A disclosed method involves initializing a performance profiler of a processing system. The performance profiler may include performance profile parameters for a power management policy for the processing system. The method also involves retrieving performance metrics for the processing system from a performance monitoring unit (PMU) of the processing system, in response to a determination that performance details should be collected. A current performance state of the processing system may be determined, based at least in part on the performance profile parameters and the performance metrics from the PMU. The current performance state may then be communicated to a policy manager of the processing system. Other embodiments are disclosed and claimed.