You probably wanted a low thread priority/QoS setting. The OS knows how to run threads such that they don't heat up the CPU. Well, on modern hardware it does anyway.

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adrianN 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

I’d expect any os worth it’s name to run threads in a way that minimizes total energy not fan noise.

	▲	astrange 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		People with desktop computers don't care about total energy, but they do care about fan noise for overnight maintenance tasks.

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rswail 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

The OP did say this was circa 2010. So we're talking 15 years ago.