Should I Keep CPU Thermal Throttling On?

Thermal Throttling is an amazing feature of the latest CPUs as they drop their operating speed to protect themselves from overheating and burning out.

Thermal Throttling gives your CPU short periods to rest and cool down. Technically speaking, this feature is also known as Dynamic Frequency Scaling. Simply put, a computer processor drops its operating speed and power when overheating for any reason.

Throttling ruins the entertainment when playing a game. It also affects your work by adding delays. This article discusses whether you should keep the thermal throttling on or turn it off. We will also discuss different tips and tricks for turning off thermal throttling in great detail.

Should I Keep CPU Thermal Throttling On?

Yes, you should keep CPU thermal throttling on to protect your CPU from high heat. It is a mechanism that reduces the processor’s power consumption and frequency when it is overheating, resulting in a sudden drop in temperature and the prevention of heat damage.

Keeping CPU thermal throttling on is recommended. It protects your CPU from overheating and burning out. Keeping thermal throttling on is good if you live in a warm area or use your computer for high-end tasks. The only disadvantage of activating it is that it degrades your computer’s performance.

CPU thermal throttling allows your CPU to take short rest periods by decreasing its operating speed and power. In other words, it slows down your CPU’s processing, allowing it to cool down. CPU-intensive apps and games also cause CPU thermal throttling.

You should keep CPU thermal throttling on, as overheating damages the cores of your computer processor and can also burn it out for good. It is CPU thermal throttling that protects your CPU from permanent damage. But there are methods to protect your computer from CPU throttling.

Keeping CPU thermal throttling on is essential when executing CPU-intensive apps and games. Such software overheats your computer processor during execution. When the temperature of your computer processor reaches more or less 90 Celsius or 195 Fahrenheit, the thermal throttling starts.

There are several reasons behind CPU thermal throttling, and you can easily eliminate them. You only need to read carefully and figure out your computer system’s problem, causing CPU thermal throttling. There might be more than one reason behind this phenomenon.

What Happens If You Disable CPU Thermal Throttling?

Some computers shut down without any warning when you disable CPU thermal throttling. Hence, disabling thermal throttling is a risky thing, and it is not recommended. Computer manufacturers, scientists, and computer engineers have kept this feature in all the latest CPUs as a built-in mechanism.

Sometimes a faulty thermal throttling mechanism causes severe damage to your components, especially your CPU. A faulty thermal throttle occurs when the thermal sensor of your PC gets old and sends false heat signals. This leads to a sudden PC shutdown. To avoid such damage, you need to disable the mechanism.

But also, your CPU becomes overheated and even burns out if you disable thermal throttling in cases of real overheating. CPU thermal throttling reduces your computer processor’s power consumption and frequency to protect it from overheating. CPU overheating burns out your CPU or damages one or more processor cores.

The only benefit of disabling thermal throttling is that your CPU’s performance improves and avoids faulty thermal mechanisms. It starts to operate constantly on a high frequency, which helps execute more CPU operations every second. As a result, it makes the apps and games run smoother and faster.

Is Constant Thermal Throttling Bad?

Constant thermal throttling is bad because it decreases the throughput of your CPU. CPU throughput tells us how many processes a CPU can execute in a unit of time. It happens because the CPU frequency drops due to thermal throttling. It also degrades the performance and efficiency of your CPU.

CPU thermal throttling reduces the operating speed of your CPU. As a result, CPU-intensive apps and games become slow. It also causes the frame rate to drop significantly. You experience that the smoothness has vanished because of thermal throttling.

Constant CPU thermal throttling indicates that your CPU is constantly overheating. CPU overheating is not good, especially when you have an expensive computer system. CPU overheating can not only damage your CPU cores, but it can also burn them out into ashes.

Is CPU Throttling Permanent?

CPU throttling is permanent only when it is not resolved. It is an intelligent mechanism of computer processors to reduce their frequency to protect them from overheating and receiving permanent damage. Simply, your CPU will keep throttling if it is continuously overheating.

But you should not worry about this as you can stop CPU thermal throttling easily. Installing an advanced CPU cooler helps you in this situation. Dropping room temperature and improving your computer’s ventilation system also helps. Changing the settings of CPU-intensive apps and games is a must.

Pros and Cons Of CPU Thermal Throttling

Pros	Cons
Prevent overheating and potential damage to the CPU.	Degrades the performance of your computer system.
It will increase the lifespan of your CPU by preventing excessive heat.	Slows down the operating frequency and power of your CPU.
It will increase the stability of the CPU by regulating the temperature.
It may reduce power consumption to prevent heat generation.
Reduces frequency to protect your computer processor.

How To Turn Off CPU Thermal Throttling?

1. Install Certain Software For Turning Off CPU Throttling

Install software for Turning off CPU throttling. We hope you find one on the Internet that suits your needs best. Such software allows you to set limits for throttling. Once you increase these limits, you will turn off the CPU thermal throttling.

Increasing too high limits is not recommended because it can cause CPU overheating. It can easily damage the cores and internal circuitry of your computer processor. Heat can also easily burn out your CPU. Hence, monitor the temperature when increasing the throttling limits.

2. Change The Settings of CPU-Intensive Apps & Games

Change the settings of your CPU-intensive apps and games to turn off CPU thermal throttling. Such apps and games use your CPU at maximum speed and power, causing it to overheat. Bringing down the settings will help you stop your CPU from throttling and overheating.

To turn off CPU throttling, switch your CPU-intensive software to GPU. Most of the software will allow you this. In the case of CPU-intensive games, you can bring down their graphics and texture quality a bit. Forcing the graphics and textures to be high or ultra causes CPU throttling.

3. Install An Advanced CPU Cooler

Install an advanced CPU cooler to turn off the CPU thermal throttling. It is caused by excessive heat generated and trapped in your computer processor, which must be thrown away immediately. Traditional and old CPU coolers or slow-spinning cooler fans can be a solid reason behind this.

In this case, you should install an advanced CPU cooler, as most are 30 times faster than the traditional ones. Some advanced CPU coolers use only distilled water which is a good conductor of heat. In comparison, some advanced CPU coolers mix other chemicals in the water to speed up the cooling process.

4. Close Unnecessary Background Apps

Close unnecessary background apps so they do not execute continuously, causing you to experience CPU throttling. The unnecessary running apps in the background take up reasonable space in the RAM and require the CPU’s time to execute them. A CPU becomes hotter running these apps.

To close the unnecessary and stubborn apps, right-click the taskbar and select “Task Manager” from the menu. After this, a window with multiple tabs will appear where you need to select the tab named “Processes.” Now select the unnecessary apps and press the “End Task” button.

5. Clean Dust From Your Computer System

Clean dust from your computer system to turn off the CPU thermal throttling you are experiencing on your computer. Dust layers not only obstruct the transfer of heat from your CPU cooler to the air, but they can also cause short circuits. You must regularly clean your computer system.

You can use a small leaf blower to remove the dust layers on your vital computer hardware. Most of the time, the layers of dust are stuck to the hardware. In this case, you will need a paintbrush to clean your computer hardware. Make sure that the brush is dry and clean.

6. Drop Down The Room Temperature

Drop down your room temperature to turn off CPU thermal throttling. High room temperature causes your CPU to overheat, which causes this problem. Your computer needs to breathe cool air to throw that air on its hardware, especially the CPU, to cool it.

To lower your room temperature, you can install an air conditioner or air cooler in your room. During the execution of apps and games, the CPU generates a significant amount of heat which can easily damage or burn it out. That is why computer rooms require a better cooling system.

7. Disable CPU Overclocking

Disable CPU overclocking if you have tried all the abovementioned methods and none works for you. CPU overclocking increases the power consumption of your computer processor, and it increases its operating speed. If the precautions are not observed, it can cause CPU thermal throttling.

To disable CPU overclocking, you should open the software you enabled it through. First, lower the CPU operating voltage to see if it removes CPU thermal throttling. If it does not work, you must disable CPU overclocking, as your computer processor cannot support it steadily.

8. Apply Brand New CPU Thermal Grease

Applying brand new CPU thermal grease replacing the expired and old one should easily turn off the CPU thermal throttling. The thermal grease is a highly conductive paste between the CPU’s IHS and cooler. It helps your CPU to transfer heat faster from one area to another.

You can get CPU thermal grease through a small injection or box. An injection is the best and easiest method of applying thermal grease to your CPU. You must open your CPU cooler after carefully shutting down and unplugging your computer.

9. Upgrade & Maintain Your Computer’s Ventilation System

Upgrading and maintaining your computer’s ventilation system can help you turn off CPU thermal throttling. You can easily install faster case fans in your computer case. Faster fans allow your computer to inhale cool air and exhale hot hair faster. You will notice a significant difference.

Place the back side of your PC away from the wall as it needs to throw hot air out of the case. Similarly, move any objects placed in front of your computer as it intakes cool air from the front part. The computer with a metal case must not have any objects on the top or sides as well.

10. Remove the Heater & Heat Generating Devices Away

Remove the heater and other heat-generating devices away from your computer system, as they can be the ones causing CPU thermal throttling. The direction of your heater must never be facing your computer case, as it can generate high temperatures in it. It can burn out your computer hardware as well.

Other devices like UPS, Generators, AVR, etc., can also generate heat, making the air around your computer hotter. You must keep all the other heat-generating devices as away from your computer as possible. Remaining cool is essential for your CPU and other computer hardware.

Does Thermal Throttling Reduce FPS?

Thermal throttling reduces FPS because it decreases the operating frequency of your CPU. All computer processors work on digital clock frequency, which varies depending on the process. This frequency defines how many tasks your CPU can perform within a second.

When the frequency decreases, a CPU performs fewer tasks each second. As a result, the FPS reduces, especially for the apps and games that depend on your CPU for execution. CPU thermal throttling protects your computer processor from overheating and frying.

Conclusion

CPU throttling is a built-in mechanism in most computer processors. This method is also known as Dynamic Frequency Scaling. CPU throttling drops down your CPU’s power consumption and frequency when overheating. Overheating can easily damage your CPU cores or burn them out quickly. 

Thermal Throttling Reduces FPS as it decreases the operating frequency of your CPU to protect it from overheating. It prioritizes your CPU’s protection over performance and efficiency. That is why you notice a significant drop in the FPS, especially when playing CPU-intensive online games.

Disabling thermal throttling is not a good idea, as you can experience CPU overheating after this. Installing certain software can help you turn off CPU thermal throttling. Such software allows you to set the throttling limits for your CPU. Ensure the limits are not too high to fry your computer processor.

You can install a fast and advanced CPU cooler, as some are 30 times faster than the traditional ones. Occasionally cleaning your computer is necessary, as excessive dust can overheat your CPU. Close the unnecessary background apps running and use your CPU continuously. 

Upgrading your computer’s fans faster can also turn off CPU thermal throttling. It is possible that the thermal grease of your CPU has expired, and you need to apply the new one. Keeping heaters and heat-generating devices away from your computer system is highly recommended.