Forum Discussion
Video in Teams causes Surface Pro to overheat
Alexander_Novikov thanks for the feedback.
The Microsoft support is simply ridiculous. And it's an absurdity that their own hardware/software combination doesn't work for simple requirements. No audio/video/photo editing, no games, just simple office activities.... For now mine still works somehow/halfway, but I also will buy a new notebook this year. I think it will be a Lenovo 😉
Here’s another useful thing I’ve learned. It’s very helpful to disable the DPTF sensors. There’s no need to disable the Processor Participant or Battery Participant, so the system can still manage frequencies, but you should disable the chassis sensors specifically. You can do this in the Device Manager, but if the tablet has already overheated, it might get stuck in the wrong settings. So, it’s better to search for the "NoDPTF registry file" and apply it.
Next, you need to enable ThrottleStop because, by default, DPTF sets PL2/PL1 to 61/25 watts, which, without dynamic management, will lead to immediate overheating. Here are the settings I settled on:
I disabled SpeedStep because it’s an outdated technology, and by default, the Surface uses SpeedShift. BD Prochot doesn’t work particularly well, so I disabled that too. It triggers even when the chassis and the processor are still at safe temperatures.
I set PL1 to 15 watts. I tested it for an hour in Cinebench and during Teams conferences. Everything works great, and nothing freezes, even when running on power. When running on battery and just browsing, the tablet stays completely cool and doesn’t slow down.
I tested 20 watts – the tablet shut down after about an hour in Teams, plus I think it’s harmful to the battery. I believe the threshold can be raised to around 18 watts, but that requires further testing. I tried another hour in Teams with video calls while on AC power with 18 watts, and everything was fine. But, personally, I’m sticking with 15 watts because everything works perfectly as is. The processor runs at 2 GHz and sometimes boosts to over 3 GHz.
Even during prolonged use while plugged in, under full load, the chassis temperature doesn’t rise above 55 degrees.
Yes, this exceeds Intel’s 50 degrees standards, but you end up with a slightly warm but efficient device, not a useless piece of metal. And I doubt the battery degrades more from an extra 5 degrees. In all these tests, the CPU temperature never exceeded 85 degrees, which is also great, as the safe limit for Intel is around 100 degrees, after which the device will shut down.
You can still use Windows power modes, and power efficiency is maintained since they mostly control the SpeedShift EPP setting. We haven’t blocked Windows or DPTF from managing frequencies.
So, I can wholeheartedly recommend these settings. I take no responsibility for your devices, but I believe my conclusions are sound.
I personally ended up buying a new laptop with a cutting-edge processor for development and audio processing, but I'm confident that with the current settings, my Surface will last many more years as a tablet for calls and browsing.
I hope I was able to help someone!