[SOLVED] Will more CPU cores produce more heat even with the same TDP?

[Ratteus]

I was wondering if more cores will produce more heat.
Will frequency also be a factor in the production of heat?
A Ryzen 3 2200G and a Ryzen 5 3600 has the same TDP which is 65W, but does that mean that they'll produce the same amount of heat?
If this was already posted before and was already answered, then I apologize. I'm fairly new to PCs.

 

[TerryLaze]

TDP just refers to the amount of cooling the company thinks is enough to cool the CPU in a complex workload.

At the same power draw they will produce the same amount of "heat" although it depends on what someone understands under the word heat.

If you give two CPUs the same amount of watts to work with the one with more cores will run at lower clocks because the watts will be divided by the amount of cores.
The one with less cores will be able to run higher clocks, which one will be faster will depend heavily on the type of work that is used.

 

[Karadjgne]

But that also depends on the architecture of the cpu. A 2200G and a 3600 will not have the same output speeds, even if running identical wattage and loads. The huge bonus to Lcache seen by the 3600, it's higher available thread count, higher IPC means on a clock for clock, the 3600 can do more work more efficiently, which further raises the amount of work done when all other parameters are similar.

It's like saying a Nascar and grandpa's old Buick in should have similar performance since both are V8's.

TDP is thermal design power. Literally means that at a standard testing procedure, they'll produce the same (ish) amount of heat. Frequency and core count and other factors are not part of the equation, just the power used/heat output and cooling required.

 

[TerryLaze]

TDP is thermal design power. Literally means that at a standard testing procedure, they'll produce the same (ish) amount of heat. Frequency and core count and other factors are not part of the equation, just the power used/heat output and cooling required.

Also often it is just used as a maximum, spanning several tiers of CPUs that will definitely not use the same power or produce the same heat.
It's cheaper to just provide the same cooler to a group of CPUs.

 

[drea.drechsler]

...Frequency and core count and other factors are not part of the equation, just the power used/heat output and cooling required.

Actually...in AMD's case power consumed is not a part of the equation for TDP.

https://www.gamersnexus.net/guides/...lained-deep-dive-cooler-manufacturer-opinions

 

[Karadjgne]

I prefer to think of TDP as a class of cpu, not an exact or specific amount. The old i3's all ran @ 50w, so a 65w class TDP cooler would be my minimum use case. By the time you hit the i5's and i7's pushing mid 70's TDP, a minimum size cooler would be in the 105w TDP class coolers etc. These would be stock replacements. When considering heavy punishment or OC values, 1.5-2x TDP would be a minimum range, balanced by power consumption. The i9 9900k, 95w TDP could hit 250w easily enough, that meant the biggest air, 250-300w range NH-D15 or Assassin III or DRP4 at a minimum, 280mm-360mm AIO preferable, 400w+ custom loop preferred.

There's nothing exact (to consumers) about TDP as all tests done are done using specific series of apps, then averaged. So it's only real use is a starting point to tell consumers 'you need this level' of cooling or better, or your cpu will cook.

 

[TerryLaze]

There's nothing exact (to consumers) about TDP as all tests done are done using specific series of apps, then averaged. So it's only real use is a starting point to tell consumers 'you need this level' of cooling or better, or your cpu will cook.

Except if you can actually lock in the TDP.
Intel has power limit (PL) and you can have it enforced or lifted, if you enforce it the CPU will never exceed the TDP value in average, meaning that any spike above will have an equal spike below TDP.
AMD mobos do also have TDP limits, at least for APUs I have heard about people increasing that to get better performance because otherwise the GPU part doesn't get enough juice.

At that point companies use the TDP to show a specific performance point (best balance of performance to power) .

 

[punkncat]

To be completely fair and honest "TDP" as anything meaningful as related to actual power and heat is nearly useless and in particular with overclockable skew.
For instance, take a look at the "TDP" rating of an 11600K (125/95) and then a look at actual use under load which has been shown to be well in excess of 200W. Even the 2xxx Ryzen in relation to the 1xxx Ryzen. Many of them are shown as the same TDP and in practice is WILDLY different. Funny to say that when 3xxx came around they almost made it relevant again. Almost.

 

[TerryLaze]

For instance, take a look at the "TDP" rating of an 11600K (125/95) and then a look at actual use under load which has been shown to be well in excess of 200W.

It's only TDP if you follow the CPU maker specs, hence the design in thermal design power and you only get above 200W if you completely ignore the TDP.
Tom's tested that for the 11700k which has the same 95/125 TDP.
They also only found a 1% difference in performance between TDP (power limits Enforced) and basically overvolt.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i7-11700k-cpu-review/2

 

[Karadjgne]

Yeah, that's why Intel finally got off its back side and did it closer to right with 12thgen. Most of what was happening wasn't actually Intels fault, it was the AIB's messing with PL2 and Tau, Gigabyte being the worst offender. Intel had it where initial boost would hit PL2 for 56 seconds (Tau) then drop to PL1 (TDP). The AIB's not only changed Tau to be 99999 seconds, but had jacked power limits to 1000w. Basically making a permanent PL2 boost with unlimited power. Set 1 button in bios, and buh-bye cooling ability, adios TDP.

With 12th gen, Intel set the specs, not the AIB's, so TDP is reflective of expected wattage with Tau frozen and unlimited power limits for boosted cpus and a more normal PL1/PL2/Tau for default settings. TDP for the 12900k is 125/228w, I believe.