TDP and thermal throttling

In short: TDP (thermal design power) gives the heat output in watts that the cooling of a processor or graphics card should be designed for. Thermal throttling means: when overheating, the component lowers its clock.

In more detail: TDP is a guideline for cooling, not the actual power consumption. Modern processors can briefly draw much more (boost). If it gets too hot (typically above 90 to 100 °C), the chip lowers clock and voltage and performance drops.

In Depth

• Reasons for throttling: cooler too small, dust, dried-up thermal paste, poor airflow, laptop on a bed.
• Measuring: Programs show temperature, clock and power draw (HWiNFO, Hardware Monitor).
• Laptops: Thin devices throttle faster. For sustained load, prefer a device with a good cooling system.
• Undervolting: Slightly lower voltage reduces heat and consumption with almost the same performance.
• Energy use: AI energy use also depends on this.

See also: Cooling and thermal paste, Overclocking