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Do iStat Menus affect battery life?

aevan

aevan

macrumors 601
Original poster
Feb 5, 2015
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Serbia
I usually install iStat Menus for the first few days of using a new Mac, mostly to check temperatures when running different apps.

But I like having it, although I really don't like messing with fan speeds. I keep that option off, even though just its presence makes me a bit nervous :)

My question is - do iStat Menus affect battery life, if they are constatnly running? Anyone has experience with this? Any downsides to using them?

Thanks
 
aevan said:
I usually install iStat Menus for the first few days of using a new Mac, mostly to check temperatures when running different apps.

But I like having it, although I really don't like messing with fan speeds. I keep that option off, even though just its presence makes me a bit nervous :)

My question is - do iStat Menus affect battery life, if they are constatnly running? Anyone has experience with this? Any downsides to using them?

Thanks
Click to expand...
I suspect if you don't have the update frequency set to fastest, the impact is negligible to minimum.
I have it running on my new 15" MBP showing date/time and network activity (just indicator lights). it's been less than 24 hrs though, so not sure if there's any impact yet. I suspect too small to matter if there is.
 
Look in Activity Monitor to see what macOs thinks it's power use is.
 
aevan said:
I usually install iStat Menus for the first few days of using a new Mac, mostly to check temperatures when running different apps.

But I like having it, although I really don't like messing with fan speeds. I keep that option off, even though just its presence makes me a bit nervous :)

My question is - do iStat Menus affect battery life, if they are constatnly running? Anyone has experience with this? Any downsides to using them?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes to a small extent, personally I tend to avoid such 3rd party utilities as they are ultimately only consuming CPU cycles for little more than informative purpose. If you want to override Apple`s fan control profile CRYSTALIDEA`s Macs Fan Control is a far better solution. That said with the dGPU temperatures users are reporting I would tend to leave the 2016 MBP on Apples own settings.

What I would do is depreciate auto start, just using the App as and when needed the additional information. Such monitoring utilities can provide interesting data, equally few if any bring solutions to the table. I don't discount the usefulness in the event of troubleshooting, however I don't want them to be running continuously in the background for no purpose.

Look at it this way; if an App informs you that the CPU is running hot, what are you going to do, terminate the process? Reality is common sense applies, with many ways to reduce the operating temperature of a 15" MBP. Windows 10 or macOS I tend to take the minimalist approach, asking myself what benefit does a utility bring. With my primary focus being the applications that actively contribute to my workflow. For the most part you can get the same information from Task Manager & Activity Monitor; greater load equals high temp the only concern being runaway process, the rest you likely need to get the job done.

Q-6
 
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I have it running, I think the affect is minor. There may be other background processes that impact the battery more.

Of course if the information being provided is not important, you're better off not running it.
 
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Queen6 said:
Yes to a small extent, personally I tend to avoid such 3rd party utilities as they are ultimately only consuming CPU cycles for little more than informative purpose. If you want to override Apple`s fan control profile CRYSTALIDEA`s Macs Fan Control is a far better solution. That said with the dGPU temperatures users are reporting I would tend to leave the 2016 MBP on Apples own settings.

What I would do is depreciate auto start, just using the App as and when needed the additional information. Such monitoring utilities can provide interesting data, equally few if any bring solutions to the table. I don't discount the usefulness in the event of troubleshooting, however I don't want them to be running continuously in the background for no purpose.

Look at it this way; if an App informs you that the CPU is running hot, what are you going to do, terminate the process? Reality is common sense applies, with many ways to reduce the operating temperature of a 15" MBP. Windows 10 or macOS I tend to take the minimalist approach, asking myself what benefit does a utility bring. With my primary focus being the applications that actively contribute to my workflow. For the most part you can get the same information from Task Manager & Activity Monitor; greater load equals high temp the only concern being runaway process, the rest you likely need to get the job done.

Q-6
Click to expand...


It's just curiosity, I was interested how hot the computer gets while working in Photoshop, for example. I didn't see an option to disable autostart in iStat Menus, so I uninstalled it. I only need it when trying out new stuff anyway. I like that kind of information but I don't use it often.

Thanks.
 
yes, every program you run drains battery commensurate with its hardware use

stuff that constantly runs in the background like that is especially bad, particularly if it's 3rd party

i usually avoid them for that reason, though when you first get a new machine it's good to monitor for a little while

just remember to uninstall once your testing phase is over
 
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aevan said:
It's just curiosity, I was interested how hot the computer gets while working in Photoshop, for example. I didn't see an option to disable autostart in iStat Menus, so I uninstalled it. I only need it when trying out new stuff anyway. I like that kind of information but I don't use it often.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

You can likely disable auto start in macOS Settings - Users & Groups - Login items, then you can keep the App installed and use as required.

Q-6
 
Queen6 said:
You can likely disable auto start in macOS Settings - Users & Groups - Login items, then you can keep the App installed and use as required.

Q-6
Click to expand...

Good advice. Thanks!

Btw, I never change fan speeds.
 
Queen6 said:
That sucks, would likely need to resort to Terminal to stop it stating up. As I said I don't bother too much with such App`s certainly ones I not able to control how they start up.

Q-6
Click to expand...
Looks like it runs from a launch agent/daemon, so it would be a bit of a hassle to turn it off and on easily.

This is from an Etrecheck report I found.

Screen Shot 2016-12-07 at 9.48.10 AM.png
 
But isn't running an iStat Menus would give you your computer temperature and how is RAM being used. is running iStat Menus all the time not recommended ?
 
Weaselboy said:
Looks like it runs from a launch agent/daemon, so it would be a bit of a hassle to turn it off and on easily.

This is from an Etrecheck report I found.

View attachment 676746
Click to expand...

True, equally I think you could turn off the autostart with terminal or by editing the plist to prevent the damons launching, I do agree not a simplistic task and something that would turn me off the App instantly, as I expect to have control of my computing environment.

In this instance I would opt for Macs Fan Control as that is far easier to deal with a simple opt in or out on auto start. Windows 10 or OS X I will depreciate auto start of App`s unless I personally see specific benefit.

Q-6
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augustya said:
But isn't running an iStat Menus would give you your computer temperature and how is RAM being used. is running iStat Menus all the time not recommended ?
Click to expand...

Only if that information is useful to you, for the most part your just wasting CPU cycles. Such applications can be informative, however they rarely solve issue. Why worry about how hot it is, what`s more important is what is consuming CPU cycles, and Apple`s own Activity Monitor will do that for free & accurately.

Personally after over 30 year of computing, with both Microsoft & Apple is that much of these type of applications serve one purpose; generate $$$$ for the developer. Truthfully the less of this type of utility you install the greater the chance your system will remain to be stable over the longterm.

Q-6
 
Last edited:
I actually like iStat Menus, but not for the system temp & fan speed functions but for the customizable menubar clock and network use indicators.

I leave it running all the time on my iMac at home and my Mac mini at the office. I installed it on my new 2016 15" MacBook Pro just 24 hrs ago, but I've not noticed any appreciable battery impact or CPU usage whatsoever.
 
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Queen6 said:
True, equally I think you could turn off the autostart with terminal or by editing the plist to prevent the damons launching, I do agree not a simplistic task and something that would turn me off the App instantly, as I expect to have control of my computing environment.
Click to expand...
If you are not into editing launchd plists in Terminal, use Lingon. At least the X 4 version even can alert you if anything installs such daemons or changes launchd plists.
 
Queen6 said:
Only if that information is useful to you, for the most part your just wasting CPU cycles. Such applications can be informative, however they rarely solve issue. Why worry about how hot it is, what`s more important is what is consuming CPU cycles, and Apple`s own Activity Monitor will do that for free & accurately.

Personally after over 30 year of computing, with both Microsoft & Apple is that much of these type of applications serve one purpose; generate $$$$ for the developer. Truthfully the less of this type of utility you install the greater the chance your system will remain to be stable over the longterm.

Q-6
Click to expand...

So you are saying there is no reason to know how hot your Mac is and so need to have this APP ?
 
augustya said:
So you are saying there is no reason to know how hot your Mac is and so need to have this APP ?
Click to expand...
Just take a look at it's behavior and energy spend in Activity Monitor!
I'd say, while in background (without any window open), it does not take CPU cycles or battery.
 
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