Releases of new operating system versions, at their early stages, can lead to odd behavior of this process, too. Even if it’s just a mouse or a keyboard, the outcome can be unpredictable. Another possible trigger for the issue involves plugging peripheral devices into a USB Type-C port. If it’s a 4K monitor, then the odds of seeing a spike in WindowServer CPU usage increase dramatically. One of the most-encountered catalysts is an instance of connecting an external monitor to a Mac. There are several non-malicious factors setting this condition in motion.

WindowServer high CPU problem – the common causes In some scenarios, its resource usage shown in the Activity Monitor app doesn’t seem to make sense, exceeding 100% as illustrated on the screenshot above. The opposite facet of this usefulness is that the WindowServer process may periodically get out of hand and start consuming too much CPU and memory power.

It is tasked with the correct rendering of content inside different windows, manages their positions on the screen, and makes sure that the graphical side of things is properly reflected in general. Those familiar with the basics of macOS architecture must know that this entity is both legitimate and important. This frustrating obscurity applies to the problem where a process named WindowServer sucks out the greater part of a computer’s CPU and RAM. There are situations, though, when figuring out whether you are dealing with a harmful program is a wild guess. Sometimes these pieces of unwanted code manifest themselves very distinctly, as is the case with browser redirect viruses and scareware. As far as Mac threats go, it’s not always easy to tell the wheat from the chaff.

Monitor cpu usage mac