Why does the performance of a computer processor deteriorate when it overheats?
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This is one time where a car analogy makes perfect sense!
Imagine your car’s engine is getting too hot. You can either cut back on the accelerator to let it cool down, or you can ignore it and keep going the same speed until it overheats.
The former results in temporarily slower performance…and that’s about it. The latter results in great performance! Until the engine catches fire and stops working altogether, probably damaging the rest of the car, possibly killing you, and definitely costing thousands of dollars to fix.
Computer processors do the same thing, except the “deceleration” is automatic – specifically designed by the manufacturers to slow down processing speed or switch off entirely until it reaches a safe temperature. Because they assume nobody is stupid enough to think it’s a good idea to operate the processor at maximum speed until it melts and damages your other components and possibly burns your house down, and they don’t want to be sued for it.
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