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220-1201 Practice Question: That their computer randomly restarts when…
A user reports that their computer randomly restarts when playing games. The technician suspects the CPU is overheating. Which tool should the technician use to monitor the CPU temperature under load?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
A third-party utility like HWMonitor
To diagnose overheating, a technician needs real-time temperature monitoring. A tool like HWMonitor or Core Temp provides accurate CPU temperature readings. BIOS/UEFI shows idle temps only, and Event Viewer logs crashes but not temperatures.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Windows Task Manager
Why it's wrong here
Windows Task Manager provides real-time data on CPU, memory, disk, and network utilization, along with process and service management. While it offers performance metrics and resource consumption, it does not integrate with hardware sensors to display component temperatures, such as CPU or GPU temperature, which are critical for diagnosing overheating issues.
- ✗
The BIOS/UEFI hardware monitor
Why it's wrong here
The BIOS/UEFI hardware monitor can display current CPU and system temperatures, fan speeds, and voltages. However, these readings are typically taken at idle or during the boot process, not under the significant computational load generated by gaming. To diagnose random restarts during demanding tasks, a technician requires temperature data captured when the system is actively stressed, which the BIOS/UEFI interface cannot provide.
- ✓
A third-party utility like HWMonitor
Why this is correct
A third-party utility like HWMonitor is the correct choice because it directly interfaces with the system's various hardware sensors, including those on the CPU, GPU, and motherboard. It provides real-time monitoring and logging of critical parameters such as core temperatures, fan speeds, and voltages, allowing a technician to observe peak temperatures reached during intensive activities like gaming. This granular data is essential for identifying thermal throttling or overheating that causes system instability and random restarts.
- ✗
Windows Event Viewer
Why it's wrong here
Windows Event Viewer is a system logging tool that records significant events, errors, warnings, and information messages from the operating system and installed applications. While it would log an unexpected shutdown or system crash, it does not provide real-time hardware sensor data, such as CPU temperature, that would indicate an overheating condition. Its purpose is to document events, not to monitor live hardware performance metrics.
Go deeper
Related to this question
Learn chapter
BIOS and UEFI Settings
Key term
UEFI
UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) is a modern firmware interface that initializes hardware and boots the operating system, replacing the older BIOS.
Key term
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface
UEFI is the modern replacement for BIOS that controls how a computer starts up and loads the operating system.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1201 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1201 exam.