1

I work with macBook Pro (15 Inch 2019, Catalina OS). I can't work with external monitor. 3-5 minutes after pluging in I have kernel_task that takes something about 500-900% CPU. I know there are some similar topics - the main suspect is overheating in such case. I have some changes in temperature, but it's hard to say for me if temperatures are still in ok spot. I have highlighted the biggest changes. temperatures

Improve this question
2
  • May I ask what app are you using to read temperature values?
    – Nimesh Neema ♦
    Commented Jul 19, 2020 at 13:04
  • Istat menus. Some of temperatures are perhaps approximations.
    – Michał Lis
    Commented Jul 21, 2020 at 11:59

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

I would suggest moving your charging plug from the left side of the MacBook Pro to the right side. Similarly you can experiment with plugging in the monitor on the other side.

The two sides have different reactions in terms of temperature, so on one side it might not make much difference - and on the other side it could be just above the threshold that triggers an attempt to lower the temperature by making kernel_task occupy the CPU (in idle mode) to save power.

Improve this answer
1
  • Ye, I've heard there are some issues with left side charging while working. However I didn't try all possible combinations yet.
    – Michał Lis
    Commented Jun 19, 2020 at 13:29
0

I've recently experienced the same on an older (mid-2015) MacBook Pro, and I think it's a coincidence of (some of) these:

  • External monitor connected (if disconnected - kernel_task drops)
  • Spotlight index broke, and decided to reindex from scratch
  • Charger connected
  • Sometimes it's mds_stores process that hits high CPU if kernel_task drops

One thing I find strange with the above numbers is that the CPU is not overheating which normally comes with a high CPU load. However, the entire system becomes sluggish, which makes sense given a background process sucking up most of the CPU.

My take on it all is that the Monterey update had somehow rendered the Spotlight index (mds_stores process) useless, and it decided to reindex everything. The external display started fighting for the resources, so indexing would never finish.

My solution was (after resetting PRAM and SMC that didn't help) to disconnect the external display overnight while keeping the power source connected - giving the Spotlight enough room to complete the reindexing.

Next day - Spotlight seems to be done indexing (you can check that by hitting Cmd+Space and typing anything, the progress bar will appear if indexing is in progress), external display works just fine, system temp is steady below 70 °C, and CPU is stable/idle 90%.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .