MacOS – CPU usage is too high with Yosemite and an external monitor

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I use Yosemite 10.10.4 on my MacBook Pro (2012).

I used to work with an external monitor: Apple Thunderbolt 27" monitor.

The issue is that, according to Activity Monitor, the kernel_task process consumes more than 600% of CPU even when no tasks are running! The computer becomes totally unusable.

The workaround is to disconnect the external monitor, but I really need this secondary screen to work.

Why didn't Apple fix this issue in the latest Yosemite update?

Is there a fix for this?

Best Answer

This is a design feature documented by Apple. See if cooling your Mac and the processor can then speed up again and do the work you want. See this post on ideas for cooling while in clamshell mode.

Some people have luck removing Intel kernel extensions, but if you disable safety and overheat your system, that might be out of warranty if the cpu fails.

I would watch things closely if you do that and try other cooling methods first, like buy a stand designed to cool your Mac.

If that doesn't work, try resetting the System Management Controller one time to ensure it's not a measurement error.

If you only need occasional cooling or to convince yourself, go ahead and open the clamshell and make sure there is good ventilation and you are not blocking the air inlet or outlet by the display hinges. The thermal management software reacts quite rapidly to changes in internal temperature. could even use Magnets to force the display to sleep while it's actually open and allowing the entire keyboard surface to be exposed and cooling the Mac that thinks it's still working in closed clamshell mode.

Activity Monitor may show that a process named kernel_task is using a large percentage of your CPU, and during this time you may notice a lot of fan activity. This process helps manage temperature by making the CPU less available to processes that are using the CPU intensely. In other words, kernel_task responds to conditions that cause your CPU to become too hot. When the temperature decreases, kernel_task automatically reduces its activity.

So, also quit the other tasks and apps you don't need if you can't make the physical arrangement of the Mac more cool or more conducive to radiating the heat away if convection isn't working for you. The GPU will cause lots of heat if it's pushing many pixels. Decreasing resolution might help in an edge case, but you'll want to attack cooling in general as a first step.

You could also get some advanced tools to peek into the CPU rate to confirm it's reacting to heat:

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