What is the maximum operational temperature for a CPU, motherboard, video adapter, or hard disk drive?

Most modern processors work best while running below 70 degrees Celsius, but will not fail or break as long as they are below 80-90 Celsius. Modern Intel processors use a special hardware logic to prevent overheating: they throttle themselves down to prevent physical damage, and they shut the computer down automatically when – even despite throttling – the CPU keeps getting hotter.

Most motherboards can function reliably while running below 50 Celsius, and physical damage will usually not occur under 60 Celsius.

Modern GPUs can heat up to 100-110 degrees Celsius, but their video drivers include overheating protection.

Most hard disk drives operate best below 50 Celsius, and they are rated to operate reliably below 60 Celsius. On hard disks, data integrity is not guaranteed anywhere beyond 60 Celsius.