Safe CPU Temps?

[yl-smash]

I have a core i7 4700mq laptop and when I play dolphin my temps fluctuate between 70-85 degrees Celsius. I'm nervous that that is too hot and I'm going to damage my laptop's processor. It is rated at 100C but of course that is the maximum. I want to know what is safe. Especially at the higher temps that is almost 200 F and it's making me pretty nervous. What is safe?

[AnyOldName3]

That's probably okay for a laptop. It'll start throttling itself to avoid overheating before it overheats. The only potential problems would be if your fan outlets were blocked, or your TIM paste had decayed. If it does start to get much hotter, you probably want to look into cleaning out any vents, and maybe even replacing the TIM paste. If it's a cheaper one, it's likely to be cheap paste which will get old, but more expensive ones, especially those labelled as gaming laptops, will have decent paste which will last years.

[yl-smash]

it's a very nice laptop, and it has yet to throttle. But this is an almost brand new laptop that I want to last. Will playing dolphin at these temps daily damage my processor over the long term? Will it cause my processor to burn out faster? Should I buy one of those laptop cooling pads? That's what I'm considering at the moment.

[Shonumi]

Your CPU is designed to handle those temps safely, for years of constant use. By the time your CPU wants to quit, you'll be in the market for a new laptop most likely. The only thing it will wear down faster is the thermal paste used on the laptop's CPU. Running it for long periods of time will just mean you have to replace the thermal paste more often. Not replacing the thermal paste simply means your CPU will have a bit of an easier time reaching higher temps and may be prone to throttle more often, but replacing the thermal paste should be quite easy.

Laptop cooling pads do nothing for your internal temperatures (which is what counts here), but will reduce the amount of heat that escapes from the bottom of the laptop. In other words, it's good for your lap or desk, but not so much anything else.

[NaturalViolence]

When the CPU operates at a high temperature in that closed circulation environment it likely heats up the motherboard considerably and does degrade it faster. It should still run for years though unless the motherboard is faulty. And it's unlikely that OP is using dolphin for more than a few hours a day (or per week) which will keep the impact on lifespan somewhere between minimal and moderate.