Thermal Throttling on Your PC: Causes and Definitive Solutions

A computer's performance can be affected by multiple factors, but one of the most common is excessive heat, a serious threat to its components. Fortunately, there is a thermal protection mechanism that activates when components reach critical temperatures: el thermal throttling.

What this mechanism does is reduce equipment performance to avoid permanent damageWhile this feature protects the integrity of the hardware, it also entails a significant loss of power and fluidity, especially during demanding tasks such as gaming, video editing, or virtualization.

What is thermal throttling and why does it occur?

El thermal throttling o thermal limitation It is an automatic process that is activated in electronic components when they exceed a certain temperature threshold. Its purpose is to protect the hardware, reducing the operating speed to reduce heat generation and prevent physical damage.

This behavior occurs mainly in CPU, GPU, NVMe SSD, and motherboard VRMs, although it can also occur on laptops, tablets, or smartphones. The affected component reduces its frequencies, causing noticeable drops in performance: frozen images, FPS drops, errors, or outright crashes.

In many cases, this phenomenon doesn't give clear signals. In fact, most of the time the user doesn't receive any kind of alert. What they experience is a drop in performance with no apparent explanation. The important thing is to understand that Thermal throttling is not a problem in itself, but rather a sign that the equipment is trying to defend itself from excessive temperature.

Some most common causes that the thermal throttling function is activated are these:

• Insufficient or defective cooling systems on CPU or GPU.
• Bad thermal paste or poorly applied. To do this, you can see the best thermal paste options.
• dust buildup in heat sinks or filters, which prevents adequate ventilation.
• VRM overheated on low-end motherboards or those not prepared for demanding processors.
• Base plate curvature or poorly adjusted anchors of the heatsink.
• High ambient temperature, especially in summer.
• Background processes that constantly consume resources.

Signs of thermal throttling

Detecting whether your computer has thermal throttling activated isn't always easy, but there are several symptoms you can look for. Some are subtle, while others are quite obvious. These are the most common:

• Sudden drops in performance, especially during games or heavy tasks.
• Micro-cuts or screen freezes during program execution.
• The PC is behaving slowly without apparent justification.
• Sudden activation of the fans, even at rest.
• Errors without apparent cause or system crashes.

To clear up any doubts, the most advisable thing is monitor the temperatures and frequencies of your components. Free tools like HWMonitor can be very useful in this regard. These apps allow you to check in real time if, for example, your CPU suddenly drops its frequency when it reaches temperatures of 85-90°C.

Indicative values ​​that could indicate thermal throttling:

• CPU idle: less than 42°C. Under load: 60-70°C.
• GPU idle: : 35-45°C. Under load: up to 70°C acceptable.
• Motherboard VRM: should not exceed 47°C.

Components most prone to throttling

Not all computer components are equally vulnerable to overheating. These are the prime candidates for thermal limitations:

Processor (CPU)

It is one of the most affected. When a CPU reaches temperatures above 90°C, it enters into safe and lowers its frequency to protect itself. Models with high TDP and overclocked configurations are more prone.

Graphics card (GPU)

GPUs have similar mechanisms. If they reach 85-90°C, they begin to slow down. In games, this translates into FPS drops. It's vital. check the cooling system or heat sink if it has not been changed for a long time.

SSD NVMe

High-performance SSDs generate significant heat. If they're not properly cooled or lack heatsinks, protections can be triggered that limit their read and write speeds, reducing system performance.

Motherboard (VRM)

Often, the problem isn't with the processor itself, but with the motherboard's power supply (VRM) phases. If these elements reach 90-100°C, they cause the processor to reduce its frequency even if it isn't particularly hot. This is a difficult case to detect, but very common, especially on low-end motherboards not designed for powerful CPUs.

How to avoid thermal throttling: effective solutions

Preventing overheating, and therefore thermal throttling, is essential to maintaining optimal equipment performance. Here's a list of actions you can take depending on the affected component:

Improve equipment ventilation

• Keep your PC case clean and with good air circulation. Add fans if necessary and consider the best fans availables.
• Change the direction of airflow so that it expels heat efficiently.
• Use cooling bases on laptops without sufficient fans.

Adjust the cooling system

• Check the thermal pasteChange it if it's been more than 12 months since your last application.
• Change the heat sink.
• Check that the heatsink is correctly installed, without obstructions or poor contact.
• If you use liquid cooling, make sure the pump is working normally.

Improve motherboard (VRM) cooling

• Install heatsinks or thermal pads on the VRMs.
• Place a fan pointing at the power phases to dissipate heat.
• Create custom ventilation curves in the BIOS or via software.
• In critical cases, change the motherboard for one with better cooling and support for high loads.

Operating system settings

• Activate the “High Performance” power plan in Windows.
• Disables the minimum processor state 100% to avoid untimely drops.
• Check advanced options in the BIOS, such as Intel Speed ​​Step or AMD Cool'n'Quiet.

General maintenance

• Remove dust with compressed air.
• Check the condition of the heatsink anchors.
• Do not block the ventilation grilles with furniture or other objects.
• Avoid hot areas when using your PC., especially if it is portable.

Overclocking and thermal throttling: are they supported?

Overclocking allows you to increase the performance of your CPU or GPU, but also increases the heat generated. Therefore, if you don't have a proper cooling system, you're condemning yourself to automatic throttling. Paradoxically, you can end up with less performance than if you maintain stock frequencies.

If you overclock, invest in appropriate ventilation and check temperatures regularly. Good thermal management is just as important as the extra MHz you gain. You can also opt for apply undervolting, lowering the voltage to maintain acceptable frequencies without so much heat.

Thermal throttling may seem alarming, but with the right tools and a little maintenance, it's relatively easy to control. Heat is the silent enemy of any PC: keeping it at bay is the priority if you want to get 100% out of your hardware.