Thermal Headroom Calculator
Will your cooler keep up with the CPU, and is there room to push clocks higher?
Compare your CPU’s power draw (TDP) against your cooler’s rated dissipation to see how much thermal headroom you have for boost clocks and overclocking.
Result
Comfortable headroom
CPU TDP125 W
Cooler rating250 W
Margin+125 W
Headroom100%
Rule of thumb: The cooler handles stock boost with room to spare, and light overclocking is feasible. Real headroom also depends on case airflow, ambient temperature, and whether the CPU sustains its boost beyond base TDP. Undervolting recovers margin without losing performance.
Reading the margin
A cooler rated above the CPU’s sustained TDP keeps boost clocks longer and leaves overclocking headroom. At or below TDP, the chip may throttle under all-core loads. Real results also depend on case airflow, ambient temperature, and whether the CPU sustains boost beyond its base TDP. Undervolting recovers margin with little or no performance loss.