Confused about throttling: XPS 9560

I ran Intel XTU processor test for 10 minutes and it didnt throttle.

Then I put together a really random 1080p timeline clip (4k source footage to convert) in davinci resolve and when I started rendering that, i was NOT getting "Thermal Throttling" but I WAS getting constant "Power Limit Throttling" and even though I was on the "High Performance" power plan, the Max Core Frequency was capping at about 2.4Ghz.

I have some thermal pads on the way which I am considering putting over the VRM area but I've also heard it caused some people to throttle even sooner? I would like to avoid repasting at this time...

I do zero gaming, but will be working with Lightroom, Photoshop, Davinci Resolve(video editing) regularly and really need my high-end laptop to... act like a high-end laptop. I'll also be away from home for a while so I won't have easy access to tools or materials.

 

The XTU test is not very demanding.

There are thousands of posts here noting how hot the recent XPS models run and how poorly Dell applied the thermal paste. Repasting the CPU & GPU is the typical first step as it is a major bottleneck that generally needs to be fixed. After you fix that defect, an undervolt can help with some throttling situations and are the popular first steps.

Getting thermal pads to work properly is difficult. Sometimes it just delays throttling a few minutes. The case bottom is a terrible heatsink so I don't know what you propose to do with those thermal pads. Only a handful of people here got them to make a major difference (and it took a good deal of effort).

So if I were in your shoes, I would try the repaste and undervolt and see how that works. If you are still suffering major throttling consider more serious means. Note guys here like @iunlock can do this work for you for a moderate fee.