Thermal Throttling

Thermal Throttling Changes Sustained Processor Speed

A processor can finish a short burst of work at a high clock rate and then settle at a lower rate during a long workload. The change does not necessarily indicate a fault. Modern processors operate inside several limits, and temperature is one of the conditions that can reduce the frequency available over time. Thermal throttling is a control response that keeps a processor within permitted operating conditions. It becomes visible when heat generation exceeds what the cooling system can remove while the workload continues. The resulting clock behavior makes peak specifications a poor substitute for sustained performance measurements.