Valve is updating the Steam performance overlay to show your CPU temperature, making it even easier to monitor your hardware while gaming.
To access CPU temperature readings on Windows, Steam will use a special type of software called a kernel mode driver. This kind of software needs deeper access to your computer system so it can read information from your hardware. Because of this, some users are concerned about security, since software running at this level can potentially cause issues if there are problems.
The good news is that Valve is using technology from CPUID, a company known for making reliable tools like CPU Z. This means the driver has already been tested and used by other programs, making it safer than if Valve created something completely new.
If you do not want Steam to access your CPU temperature, you can turn this feature off in the Steam settings. By default, the performance monitor still only shows basic details like your frame rate. The new driver only turns on if you switch to a more detailed hardware view that includes CPU temperature. To turn off CPU temperature monitoring, just uncheck the relevant box in the settings.
Having more hardware details directly in Steam is convenient for gamers. You no longer need separate apps to check things like GPU and CPU temperatures, RAM usage, and more. Now with CPU temperature added, you can keep an eye on all your important stats without leaving your game.
Original article and image: https://www.pcgamer.com/software/the-steam-performance-overlay-will-finally-show-cpu-temps-but-it-will-require-kernel-access-to-do-so/
