What do you think happens to the processor when the device “accelerates” to a critical temperature? Naturally, it does not burn out when overheated. And this happens because manufacturers equip their offspring with a special mechanism that does not allow the device to fail at high temperatures. It is called throttling of the processor. We give its characteristics, the causes of the operation and possible solutions.
Throttling: what is it?
The first protector of the processor from overheating was an emergency shutdown. The power was removed as soon as the temperature reached a critical level, while the computer turned off, respectively. It is worth saying that this measure is still relevant, but in modern gadgets it is already considered as extreme.
The first to overheat is throttling. What is it? Throttling is a mechanism that protects the processor from overheating from thermal damage. It skips a certain fraction of machine cycles depending on temperature. Thus, processor performance is reduced so that it cools to an acceptable level. As soon as this happens, the system stops throttling and continues to work as usual.
It will be incorrect to assume that this mechanism by reducing performance can fully cool the processor instead of a failed fan. It is aimed only at a more gentle elimination of overheating, replaces an emergency shutdown of the computer in this case.
When does throttling work?
There are no universal indicators of the temperature at which the processor protection mechanism starts. Somewhere it is 35 degrees, and somewhere 50, 70. It is worth noting that the numbers that we see on the BIOS screen or in the windows of special programs are a bit far from real - they show the temperature only on the process body. Inside it, it will be slightly higher.
If we follow the action of throttling on the processor performance graph, we note the following: as soon as the heating reaches a critical point, the mechanism will turn on abruptly - this can be seen from strong jumps. Further, productivity will decline more smoothly and slowly. This will continue until a normal temperature is established inside the device.
How to disable throttling?
In the literal sense, throttling cannot be deactivated. But for some motherboard models it is possible to reinstall the critical temperature in the BIOS at which the mechanism is triggered. From 35 degrees, say, to 50. But still, it is not recommended to take such a step: the manufacturer is not in vain putting a certain mark to activate processor throttling. Perhaps working at higher temperatures, it will quickly fail.
What triggers the mechanism?
Having understood that this is throttling, we found out that it is activated in response to critically high CPU heat. But what can cause this state of affairs? We list the possible reasons:
- The fan is broken. The blades of the mechanism in this case are stationary or spin at low speeds.
- The appearance of interference. There is a lot of dust inside the PC, laptop, a foreign object or insect has got. All of the above complicates the operation of the cooler.
- Fan Features. Perhaps the cooler that you installed instead of the old one is weak for your processor. The reason may be that the BIOS settings are “sharpened” for the old fan, which is why the protection starts to turn on until the critical temperature is reached.
We made out that this is throttling, in response to what it works. This mechanism is the lifesaver that saves the processor from fatal damage. But we must remember that the activation of throttling in some cases indicates problems with the cooler, which must be eliminated as soon as possible.