Dynamic frequency scaling

Dynamic frequency scaling (also known as CPU throttling) is a power management technique in computer architecture whereby the frequency of a microprocessor can be automatically adjusted "on the fly" depending on the actual needs, to conserve power and reduce the amount of heat generated by the chip. Dynamic frequency scaling helps preserve battery on mobile devices and decrease cooling cost and noise on quiet computing settings, or can be useful as a security measure for overheated systems (e.g. after poor overclocking).

For the CPU design principle, see Frequency scaling.
"CPU throttling" redirects here. For other uses, see Throttle (disambiguation) ยง Computing.

Dynamic frequency scaling almost always appear in conjunction with dynamic voltage scaling, since higher frequencies require higher supply voltages for the digital circuit to yield correct results. The combined topic is known as dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS).

Processor throttling is also known as "automatic underclocking". Automatic overclocking (boosting) is also technically a form of dynamic frequency scaling, but it's relatively new and usually not discussed with throttling.

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