Patent ID: 7536567

Claim:
A computer system, comprising: a processor operable at a plurality of power levels, the processor comprises a register capable of storing a processor load value; a memory coupled to the processor; a second processor coupled to the processor and to the memory; and BIOS software stored in the memory that executes on the processor, wherein the BIOS software comprises a power management module; wherein the power management module sets the processor to operate at a new power level of the plurality of power levels if a function of the processor load value indicates the new power level; wherein the power management module executes concurrently on the second processor and sets a second power level of the second processor independently of the processor; the processor further comprising a second register capable of storing a processor capacity value; and wherein the function computes a utilization ratio equal to the processor load value divided by the processor capacity value, and further compares the utilization ratio to a first threshold value.