cpupower utility

I think this command-line utility is nifty:

christopher@nightshade ~ [env]$ guix show cpupower
name: cpupower
version: 5.8.12
outputs: out
systems: x86_64-linux i686-linux
dependencies: gettext-minimal@0.20.1 pciutils@3.6.4
location: gnu/packages/linux.scm:5458:2
homepage: https://www.gnu.org/software/linux-libre/
license: GPL 2
synopsis: CPU frequency and voltage scaling tools for Linux  
description: cpupower is a set of user-space tools that use the cpufreq feature of the Linux kernel to retrieve and control processor features related to
+ power saving, such as frequency and voltage scaling.

This command shows you what cpu governor you are using, and the current cpu frequency:

christopher@nightshade ~ [env]$ sudo cpupower frequency-info
analyzing CPU 0:
  driver: acpi-cpufreq
  CPUs which run at the same hardware frequency: 0
  CPUs which need to have their frequency coordinated by software: 0
  maximum transition latency: 4.0 us
  hardware limits: 800 MHz - 3.30 GHz
  available frequency steps:  3.30 GHz, 2.60 GHz, 2.10 GHz, 800 MHz
  available cpufreq governors: conservative ondemand userspace powersave performance schedutil
  current policy: frequency should be within 800 MHz and 3.30 GHz.
                  The governor "userspace" may decide which speed to use
                  within this range.
  current CPU frequency: 800 MHz (asserted by call to hardware)
  boost state support:
    Supported: no
    Active: no
    Boost States: 0
    Total States: 4
    Pstate-P0:  3300MHz
    Pstate-P1:  2600MHz
    Pstate-P2:  2100MHz
    Pstate-P3:  800MHz

And this sets the cpu frequency:

christopher@nightshade ~ [env]$ sudo cpupower frequency-set -f 800Mhz
Setting cpu: 0
Setting cpu: 1
Setting cpu: 2

A lower frequency is better when you aren’t busy using the computer, as that saves electricity and generates less heat. Of course, you might want to explorer the different governors as well.