Thermal throttling
pcThermal throttling is a mechanism that reduces a computer's processor speed to prevent overheating.
expanded
Thermal throttling occurs when a processor's temperature exceeds a predefined threshold, causing the system to lower the clock speed to reduce heat output. This process helps prevent hardware damage and ensures stability by managing thermal load, particularly in high-performance scenarios such as gaming or video rendering. It is crucial for maintaining system longevity and avoiding thermal shutdowns.
examples
During intensive gaming sessions, a desktop with an Intel Core i9-11900K processor may exhibit thermal throttling as CPU temperatures approach 100°C (212°F), causing the operating frequency to drop from 5.3 GHz to 4.8 GHz.
This is commonly observed in high-resource games running at ultra settings without adequate cooling solutions.
In a laptop equipped with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800U, thermal throttling is triggered when using graphically intensive software like Adobe Premiere Pro, reducing the CPU speed from 4.4 GHz to 3.6 GHz as temperatures hit 95°C (203°F).
Such scenarios are frequent in laptops with limited cooling capabilities during prolonged processing tasks.