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Re: undefined

#41

Post by nickporter »

These things usually fix performance issues for me:

- Open your macbook and clean out the dust. I do it yearly. It always helps.

- Keep macOS and apps (e.g. browser) up-to-date. coreaudiod high cpu was fixed for me in 11.6.

- Review login items, delete what you don't need.

- Reboot, with the occasional nvram, pram reset

- Review activity monitor, find apps that have background processes and delete the ones you don't need.

- Review installed applications, especially ones w/ kernel extensions (e.g. hamachi, vbox). Delete if you don't need them. Easy to re-install.

- Kill docker desktop when not using docker.

- Fine tune spotlight settings.

Re: undefined

#42

Post by walrus01 »

interestica wrote: post #39
walrus01 wrote: post #19

I also recently discovered that something like 12% of CPU on my 2020 macbook air is used whenever I'm in a room with anything greater than perfect silence, by 'coreaudiod', because it apparently is constantly listening to the microphone built in near the keyboard and spending cpu cycles trying to filter out background noise. Apparently running the signal desktop app in the background is enough to keep coreaudiod cons…

The 2020 M1 version or previous Intel iteration (or perhaps there's no difference)?

Intel i7

Re: undefined

#43

Post by ENGNR »

solarkraft wrote: post #36

This answer keeps clogging up my results researching my high kernel_task issues. This answer being over enthusiastically given even after thermal throttling could reasonably be ruled out is one thing - but it seems like there’s also no real way to troubleshoot this type of issue (what sub-process is going wild?). Best I could find was a command to list the RAM usage of kernel modules.

I believe kernel_task itself is just doing a bunch of sleep commands, specifically to give the CPU a rest so the temperature cools down

Re: undefined

#44

Post by ENGNR »

mthoms wrote: post #32
tmpz22 wrote: post #15

Tinfoil hat: they knew the M1 macs would be a big draw and got intentionally soft on optimizing 2019 intel models.

There's some truth to this but I don't think it was necessarily intentional . It must have been an "all hands on deck" situation getting M1/Rosetta ready. I'm PO'ed either way. My 2019 16" has been plagued with this issue.

Same, it’s so frustrating not being able to run a cut down dev setup (webpack, backend, vscode and browser with one tab open), no other programs running… and also an external monitor.

Without about 15 mins it grinds to a halt, and nothing I can do about it except research other laptops with better cooling

Re: undefined

#45

Post by MontyCarloHall »

walrus01 wrote: post #19

I also recently discovered that something like 12% of CPU on my 2020 macbook air is used whenever I'm in a room with anything greater than perfect silence, by 'coreaudiod', because it apparently is constantly listening to the microphone built in near the keyboard and spending cpu cycles trying to filter out background noise. Apparently running the signal desktop app in the background is enough to keep coreaudiod cons…

> Imagine the cumulative kilowatt-hours wasted globally by all the CPU cycles spent by slack just to exist as basically a glorified IRC app.

Conversely, imagine the global kWh saved by some micro-optimization to a key system call like malloc. Perhaps the biggest positive impact a single developer can have on our climate is to improve the efficiency of frequently used pieces of code. Even tiny optimizations would add up.

Re: undefined

#46

Post by saagarjha »

MontyCarloHall wrote: post #45
walrus01 wrote: post #19

I also recently discovered that something like 12% of CPU on my 2020 macbook air is used whenever I'm in a room with anything greater than perfect silence, by 'coreaudiod', because it apparently is constantly listening to the microphone built in near the keyboard and spending cpu cycles trying to filter out background noise. Apparently running the signal desktop app in the background is enough to keep coreaudiod cons…

> Imagine the cumulative kilowatt-hours wasted globally by all the CPU cycles spent by slack just to exist as basically a glorified IRC app. Conversely, imagine the global kWh saved by some micro-optimization to a key system call like malloc. Perhaps the biggest positive impact a single developer can have on our climate is to improve the efficiency of frequently used pieces of code. Even tiny optimizations would add…

They are highly optimized for exactly this reason.

Re: undefined

#47

Post by BoorishBears »

Ancapistani wrote: post #26
the_pwner224 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately this is a very common problem with basically all modern high-end laptops that have a macbook-like form factor (e.g. not bulky gaming laptops with lots of cooling & ventilation). It's just not physically possible to make a machine that combines high end power hungry hardware, adequate cooling for that hardware, and a compact form factor. It's very sad that this is such a widespread problem and that there…

> It's just not physically possible to make a machine that combines high end power hungry hardware, adequate cooling for that hardware, and a compact form factor. My 16” Intel MBP has this issue. My 13” M1 MBP does not.

Yeah this comment became outdated with the M1.

Nothing from VMs to cross-compiling large toolchains has caused throttling in a fanless laptop. And that's while driving a 6k monitor and charging at full wattage.

Re: undefined

#48

Post by tailspin2019 »

peanut_worm wrote: post #14
sprite wrote: post #3

My 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro (2.3ghz i9/64gb ram) becomes unusable with 2 of the LG 5k monitors plugged in (one on each side). Worst MacBook I have ever owned.

My 2019 Macbook air becomes unusable when I plug in any external display... or let the battery fall below 20%... or have 2 electron apps open... or if I look at it funny

In my case it only takes one electron app on my Air (with external display). Teams.

Re: undefined

#49

Post by dylan604 »

dangrossman wrote: post #33
scottlamb wrote: post #29

I suspect there's another related reason for high kernel_task % CPU: your battery is very low and your charger is underpowered. It seems to throttle your CPU usage to avoid exhausting the battery while charging, and this throttling shows up in the same way as thermal throttling. I discovered this by accident when I plugged my MBP into my phone charger instead of my laptop charger. I need to mark the cables somehow, o…

I bought a bunch of 45W+ USB-C chargers and put one in every room of the house. They're only about $20 each on Amazon. All of the family computers and phones can be charged on any of them. It's nice not to think about it.

You're putting a lot of faith in a $20 thing from Amazon, especially for something as crucial as the charger. Which brand have you put your faith in for these adapters?

Re: undefined

#50

Post by techrat »

scottlamb wrote: post #29

I suspect there's another related reason for high kernel_task % CPU: your battery is very low and your charger is underpowered. It seems to throttle your CPU usage to avoid exhausting the battery while charging, and this throttling shows up in the same way as thermal throttling. I discovered this by accident when I plugged my MBP into my phone charger instead of my laptop charger. I need to mark the cables somehow, o…

Nice to see braindead design from 2008 persisting.

https://www.engadget.com/2008-11-22-macbook-and-macbookpro-s...

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