AMD's definition af TDP:
"Thermal Design Power (TDP) is measured under the conditions of TCASE Max, IDD Max, and VDD=VID_VDD, and include all power dissipated on-die from VDD, VDDIO, VLDT, VTT, and VDDA."
Intels definition af TDP:
"Thermal Design Power (TDP) should be used for processor thermal solution design targets. The TDP is not the maximum power that the processor can dissipate."
AMD regner altså TDP som det maksimale antal watt, processoren brænder af ved full load. Intel regner TDP som antal watt ved normalt brug, hvilket typisk er 10-15 procent lavere end ved full load.