Open Activity Monitor. If kernel_task is the top of the CPU % list and hogging its cores, what should you do? Can Energy Modes help?
Activity Monitor
Originally Process Viewer and CPU Monitor, in 2003 they merged and became Activity Monitor, similar to the current version. Also borrowed for Xcode Instruments.
The CPU view in Activity Monitor is the starting point for tuning the performance of software. Here are its virtues, and a few vices to beware of when using it.
Discovering whether using more threads makes a task faster gives insight into where its performance is limited. How to use a VM to investigate this.
Tuning your Mac for performance can be a good investment of time. Beware of general benchmarks, though, and develop your own objective measurements. Then identify the rate-limiting step methodically, so you can address that.
macOS virtual machines are preferentially run on P cores. Details on their performance, core allocation, frequencies and power use/
Details of their frequency, ISA, power use, and how macOS allocates threads to P cores and relocates them. Supported by data from an M4 Pro.
One of the most common reasons for opening Activity Monitor is to check the % CPU of processes that might be running out of control. How accurate are those figures, though, and should you believe them?
Why you shouldn’t try killing kernel_task, but take action to help cool your Mac and reduce the heat it’s producing.
How could you study how Apple silicon CPU cores are used to run code? Comparisons between Activity Monitor, Xcode Instruments, and powermetrics.
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