Tracking Down High CPU usage - How ?

[siam]

On my iMac running 10.5.5 I have a small dash board widget showing the cpu usage , just lately its started to go into the Red zone ( high usage ) every few minuets, Ive had a look at the activity monitor , but really don't know where to look to track down which process is causing this unusual high reading, can some one please tell me exactly where and what to look for to see just what's causing this recent problem

Thanks

 

[kastenbrust]

Check for Flash when your surfing the internet, even little adverts.
This pushes your CPU to 100%

 

[siam]

Hi, Thanks for the reply, I am running Firefox 3.0.5 and have all the Flash removed from any pages, as I type this I have 4 tabs open , no flash on any page and the cpu meter goes into the Red zone every few minuets ,,? This problem has only started in the last week .

 

[Jisuo]

Start Activity Monitor and sort by CPU usage, should show you what uses most power.