Questions about activity monitor and speeding up computer

[danny klim]

Hi, I’m having some issues with Mac running slowly and trying to troubleshoot with activity monitor, Could you please help?



I frequently find the VTDecoderXPCService, WindowServer, and kernel_task are taking up alot of resources, even though I don’t know what they are and am not intentionally using any of them. Pic: https://www.dropbox.com/s/wrjxcryl0lojm1o/Screenshot 2018-07-25 10.43.51.png?dl=0


I’ve tried quitting them and force quitting them many time (and this may offer temporary relief) but I always find that they come back again at some point.


1. What are these things that are taking up my resources, are these being caused by my audio/video applications like OBS, Resolume Avenue, Camera Settings, Ableton Live, Astropad, etc? Or something else? What could be the cause or how can I figure out?


2. And most importantly stop the computer resources from being used so much?


Also, four general questions:


A) What exactly does it mean to be using up 439.9% of CPU? How is that even possible? Especially considering that the next applications are also taking up 100.8% and 75.7% and so on…. shouldn't it max at 100%? If not, why?


B) Idle is 3.45%. Does this mean that my computer is at 96.55% capacity? If so, what is a good % capacity to stay at that won’t slow the computer down?


C) Are there any other metrics that I should pay attention to when trying to speed up computer? I see many metrics like threads, CPU time, processes etc and also see more information on different tabs. I don’t know what most of them mean…


D) Are there any other tools that i should use in addition to activity monitor to help speed up computer?



Thanks

 

[Randall2018]

A) What exactly does it mean to be using up 439.9% of CPU? How is that even possible? Especially considering that the next applications are also taking up 100.8% and 75.7% and so on…. shouldn't it max at 100%? If not, why?

Your computer has a multi core processor, so if you are using multiple cores the usage can go over 100% since 100% would be fully utilizing one core. As for the rest of your post I believe those tests are regular parts of the OS. Maybe give more info on your system’s specs to be able to get more help in speeding it up.

 

[Ritsuka]

VTDecoderXPCService is the process used by AVFoundation (the macOS framework to playback/encode video). So if you have one app that playback or encode video and uses AVFoundation, it will spawn a VTDecoderXPCService if needed.
kernel_task is the core of the operating system, you can't do without it.
Window Server is the process that renders the windows on screen. Plus it does a lot of work inside windows too.

Yes. They are caused by your apps. A lot of work these days has been moved to external process to improve security.

 

[DeltaMac]

hmm...
But, my system (running current Mojave beta) spawns a VTDecoderXPCService any time I launch a new window or tab in Safari, and other apps. I *think* that VTDecoderXPCService pops up as a result of launching any app that uses WebKit (not completely sure about that) including both Safari, and Chrome. The result for me is that Safari (apparently) launches the VTDecoderXPCService, and I have to wait anywhere from 1 to 2 minutes before Safari becomes usable. During that time, the VTDecoderXPCService takes up to 100% CPU. After the delay, the VTDecoderXPCService drops to almost nothing, so that appears to be the primary cause for Safari to stop responding --- and I don't know WHY it pops up. There doesn't seem to be any relation to playback of video, at least on my system. After the delay is complete, VTDecoderXPCService returns to a more-normal idle (5% CPU or less, in my experience), and any sites that I have open work normally for me. It pops back up (and the delay repeats) if I quit and relaunch Safari.

 

[danny klim]

Thanks all!

Your computer has a multi core processor, so if you are using multiple cores the usage can go over 100% since 100% would be fully utilizing one core. As for the rest of your post I believe those tests are regular parts of the OS. Maybe give more info on your system’s specs to be able to get more help in speeding it up.

Ok makes sense now! Here's my specs:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1blpmz0ics32s8a/Screenshot 2018-07-27 14.55.17.png?dl=0

VTDecoderXPCService is the process used by AVFoundation (the macOS framework to playback/encode video). So if you have one app that playback or encode video and uses AVFoundation, it will spawn a VTDecoderXPCService if needed.
kernel_task is the core of the operating system, you can't do without it.
Window Server is the process that renders the windows on screen. Plus it does a lot of work inside windows too.

Yes. They are caused by your apps. A lot of work these days has been moved to external process to improve security.

Ok cool. So is it normal for VTDecoderXPCService to take up so much? I am running a couple video applications (OBS and resolume avenue), but being up around 400% really slows down my computer. Any way to reduce them?

hmm...
But, my system (running current Mojave beta) spawns a VTDecoderXPCService any time I launch a new window or tab in Safari, and other apps. I *think* that VTDecoderXPCService pops up as a result of launching any app that uses WebKit (not completely sure about that) including both Safari, and Chrome. The result for me is that Safari (apparently) launches the VTDecoderXPCService, and I have to wait anywhere from 1 to 2 minutes before Safari becomes usable. During that time, the VTDecoderXPCService takes up to 100% CPU. After the delay, the VTDecoderXPCService drops to almost nothing, so that appears to be the primary cause for Safari to stop responding --- and I don't know WHY it pops up. There doesn't seem to be any relation to playback of video, at least on my system. After the delay is complete, VTDecoderXPCService returns to a more-normal idle (5% CPU or less, in my experience), and any sites that I have open work normally for me. It pops back up (and the delay repeats) if I quit and relaunch Safari.

Ok, i'll try seeing if safari or other applications are causing it too

 

[Fishrrman]

The next time that "VTDecoderXPCService" shows up in Activity Monitor running away like that, just "kill it".

See what happens next.

What are:
"OBS"
and
"Avenue" ??

They seem to have something to do with this, too.