Patent ID: 8726055

Claim:
A method for operating a processor in a multi-core processor system, comprising: detecting a creation of an asynchronous wakeup event in a timer queue for the processor, the asynchronous wakeup event indicating that the processor is to be placed into an idle state and is to resume operation at a specified time in the future; in response to detecting the creation of the asynchronous wakeup event, when the processor is to be placed into an idle state, configuring the processor to resume operation at a reduced frequency that is a fraction of an operating frequency for the multi-core processor system, upon placing the processor into the idle state, increasing a frequency of one or more other processors in the multi-core processor system from a first frequency to a second frequency; when the asynchronous wakeup event occurs, resuming operation of the processor at the reduced frequency to service the asynchronous wakeup event; determining a workload associated with servicing the asynchronous wakeup event; if the workload exceeds a threshold, configuring the processor to operate at the operating frequency of the multi-core processor system, wherein said configuration comprises: negotiating with the multi-core processor system to allocate more power to the processor; decreasing the frequency of the one or more other processors from the second frequency to the first frequency; and increasing the frequency of the processor from the reduced frequency to the first frequency; and if the workload does not exceed the threshold, allowing the processor to continue servicing the asynchronous wakeup event at the reduced frequency.