Need to monitor CPU and GPU temperatures? Follow these steps to add CPU temperature and GPU temperature numbers to the taskbar in Windows.
If you are someone who likes to keep tabs on how hot things like CPU and GPU are running, you can use any of the thousand free software to monitor the temperature. The only downside is that most of these applications run in big to small windows and need to be on top of other applications for constant monitoring. If you have a big ultrawide monitor with a lot of screen real estate then this might not be a problem. Even then, that window is just a distraction if you want to work or play alongside monitoring the temperatures.
To get the best of both worlds, you can pin CPU temperature and GPU temperature to the taskbar. Once pinned, those temperatures will be updated constantly to give you the live reading.
So, without further ado, let me show you the way to display or show CPU and GPU temperature on the taskbar in Windows 10.
Steps to Show CPU and GPU Temperature on Taskbar
Since Windows has no built-in option, we are going to use a free third-party tool called HWiNFO. This free tool gives you a ton of information about all the attached hardware in Windows.
1. First, go ahead and download HWiNFO from the official website. After downloading, install it like your regular Windows software.
2. After installing HWiNFO, launch it from the start menu or by double-clicking on the desktop shortcut. On the main window, click on the “Run” button.
3. As soon as you press the button, HWiNFO will scan your system shows all the relevant information. If you want to, go through that information. Once you are done, click on the “Sensors” button in the main window.
4. This action will show a list of sensor status.
5. Here, find the “CPU Package” sensor, right-click on it and select the “Add to tray” option.
6. In the same manner, find the “GPU Temperature” sensor, right-click on it and select and the same “Add to tray” option.
7. You can now see the CPU and GPU temperatures on the taskbar.
As long as the HWiNFO application is running, you will see live temperature readings on the taskbar. So, do not close the sensor list or the HWiNFO application. Just minimize the application and it will be automatically minimized to the taskbar.
(Optional) Customize HWiNFO Tray Icon Colors
If the default tray icon colors are not to your taste, you can customize the look and feel. In fact, if needed, you can use two different color schemes for both sensor readings.
To do that, right-click on any sensor and select the “Tray icon settings” option.
Now, make sure you are in the “System Tray” tab. Here, find the target temperature sensors, in this case, “CPU Package” or “GPU Temperature”, and customize the color scheme under the “Color” section.
In my case, I used Nvidia’s green and Intel’s blue as the background color for their respective temps. This made it easy to differentiate between the two temperatures. Once done, click on the “Ok” button to save changes.
(Optional) Start HWiNFO with Windows
If you want the temp reading to show all the time and survive system restarts, you need to add HWiNFO to the Windows startup. That way, the application will start with Windows and you will have the reading on the taskbar all the time.
First, open the HWiNFO application. Here, click on the “Program → Settings” option.
In the Settings window, under the “General/User Interface” tab, select the below checkboxes. Once done, click on the “Ok” button to save changes.
- Show sensors on Startup
- Minimize the main window on Startup
- Minimize sensors on Startup
- Auto Start
That is it. From now on, HWiNFO will start with Windows. Since we’ve already configured it to show the temperature readings in the taskbar, you will have instant access to them.
That is it. I hope that helps. Following the same steps, you can also add other temperature readings for hardware like HDD, SSD, etc.
If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible. If you like this article, do check out how to add a quick launch toolbar to the taskbar.
I love having the temperatures in my taskbar, but find the actual HWiNFO icon is unnecessary for me. Anyway to hide that so just the temperature icons are added?
HWiNFO needs to run in the background for it to show the taskbar temperature readings. As of now, HWiNFO has no option to remove the taskbar icon. That being said, you can hide the HWiNFO icon in the taskbar overflow menu.
Oh my! This is the kind of an article I was looking for. Thank you for this!
Wow! I have been looking for temp monitors and that was the best solution!
Thanks!
Love this program, my Ryzen, which also needs to do allot of rendering under temp., also thanks you.
Hey. I downloaded the beta version from the website.. How can I uninstall it? I noticed that my amd software had already what I needed so I want to uninstall HWinfo. It’s good but I just dont need it.
Ok sorry I forgot I had the portable version installed. Just deleted it from temp folder np