HW Monitor is a free hardware monitoring tool for Windows from CPUID. It reads the sensors in your processor, graphics card, mainboard and drives and shows them in one list. This independent guide shows you where to get HW Monitor safely and how to read it.
Understand your computer’s health through live hardware sensor readings—not guesswork.
HWMonitor is a Windows utility developed by CPUID, the maker of CPU-Z. It brings the readings reported by supported hardware sensors into one place, so you can see how temperatures, fan speeds, voltages and power draw behave while your computer is running.
A processor can look cool at the desktop yet become much warmer during gaming, rendering or a long video call. Compare current readings with the minimum and maximum values to understand the difference between idle and sustained use.
Unexpected fan noise, slower performance and sudden shutdowns can have different causes. Checking CPU and GPU temperatures alongside load and fan speed gives you useful evidence before you clean a cooler, adjust airflow or troubleshoot further.
HWMonitor reports values; it does not automatically fix overheating or tune hardware. Sensor availability and accuracy depend on the motherboard, chip and firmware, so unexpected figures should be verified rather than treated as a diagnosis.
The regular HWMonitor is available in installer and portable ZIP formats. Its main purpose is observation—not changing CPU clocks, voltages or fan curves.
What HW Monitor gives you, in the order most people use it.
Temperatures, voltages, fan speeds, power, current, utilization and clock speeds appear in a single tree, grouped by device.
See package and per-core temperatures, core clocks and power for the processor, and temperature, hot spot, fan and load for the graphics card.
Each sensor shows its current reading with the lowest and highest values since you opened the program, so a test leaves a record behind.
Reads SSDs and hard disks through S.M.A.R.T., including temperature and activity, and reports battery capacity and wear on laptops.
Right-click any sensor and add it to a graph. Up to eight curves can share one graph, with colours you choose.
Press F5 to record readings to a CSV file, then open it in a spreadsheet to study a whole session.
Switch between the classic light look, two dark themes and a blue theme from the View menu.
Install it like any program, or unzip the portable version and run it from a folder or USB stick.
Real-time graphs and extra themes arrived in version 1.64, and version 1.68 added new drive figures and made the program remember which sections of the tree you keep open.
Six simple steps to gather useful readings and understand what they mean.
Download HWMonitor from CPUID’s official website. Choose the Windows installer or the portable ZIP, according to how you prefer to run utilities.
Install the application, or extract the ZIP and launch the executable that matches your system. Allow the sensor list a moment to populate.
Expand your CPU and GPU entries. The temperature shown for the CPU package or GPU core is a more useful starting point than an unidentified motherboard reading.
Value is the current reading; Min and Max capture the range since monitoring began. Note the room conditions and what the PC is doing when you compare them.
Keep the monitor open during a normal game, export or demanding task, then inspect the peak temperatures. Consistently high readings under load deserve a closer look at cooling and airflow.
Use the logging or graph features available in your edition to observe changes over time. Compare tests under similar workloads; a single isolated spike rarely tells the full story.
Temperature limits vary by processor and GPU. Check the manufacturer’s specifications before deciding that a particular number is unsafe.
Each number tells part of the story. Here is how to read the most useful groups.
Package, core and graphics temperatures help reveal how cooling performs at rest and under load. Available sensor labels differ by hardware.
Watch for sustained peaks, not just a momentary jump.Supported sensors may report CPU voltage and motherboard rails. Software readings can be mislabeled or inaccurate on some boards.
Confirm suspect readings before drawing conclusions.Visible fan RPM data can help determine whether connected cooling fans respond as the system heats up.
Some controlled or zero-RPM fans may show no speed at idle.CPU package and compatible GPU power readings give context for heat output and changing workloads.
Supported sensors and reporting methods vary.Utilization and operating frequency readings help you compare what a component is doing with how much heat it produces.
Clock changes can be normal power-saving behavior.On compatible systems, drive temperature and selected health data or battery information may also be available.
Not every disk or laptop exposes the same metrics.Missing sensors do not necessarily indicate a problem. The data HWMonitor can display depends on hardware support, drivers and firmware.
A useful sensor dashboard, with some limits worth knowing before you rely on it.
Bottom line: HWMonitor is best used as a starting point for checking system health, alongside your hardware specifications and practical testing.
The buttons below start the download straight away. The files come directly from the CPUID download server, and this site never hosts or changes them.
Your download has started. Open the file from your Downloads folder when it is complete.
Free to use, with no account and no licence key. Choose the setup file for a PC you use every day, or the ZIP for a portable copy. Before opening the file, the publisher recommends checking its SHA256 checksum against the list on the CPUID website.
HW Monitor is light enough for almost any Windows PC.
HW Monitor is a Windows program. There is no version for macOS or Linux. The readings you get depend on your hardware: the program supports the common sensor chips used on mainboards, the thermal sensors inside modern processors and graphics cards, memory modules with thermal sensors, drives with S.M.A.R.T. and laptop batteries.
Administrator rights are needed because Windows does not let ordinary programs read hardware sensors directly. An internet connection is only needed to download the file.
Both editions read exactly the same sensors. The paid one adds ways to use the readings.
| Feature | HW Monitor | HW Monitor PRO |
|---|---|---|
| All hardware sensors | Yes | Yes |
| Value, Min and Max | Yes | Yes |
| CSV logging with F5 | Yes | Yes |
| Remote monitoring from a PC or Android device | No | Yes |
| Sensors as tray icons | No | Yes |
| Graphs generator | No | Yes |
| Price | Free | Paid licence |
For checking temperatures, testing a cooler or keeping an eye on a laptop, the free HW Monitor is all you need. HW Monitor PRO is worth a look if you look after several computers, want a reading always visible beside the clock or need graphs generated for reports.
Six habits that turn a list of numbers into something useful.
Step-by-step help for the jobs people use HW Monitor for most.
Setup or portable ZIP: which to choose, how to check the file and how to get your first readings.
Read full guideWhere to look, what Value, Min and Max mean, and how to test your processor under load.
Read full guideTypical idle and load ranges for processors, graphics cards and drives, and when to worry.
Read full guideShort answers to what people ask most often.
Yes. HW Monitor is freeware. You can download and use it without paying, registering or creating an account. A separate paid edition, HW Monitor PRO, adds extra features.
Yes, when the file comes from CPUID, the company that also makes CPU-Z. The download buttons on this page link straight to the CPUID server, and you can confirm the file with its SHA256 checksum before opening it.
Not necessarily. You can use the setup file, which installs the program, or the ZIP file, which is a portable copy that runs from any folder with no installation.
HW Monitor runs on Windows in both 32-bit and 64-bit editions. The setup file installs the right one for your system automatically.
It reads the main health sensors of a PC: temperatures, voltages, fan speeds, power, current, utilization and clock speeds, for the processor, graphics card, mainboard, memory, drives and battery.
Value is the reading right now. Min and Max are the lowest and highest readings since you opened the program, which lets you check how hot a part became without watching the screen.
Since version 1.53 the program calculates processor usage the same way as Windows Task Manager but does not cap the figure. Values above 100% reflect turbo modes that push the processor beyond its base speed.
The star marks the fastest cores of the processor. These cores can usually run at a slightly higher clock speed than the others.
No. HW Monitor only reads sensors. Fan speeds are set in the BIOS or in the software supplied by your mainboard or graphics card maker.
Remove it from Windows Settings under Apps, or choose Uninstall HWMonitor from the CPUID folder in the Start menu. A small CPUID folder with the settings file stays behind and can be deleted by hand.
