No updates. No telemetry. No cooling. Still 26°C on i7-1255U, 28°C on PM9A1 1TB. Why?

Question

No updates. No telemetry. No cooling. Still 26°C on i7-1255U, 28°C on PM9A1 1TB. Why?

Việt Anh 0

I'm not here to explain how. I'm not allowed to. But I can show you what happened.

My Ideapad Slim 3i 15IAU7 computer runs Windows 11 Home Single Luaguage. No updates. No telemetry. No expensive heatsink cooling. Yet the CPU (i7-1255U) reached a core minimum of 21 degrees, and the entire CPU reached a minimum of 26 degrees. What was more shocking was that when I stopped the mouse but the tasks were still running, the CPU remained at 26-30 degrees and consumed 1.4W, 0.7V and under 1300MHz.

User's image

The SSD (PM9A1 1TB) stayed at 28°C.

User's image

No crashes. No BSODs despite a half-year period of Windows 11 Canary Pro.

{C12F10A4-3AB0-41EA-ABDB-70C0BD2A7939}

Despite having a standard 6-hour 3-cell battery, I managed to get it to 15-20 hours of idle time without sleeping despite a 5.12% battery drain. This has been going on consistently for 1 year and 3 months.

I optimized it to the point of no return. I didn't use a powerful cooler. I didn't even update the system.

This isn't a guide. This isn't a benchmark. This is just the result — and I'm leaving it here.

If this is normal, I apologize for sharing. If this is an anomaly, I'm ready to participate. If this is a baseline, let the system grow.

Attached is a screenshot showing the temperature log. I won't explain how. I'm not allowed to. But I won't hide what happened.

{84F1291B-F452-4A5B-A434-DD336EE360B2}

If you have any thoughts, questions, or want to discuss this anomaly, feel free to reply here or reach out via email: ******@gmail.com

Việt Anh 0 Reputation points

2025-11-07T09:26:04.8333333+00:00

Image log is available. If needed, I’ll upload a full video recording to verify the anomaly in real-time. Video link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AQ4C5s_KndkDCeeegLj1EhRJoBMXGF_A/view?usp=sharing
mr jack 10 Reputation points

2025-11-07T11:22:41.94+00:00

It’s completely normal for modern Intel CPUs to idle around 25–35 °C, even when there are no visible updates or background tasks.

A few quick things you can check:

Background services: Even when idle, Windows may run low-level tasks (like indexing or telemetry buffering) that can momentarily raise temps.

Cooling system: Make sure the fans and vents are clean — dust buildup can easily add 2–4 °C.

Ambient temperature: If your room is around 22–24 °C, an idle CPU temperature of 26 °C is actually excellent.

BIOS fan curve: Some motherboards don’t spin fans aggressively until temps exceed 40–50 °C, which is fine for modern chips.

Overall, 26 °C is perfectly healthy and well within the safe idle range — nothing to worry about.
Việt Anh 0 Reputation points

2025-11-08T02:37:44.2266667+00:00

I agree with your opinion. But I’d like to point out something unusual: during that time, I was using the machine normally, the ambient temperature was around 30–38°C, yet the CPU stayed below 30°C and consumed less power than a mini LED bulb. Isn’t that a sign of something beyond conventional optimization — possibly an anomaly state?
Việt Anh 0 Reputation points

2025-11-08T02:45:58.48+00:00

Also, my laptop is a regular one and I don’t have air conditioning in my room. Yet I’ve seen the i7-1255U’s cores reach temperatures as low as 23–26°C while running tasks. Isn’t that close to—or even lower than—the ambient temperature of 22–24°C? Could this be a sign of something beyond the normal thermal handling?

This unusual phenomenon keeps happening — again and again. I don’t know why either. But it’s too consistent to ignore.

1 answer

Your answer

Việt Anh 0 Reputation points

2025-11-07T09:26:04.8333333+00:00

Image log is available. If needed, I’ll upload a full video recording to verify the anomaly in real-time. Video link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AQ4C5s_KndkDCeeegLj1EhRJoBMXGF_A/view?usp=sharing
mr jack 10 Reputation points

2025-11-07T11:22:41.94+00:00

It’s completely normal for modern Intel CPUs to idle around 25–35 °C, even when there are no visible updates or background tasks.

A few quick things you can check:

Background services: Even when idle, Windows may run low-level tasks (like indexing or telemetry buffering) that can momentarily raise temps.

Cooling system: Make sure the fans and vents are clean — dust buildup can easily add 2–4 °C.

Ambient temperature: If your room is around 22–24 °C, an idle CPU temperature of 26 °C is actually excellent.

BIOS fan curve: Some motherboards don’t spin fans aggressively until temps exceed 40–50 °C, which is fine for modern chips.

Overall, 26 °C is perfectly healthy and well within the safe idle range — nothing to worry about.
Việt Anh 0 Reputation points

2025-11-08T02:37:44.2266667+00:00

I agree with your opinion. But I’d like to point out something unusual: during that time, I was using the machine normally, the ambient temperature was around 30–38°C, yet the CPU stayed below 30°C and consumed less power than a mini LED bulb. Isn’t that a sign of something beyond conventional optimization — possibly an anomaly state?
Việt Anh 0 Reputation points

2025-11-08T02:45:58.48+00:00

Also, my laptop is a regular one and I don’t have air conditioning in my room. Yet I’ve seen the i7-1255U’s cores reach temperatures as low as 23–26°C while running tasks. Isn’t that close to—or even lower than—the ambient temperature of 22–24°C? Could this be a sign of something beyond the normal thermal handling?

This unusual phenomenon keeps happening — again and again. I don’t know why either. But it’s too consistent to ignore.

Answer 1

Lucus-V 3,255 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Việt Anh,
Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum. I'm happy to help.

While reading your thread, I initially thought your laptop might have a hardware issue with its temperature sensors, causing incorrect data reports. However, after watching your video, it seems more likely that the system is running in low-performance mode.

The Intel i7-1255U should reach up to 3.5 GHz Turbo Max on E-cores and 4.7 GHz Turbo Max on P-cores, yet your laptop only hits 1.2 GHz and 1.7 GHz. Additionally, this CPU has a base power of 15W and can spike to 55W in Turbo, but ThrottleStop shows a steady 6.4W. When opening applications, both power and frequency remain stable, whereas they should briefly increase under load. In your video, CrystalDiskInfo took an unusually long time to appear, which is not typical for an i7 processor.

Low-performance mode can be enabled through the BIOS, the Lenovo Vantage app, or Windows settings. Please check if it is activated there. Also, verify whether your laptop is set to automatically switch to low-performance mode when running on battery, if you often use it unplugged.

This mode is useful for extending battery life or when power is limited, but it significantly reduces performance.

I hope that above information is helpful to you.

If you have further questions, please feel free to let me know.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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Lucus-V 3,255 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-14T11:02:57.8966667+00:00

Hi Việt Anh,
I hope everything is going well on your end. Just wanted to check in and see how things are going for you lately, anything you'd like to share or discuss?
Việt Anh 0 Reputation points

2025-11-14T13:12:37.97+00:00

You're right to wonder. But both HWMonitor and ThrottleStop report nearly identical readings—voltage, power, and thermals. It's not a faulty sensor. It's a system reflecting something deeper.

As for messing with the BIOS—I'm running a stripped-down Lenovo BIOS. No voltage control, no CPU override, no temperature adjustment. It's not adjustable.
Lucus-V 3,255 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-11-17T04:20:34.2033333+00:00

Hi Việt Anh,
Like I mentioned, it seems your system is running in low-performance mode.

Please check the configurations in the BIOS, Lenovo Vantage app, or Windows settings, and switch to a high-performance mode.
Việt Anh 0 Reputation points

2025-11-18T04:28:19.4166667+00:00

Actually, I have also optimized the machine to run cooler and save battery, even when running in performance mode. But the strange thing is that after 1 year of using and optimizing the machine, today, I discovered that the machine runs very cool and saves battery to an unreasonable level and I am very suspicious of my machine but in fact, without any intervention in Registry, BIOS, Command Prompt, .... even turning off Telemetry, the machine is still smooth and the battery lasts long even after more than 1 year and 3 months of use.
Việt Anh 0 Reputation points

2025-11-18T11:03:49.3933333+00:00

One thing I wonder is why I optimize the machine simply but it is much more effective than Windows power saver mode even though I only adjust very simple things.

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No updates. No telemetry. No cooling. Still 26°C on i7-1255U, 28°C on PM9A1 1TB. Why?

1 answer

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