In order to run as long as possible on a single battery, battery-powered computers need to be efficient. A large part of that efficiency can be gained by using low-power hardware, but software can also help to reduce power consumption. One way to do that is to let the OS control the CPU frequency and core voltage. This paper will explain the backgrounds of power consumption in CPUs and how clock and voltage scaling can help to decrease the power consumption. It will show the current Linux implementation (cpufreq) and compare it with other implementations.

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