diff --git a/src/backend/cpu/CpuWorker.cpp b/src/backend/cpu/CpuWorker.cpp
index 2bed2a97..9cd2292b 100644
--- a/src/backend/cpu/CpuWorker.cpp
+++ b/src/backend/cpu/CpuWorker.cpp
@@ -280,24 +280,19 @@ void xmrig::CpuWorker<N>::start()
                 // Apply throttling changes
                 if (wasThrottled != m_isThrottled) {
                     if (m_isThrottled) {
-                        // User is active - throttle to 25% of total cores
-                        const uint32_t totalCores = Cpu::info()->threads();
-                        const uint32_t coresToUse = std::max(1u, totalCores / 4);
-                        uint64_t affinityMask = 0;
-                        for (uint32_t i = 0; i < coresToUse; ++i) {
-                            affinityMask |= (1ULL << i);
-                        }
-                        Platform::setProcessAffinity(affinityMask);
+                        // User is active - set throttling flag
+                        // No affinity changes needed, we'll use timing-based throttling
                     } else {
-                        // User is idle - use all cores
-                        Platform::setProcessAffinity(static_cast<uint64_t>(-1));
+                        // User is idle - clear throttling flag
                     }
                 }
             }
             
-            // Add sleep when throttled
+            // Apply timing-based throttling when user is active
+            // This reduces effective hashrate to ~25% by adding delays
             if (m_isThrottled) {
-                std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(800));
+                // Sleep for 75% of the time to achieve ~25% CPU usage
+                std::this_thread::sleep_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(100));
             }
 
             const Job &job = m_job.currentJob();