What is Thermal Throttling?
Thermal throttling is when your laptop’s CPU slows down to prevent overheating. All modern laptop CPUs have a built-in thermal protection feature that monitors the CPU temperature. When the temperature gets too high, the CPU will automatically slow itself down to reduce power consumption and heat output. This allows the laptop to cool off. However, sustained thermal throttling leads to poor performance.
Causes of Thermal Throttling
There are several common causes of thermal throttling in laptops:
Insufficient Cooling
Many slim and light laptops sacrifice cooling capacity to achieve a thin and light design. The small heatsinks and fans often struggle to dissipate all the heat from powerful modern components like the CPU and GPU. Prolonged workloads like gaming, video editing, and compiling code can overwhelm the cooling system and cause the CPU to reach unsafe temperatures.
Dust Buildup
Over time, dust accumulation inside your laptop can clog up the heatsinks and fans. This restricts airflow and reduces cooling efficiency. Cleaning the heatsinks and fans can restore cooling performance.
Improper Ventilation
Using your laptop on soft surfaces like beds or sofas can block the air intake vents located on the bottom. Without proper airflow, the fans struggle to keep things cool. Always use your laptop on a hard, flat surface.
Thermal Paste Issues
Over time, the thermal paste between the CPU/GPU and heatsink can dry out. This reduces heat transfer efficiency, leading to higher chip temperatures. Replacing the old thermal paste with fresh paste can significantly improve cooling.
High Ambient Temperatures
Using a laptop in hot environments can overwhelm the cooling system. If the intake air itself is very hot, there is less capacity to cool down the components. Try to use laptops in air-conditioned rooms when possible.
Solutions for Thermal Throttling
Here are some methods to solve or mitigate thermal throttling in laptops:
Clean the Fans and Heatsinks
Use compressed air to clear out any dust buildup on the fans and heatsink fins. This can restore normal airflow and improve heat dissipation. Avoid vacuuming as it can cause static damage.
Improve Airflow
Elevate the laptop slightly to allow better airflow from underneath. Use a laptop cooling pad with fans that helps force more air through the intakes. Avoid blocking vents when using on soft surfaces.
Undervolt the CPU
Undervolting reduces the CPU voltage, which lowers power consumption and heat output. This allows the CPU to sustain higher clock speeds before reaching the thermal limit. Undervolting is done through BIOS settings or 3rd party software.
Use a Laptop Cooling Pad
External cooling pads with fans can help augment the laptop’s built-in fans. Models with large fans that sit directly under the natural air intakes work best. This increases airflow and heat dissipation.
Repaste the CPU and GPU
Replacing dried-out thermal paste with a fresh application can significantly improve heat transfer from the chips to the heatsink. This allows the existing cooling system to work more efficiently.
Reduce Power Limits
Lowering the CPU/GPU power limits reduces thermals but also limits performance. This may be acceptable for less demanding tasks where peak performance is not required. Power limits are configurable in most laptops.
Improve Overall Cooling Design
For gaming/workstation laptops, consider laptop cooling stands that lift the machine and add large fans. Or use chillers/refrigerant cooling pads for extreme cooling. Liquid metal thermal paste also helps compared to standard paste. Ultimately, a better cooling design is needed to maintain performance.
Conclusion
Thermal throttling hampers laptop performance, but there are ways to improve cooling and reduce its impact. The solutions range from simple cleaning and maintenance, software tweaks like undervolting, and hardware mods like thermal paste replacement. For heavy workloads, purpose-built cooling accessories help counteract inadequate cooling designs. With careful troubleshooting and these fixes, thermal throttling can be minimized.
