcuts in the NVIDIA app
- Have you decided whether the overlay should appear in recorded video (in AMD Software, Show In Video/Stream Output on the Settings tab)
- On a laptop, did you avoid applying the NVIDIA table maximum and check the maker's own spec instead
Where this meets game recording
You usually check temperature while gaming, so you may end up recording with an overlay on screen. AMD's document says Show In Video/Stream Output on the Settings tab decides whether the metrics overlay appears in video or stream output, but we could not confirm from official documents how it looks in other tools or in DOR, so make a short test recording with the recording tool you use. If the game you are monitoring is one DOR supports, the free Windows app detects it on its own and saves the whole match as an mp4, with NVENC hardware encoding as the default on NVIDIA graphics cards. Eternal Return is supported with full-match automatic recording only; it has no automatic highlight clips for kills and similar moments. Reading temperature works with the tools above whether or not you use DOR, and the order for handling heat and stutter on a laptop is in the laptop game recording setup guide.
Official sources (checked September 30, 2026)
We checked NVIDIA App In-Game Performance and Latency Overlay (updated August 4, 2025), the NVIDIA GeForce graphics card comparison page (checked September 30, 2026) and Monitor Performance Metrics with AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition (last updated November 12, 2024). AMD says its screenshots are from Adrenalin 23.9.1, so the layout may differ in newer versions. Ctrl+Shift+Esc and the Performance tab come from Microsoft Support's Windows shortcut table and PC performance tips, and the WDDM condition comes from the Microsoft DirectX developer blog post GPUs in the Task Manager. The Intel Arc Control steps come from Intel's support documentation.
