Patent ID: 8230245

Claim:
A method for operating an information handling system to manage power usage, comprising: operating a central processing unit within an information handling system at a current performance state, the current performance state being one of a plurality of selectable performance states for the central processing unit; obtaining utilization data with respect to operation of the central processing unit within the information handling system; obtaining performance data with respect to operation of the central processing unit within the information handling system, the performance data being different at least in part from the utilization data; selecting a proposed performance state for the central processing unit by analyzing the utilization data; comparing the proposed performance state with the current performance state for the central processing unit; if the proposed performance state is different from the current performance state, verifying usefulness of a change to the current performance state for the central processing unit by analyzing the performance data to determine changes to performance as the central processing unit operates over time; changing the current performance state for the central processing unit to the proposed performance state only if usefulness of the change is verified in the verifying step; and periodically repeating the obtaining, selecting, comparing, verifying and changing steps to update the performance state of the central processing unit during operation of the information handling system.