What do you think happens to the processor when the device "overclocks" 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's called CPU throttling. We give its characteristics, the causes of operation and possible options for their elimination.
Throttling: what is it?
The first protector of the processor from overheating was an emergency shutdown. Power was removed as soon as the temperature reached a critical level, while the computer, accordingly, turned off. It is worth saying that such a measure is still relevant, but in modern gadgets it is already considered extreme.
Throttling is the first to trigger on overheating. What's this? Throttling (English) is a mechanism that protects the processor from thermal damage during overheating. It skips a certain proportion of machine cycles depending on the temperature. Thus, the performance of the processor is reduced so that it cools to an acceptable level. As soon as this happens, the system stops throttling and continues to operate normally.
It would be wrong to assume that this mechanism by reducing performance will be able to fully cool the processor instead of the failed fan. It is aimed only at a more gentle elimination of overheating, replacing 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 little far from real - they show the temperature only on the process body. Inside it will be slightly higher.
If we follow the action of throttling on the processor performance graph, we will notice 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, performance will decrease more smoothly and slowly. This will continue until the inside temperature of the device returns to normal.
How to disable throttling?
In the literal sense, it will not work to deactivate throttling. But for some models of motherboards, it is possible to independently reset 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 sets a certain mark for activating processor throttling for a reason. Perhaps, by operating at higher temperatures, it quicklyfails.
What triggers the mechanism?
Having figured out that this is throttling, we found out that it is activated in response to a critically high temperature of the processor. But what could 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 an insect. All of the above makes it difficult for the cooler to work.
- Features of the fan. It is possible that the cooler you installed to replace the old one is too 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 before the critical temperature is reached.
We figured out that this is throttling, in response to what it works. This mechanism is the very magic wand that saves the processor from fatal damage. But we must also remember that the activation of throttling in some cases indicates problems with the cooler that need to be fixed as soon as possible.
