A method for intelligently gathering historical performance information for computing resources is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes sampling, for a computing resource, first performance information at a first frequency. The method retains the first performance information for a first time period. The method further samples, for the computing resource, second performance information at a second frequency that is greater than the first frequency. The method retains the second performance information for a second time period that is shorter than the first time period. In certain embodiments, in response to detecting an event in association with the computing resource, the method takes a snapshot of the second performance information retained for the computing resource at the time of the event. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.