Want to keep an eye on the CPU or GPU usage on your Mac? You can enable several little-known windows in the "Activity Monitor". They can float above all other application windows, allowing you to quickly understand the use of CUP. Let's study with Xiaobian!
To enable these features, press Command + Space or click the magnifying glass icon in the menu bar to open Spotlight search. Type "activity monitor" and press Enter.
Click "Window" at the top. In this menu, you will see the choices of "CPU Usage", "CPU History" and "GPU History". Each window will open a floating window to provide you with real-time information.
How each panel works:
1. Floating CPU usage panel
If you click "CPU Usage" in the "Window" menu (or press Command + 2), a small window will appear containing the 10-segment rule for each core in the CPU. Each indicator will light up, depending on how much CPU activity has occurred in that particular core. For example, if five network segments are lit, you are using 50% of the core's CPU capacity.
2. Floating CPU history record panel
If you click "CPU History" in the "Window" menu (or press Command + 3), a window divided into multiple boxes will appear. Each box corresponds to a core inside the CPU, and slowly displays updates from right to left. The height of the midpoint of each column corresponds to the intensity of CPU activity in that core. The red square represents the CPU activity of the system process, and the green represents the CPU activity of the user process.
3. Floating GPU history panel
If you select "GPU History" in the "Window" menu (or press Command + 4), you will see a graph describing the history of graphics processor unit (GPU) usage on your Mac. When the graphics flow from right to left, the more active the GPU, the more blue dots appear during each update.
Change the performance window update interval
By default, each performance panel is updated every five seconds. If you want to change this setting, click View>Update Frequency in the menu bar. In the sub-menu, you can select "very frequently (1 second)", "frequently (2 seconds)" or "normal (5 seconds)".
Note: On older systems, setting the graphics to update more frequently may slightly reduce overall system performance. However, on most modern Macs, the effect is negligible.
Set performance window to stay visible
If you want to keep one or more CPU or GPU performance panels on the screen, you can make them float above all other windows. To do this, click "Window"> "Keep CPU Windows on top" in the menu bar.
If you don't want to see the main "Activity Monitor" window, just click the red "X" to close it. If you want to open it again later, just click "Window"> "Activity Monitor" in the menu bar or press Command + 1.
The function of Activity Monitor is far beyond most people's imagination. If you delve into its features, you can learn more about how the Mac works. For example, you can even use the Activity Monitor Dock icon as a CPU monitor!