So my laptop's CPU has this turbo boost thing, and it heats up the machine to an uncomfortable degree. So I've used cpufrequtils to keep my CPU at only 1.4GHz, and it hasn't felt any slower and it's gotten cooler.
Though I've noticed now, the frequency won't go below or above 1.4GHz (base being 2.3GHz).
What are the pros & cons of throttling my CPU?
Other than slower performance and a colder machine.
Are there any significant impacts on the machines life, battery life, etc?
If your laptop is overheating then that is likely to have an adverse effect on the lifetime of its components. If it's overheating too badly, the machine might even fail very soon.
Throttling the CPU has no negative effects apart from making the machine slower. You say it hasn't felt any slower, so there's no reason not to throttle in your case. You'll also get more battery use between charges, and there will probably be less fan noise
Other than speed drop, I'm unaware of any significant cons. It is possible that in high work load environments, you will get less throughput per watt - but from what you describe this should not be an issue. Its conceivable that the battery may deteriorate and you are not aware of it, and if you then set it to run at high speed it could become unstable when running on battery.
On the pro side - less heat so less stress, less noise to dissipate said heat, longer battery life.
I deliberately throttled an x86 pc used as a router for years so I could passively cool it - this did not cause any problems.
Other than a much slower computer, there is no downside to limiting the frequency. Your laptop will run longer on battery, as it is not drawing as much power. The fans wont spin as often and/or as loud, as they dont need to disappate as much heat. Generally speaking, your computer should last longer. However, in reality, modern laptops are very robust and you shouldnt expect any failures before modifying the CPU frequency.
The real question is what is going on. The turbo boost feature is doing the exact opposite of what you did. It is turning UP the frequency. The advantage is that it speeds up the computer. However, it should only do this when the computer is under heavy load. When the CPU starts getting to hot, it should slow it back down. It really depends on what you consider "uncomfortably hot." Do you have it in your lap? Are the air vents blocked?
Losing almost 1 Ghz (per core) is a massive performance hit. Im genuinely surprised you said you havent noticed it being slower. I can only assume you arent running any CPU intensive programs. Personally, if the speed of my computer dropped almost 50%, I would notice it immediately.
