Patent attributes
A recommend operating frequency for a GPU is determine by an operating system. Timing information is used to estimate a time to complete the rendering of the current frame. If the estimate of the time to complete the rendering of the current frame is greater than the time left before the deadline, the operating frequency of the GPU is rapidly increased mid-frame. The new operating frequency is selected so that the rendering of the current frame can be expected to complete before the deadline arrives. Thus, when the rendering workload is low for a frame, the GPU is operated at a lower frequency thereby saving power. When the workload is high for a frame (even if the workload was lower for the previous frame), the GPU is operated at a higher frequency thereby ensuring a quality user experience.
