Patent ID: 8135970

Claim:
A microprocessor that performs adaptive power throttling, comprising: a calculation unit, configured to calculate an average power consumed by the microprocessor over a most recent predetermined sample time, and to determine whether the average power is less than a predetermined maximum power value; a power management unit, coupled to the calculation unit, configured to control the microprocessor to conditionally operate at a predetermined frequency if the average power is less than the predetermined maximum power value, wherein the predetermined frequency is a frequency at which the microprocessor may consume more than the predetermined maximum power value; and a counter, coupled to the calculation unit, configured to update its value periodically regardless of whether the microprocessor is in a running state or a sleeping state, wherein the calculation unit is configured to calculate the average power consumed by the microprocessor over the most recent predetermined sample time using the counter value, wherein the microprocessor is configured to update the counter by an amount based on a current performance point at which the microprocessor is operating.