diff --git a/drivers/gpu/arm/bifrost/backend/gpu/mali_kbase_pm_metrics.c b/drivers/gpu/arm/bifrost/backend/gpu/mali_kbase_pm_metrics.c
index 551bf44a1775..5f48dfbcfc67 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/arm/bifrost/backend/gpu/mali_kbase_pm_metrics.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/arm/bifrost/backend/gpu/mali_kbase_pm_metrics.c
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0 WITH Linux-syscall-note
 /*
  *
- * (C) COPYRIGHT 2011-2021 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.
+ * (C) COPYRIGHT 2011-2022 ARM Limited. All rights reserved.
  *
  * This program is free software and is provided to you under the terms of the
  * GNU General Public License version 2 as published by the Free Software
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
  */
 
 #include <mali_kbase.h>
+#include <mali_kbase_config_defaults.h>
 #include <mali_kbase_pm.h>
 #include <backend/gpu/mali_kbase_pm_internal.h>
 
@@ -231,11 +232,13 @@ static void kbase_pm_get_dvfs_utilisation_calc(struct kbase_device *kbdev)
 		 * time.
 		 */
 		if (!kbdev->pm.backend.metrics.skip_gpu_active_sanity_check) {
-			/* Use a margin value that is approximately 1% of the time
-			 * difference.
+			/* The margin is scaled to allow for the worst-case
+			 * scenario where the samples are maximally separated,
+			 * plus a small offset for sampling errors.
 			 */
-			u64 margin_ns = diff_ns >> 6;
-			if (gpu_active_counter > (diff_ns + margin_ns)) {
+			u64 const MARGIN_NS =
+				IPA_CONTROL_TIMER_DEFAULT_VALUE_MS * NSEC_PER_MSEC * 3 / 2;
+			if (gpu_active_counter > (diff_ns + MARGIN_NS)) {
 				dev_info(
 					kbdev->dev,
 					"GPU activity takes longer than time interval: %llu ns > %llu ns",
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/arm/bifrost/csf/ipa_control/mali_kbase_csf_ipa_control.c b/drivers/gpu/arm/bifrost/csf/ipa_control/mali_kbase_csf_ipa_control.c
index 546e18dbe315..8b79fbdfa567 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/arm/bifrost/csf/ipa_control/mali_kbase_csf_ipa_control.c
+++ b/drivers/gpu/arm/bifrost/csf/ipa_control/mali_kbase_csf_ipa_control.c
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
  */
 
 #include <mali_kbase.h>
+#include <mali_kbase_config_defaults.h>
 #include "backend/gpu/mali_kbase_clk_rate_trace_mgr.h"
 #include "mali_kbase_csf_ipa_control.h"
 
@@ -43,20 +44,10 @@
 #define COMMAND_PROTECTED_ACK ((u32)4)
 #define COMMAND_RESET_ACK ((u32)5)
 
-/*
- * Default value for the TIMER register of the IPA Control interface,
- * expressed in milliseconds.
- *
- * The chosen value is a trade off between two requirements: the IPA Control
- * interface should sample counters with a resolution in the order of
- * milliseconds, while keeping GPU overhead as limited as possible.
- */
-#define TIMER_DEFAULT_VALUE_MS ((u32)10) /* 10 milliseconds */
-
 /*
  * Number of timer events per second.
  */
-#define TIMER_EVENTS_PER_SECOND ((u32)1000 / TIMER_DEFAULT_VALUE_MS)
+#define TIMER_EVENTS_PER_SECOND ((u32)1000 / IPA_CONTROL_TIMER_DEFAULT_VALUE_MS)
 
 /*
  * Maximum number of loops polling the GPU before we assume the GPU has hung.
diff --git a/drivers/gpu/arm/bifrost/mali_kbase_config_defaults.h b/drivers/gpu/arm/bifrost/mali_kbase_config_defaults.h
index 8d64184de386..5ae6346a7658 100644
--- a/drivers/gpu/arm/bifrost/mali_kbase_config_defaults.h
+++ b/drivers/gpu/arm/bifrost/mali_kbase_config_defaults.h
@@ -84,6 +84,18 @@ enum {
 	KBASE_3BIT_AID_4  = 0x7
 };
 
+#if MALI_USE_CSF
+/*
+ * Default value for the TIMER register of the IPA Control interface,
+ * expressed in milliseconds.
+ *
+ * The chosen value is a trade off between two requirements: the IPA Control
+ * interface should sample counters with a resolution in the order of
+ * milliseconds, while keeping GPU overhead as limited as possible.
+ */
+#define IPA_CONTROL_TIMER_DEFAULT_VALUE_MS ((u32)10) /* 10 milliseconds */
+#endif /* MALI_USE_CSF */
+
 /**
  * Default period for DVFS sampling (can be overridden by platform header)
  */