Controlling heat generated by a computer includes using a thermal sensor configured to monitor temperature of a CPU, a peripheral device controller configured to determine if the monitored temperature of the CPU is higher than a threshold temperature, and an application program configured to designate one or more operating modes for the CPU. The operating modes includes a clock setting and power setting for the CPU based on results from the peripheral device controller. An operating system is configured to implement the clock signal and power settings for the CPU based on results from the application program.