Summary
Often, the first thing most people look at when gauging a laptop’s power is the CPU, but the reality is much more complex: you can have two laptops with the same CPU, yet they’ll perform very differently. It’s not that the spec sheet is lying to you — the CPU doesn’t determine performance alone. Various manufacturers set custom power limits for the same CPU. Since learning that, I no longer buy a laptop solely based on its CPU; the power limit and other specs are now equally important to me. PL1 and PL2 decide how much power your CPU actually gets TDP is measured for cooling, not real-world power draw The concept is pretty similar: give your CPU more power to get more output, and less power results in lower performance, but with some important considerations. Many think that TDP is a machine’s power draw, and I don’t blame them, since it is measured in watts. Even though TDP isn’t measured by power draw, it’s tied to it, but its purpose is to indicate how much heat a component’s cooling needs to dissipate under a workload. TDP is primarily a concern for manufacturers, as it provides a target for designing an adequate cooling solution. Instead, you should measure a CPU’s power capabilities using its PL1 and PL2, which are the chip’s long-term power draw and its higher-power draw for short bursts, respectively. In a nutshell, your CPU typically uses PL1 to when the CPU needs to boost clocks under heavy workloads. How one CPU performs unevenly across different laptops A wider PL1 and PL2 gap can substantially increase CPU performance Depending on your manufacturer, laptop type, and whether the laptop is intended for creators or office use, your CPU can have distinct power configurations. Take the i7-13700H as an example. Its power configurations vary widely across laptops, and here’s how it performs differently among them. | Laptop | PL2 | PL1 | Cinebench R20 Multi | | Medion Erazer Scout E20 | 115W | 50W | 6,051 (via | | ASUS ExpertBook P1 | 45W | 28W | 4,057 (via | | Acer Swift Go 16 | 80W | 65W | 5.310 (via | Intel itself states a 45W PL1 and 115W PL2 power range for the i7-13700H, allowing manufacturers to tune the power themselves. The Acer Swift Go 16 has a significantly higher PL1 than Intel’s documentation indicates, and is a prime example of why the CPU alone doesn’t determine a laptop’s performance. Even though Cinebench R20 Multi is primarily a CPU test, RAM and other components also help determine the score, so they can slightly impact benchmark results. Cooling and battery limit how much power a CPU can draw Cheaper laptops throttle sooner than expensive ones with better cooling While more power means higher performance, the situation depends more on just this. For starters, thermal management plays a big role in a CPU’s performance, and higher power can make your machine run hotter. As your CPU approaches a certain temperature threshold, it automatically slows down to prevent damage, and this phenomenon is called thermal throttling. Thermal throttling can hurt performance because your CPU can’t reach boost clock speeds, which would increase power draw and, in turn, raise temperatures. Laptops generally run hotter than desktop PCs, and thermal throttling happens frequently. To avoid it, you’ll need great cooling, and cooling is hard to engineer in laptops because multiple hot components sit on the same board with little space for heat to move around. Copper heat pipes used to redirect heat away from the laptop board are very expensive, and there’s very limited space for multiple fans. Lastly, for a higher power draw, you’ll also need a larger battery, and even though it’s not the most expensive part of a laptop, a small difference can go a long way toward determining a machine’s price when manufactured in bulk. Check reviews, not spec sheets PL1 and PL2 numbers are rarely published in official specifications, which is why I always look for comprehensive laptop reviews before buying. For performance, check reviews that thoroughly test the CPU across benchmarks like Cinebench and compare it with competing machines or rival CPUs. If performance drops significantly after a few minutes, the laptop’s cooling isn’t that great, and depending on your climate, overheating can become an issue. HWiNFO64 shows the actual PL1 and PL2 figures, but since you don’t have hands-on experience with the machine, consult sites like NotebookCheck for a comprehensive overview. If you don’t have access to benchmarks or results, check the cooling configuration. Fewer fans and a congested cooling setup indicate a lower-power configuration.