Forums
New posts
Articles
Product Reviews
Policies
FAQ
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Apple Computing Products:
macOS - Notebook Hardware
diagnosing kernel task/CPU problem on Macbook Air
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="jogi" data-source="post: 824359" data-attributes="member: 42726"><p>Its the Air overheating. </p><p>I had the same problem while traveling in hot countries, where the Air was having the kernel_task eating up all the CPU.When I came back to UK all was OK, as the weather is significantly cooler here, hence the laptop was not overheating.</p><p></p><p>My conclusion around the Airs power management is:</p><p>1. If the processor is idle/the heatsink is cool the processor can scale to 1.6ghz</p><p>2. When the heat starts building up, the processor throttles to 800 MHz all the time</p><p>3. If step 2 doesnt cause the heating up to stop, then the OS is causing idle loops in the processor via the kernel (hence appearing that its consuming 100% of the CPU whilst its actually preventing the CPU from doing anything).</p><p></p><p>I couldn;t get mine to stop doing this when in hot climates, hence sold it and bought a Unibody MBP that is much cooler and never overheats...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="jogi, post: 824359, member: 42726"] Its the Air overheating. I had the same problem while traveling in hot countries, where the Air was having the kernel_task eating up all the CPU.When I came back to UK all was OK, as the weather is significantly cooler here, hence the laptop was not overheating. My conclusion around the Airs power management is: 1. If the processor is idle/the heatsink is cool the processor can scale to 1.6ghz 2. When the heat starts building up, the processor throttles to 800 MHz all the time 3. If step 2 doesnt cause the heating up to stop, then the OS is causing idle loops in the processor via the kernel (hence appearing that its consuming 100% of the CPU whilst its actually preventing the CPU from doing anything). I couldn;t get mine to stop doing this when in hot climates, hence sold it and bought a Unibody MBP that is much cooler and never overheats... [/QUOTE]
Verification
Post reply
Forums
Apple Computing Products:
macOS - Notebook Hardware
diagnosing kernel task/CPU problem on Macbook Air
Top