Idle drop in Activity Monitor with no corresponding user or system spike

[bozz2006]

Is this normal? If so, it seems kind of weird. If I check activity monitor and leave it open to CPU, the system idel will often drop for a split second down to anywhere from 40% to 50%, but the system and user percentage won't spike to a corresponding amount. And there is nothing in the processes list that corresponds with it either. Is that weird, or not?

 

[GGJstudios]

Is this normal? If so, it seems kind of weird. If I check activity monitor and leave it open to CPU, the system idel will often drop for a split second down to anywhere from 40% to 50%, but the system and user percentage won't spike to a corresponding amount. And there is nothing in the processes list that corresponds with it either. Is that weird, or not?

Not. What's reported in Activity Monitor is like periodic snapshots. It's not fully real-time, showing usage as it moves up and down. As parents told children in the early days of television, "You'll go blind if you stare at it too long!"