Have Chrome installed and WindowServer consuming CPU? Looks like a Keystone problem. See if you can replace Chrome with Brave, Vivaldi, or Edge.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
M1 Pro Max - Slow 6 Months in?
- Thread starter ipedro
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Have Chrome installed and WindowServer consuming CPU? Looks like a Keystone problem. See if you can replace Chrome with Brave, Vivaldi, or Edge.
It's because of the high memory pressure and swap is too high. I think OP needs a 64GB RAM Mac.79.5% kernel_task? Looks like your CPU is overheating and throttling.
If kernel_task is using a large percentage of your Mac CPU - Apple Support
One of the functions of the kernel task process is to help manage the temperature of your CPU.support.apple.com
M1 SoCs generally shouldn’t overheat like this. You should investigate why.
It's a funny thing. The machine IS very capable for video/graphics rendering and other demanding tasks because those tasks have gotten better optimized/make better use of the increasingly wide CPU/GPU compute that has become available over the past decade.
At the same time however, the amount of RAM that comes standard on computers has really stagnated (and Apple is really stingy) while the amount of ram used by the web (and the number of "apps" built on frameworks like Chrome and Electron) has massively increased. (Sometimes, I wish developers were forced to make their apps/web pages work on old PowerPC Macs and Windows PCs with Pentium 3/4s and 512MB of ram...)
This isn't to say Apple isn't at all to blame. They're stingy with the amount of ram they include, charge an arm and a leg for more, don't allow you to upgrade yourself, have a massive unresolved memory leak in the Finder (!), have seemingly designed Apple Silicon to be so reliant on fast swap that a slightly slower but still fast SSD can bring it to its knees, etc... They're also super non transparent with any issues and their support has gotten way worse over the past decade or so...
Anyway, given that you're stuck using Chrome, here are some practical ideas that might make your life a bit easier:
1. Running Chrome in a Linux or Windows VM - this is a bit of a hassle but you may well find Chrome runs better/uses less resources like this. Not sure but its worth a shot.
2. If you really want to use Honey for shopping maybe keep a separate copy of Safari in a VM that you use... for shopping)
3. Periodically restart Safari/Chrome so that they uncache pages you're not actively using.
4. Access Google Drive through a third party app instead of the official one if its causing problems.
5. If you're having hardware issues (popping, etc) document each instance and record the issue while its happening when/if possible (ideally on video), bring it to an Apple Store, be polite but don't take no for an answer, and be prepared to escalate. If that doesn't work email Tim Cook.
Last edited:
For ***** (poop) and giggles could you just go to and Log Out.
Then log back in and show us what it now says. Clearly Chrome, Safari and WindowServer are using all your RAM.
I can't quite guess why WindowServer would use that much RAM unless you are running a multi monitor setup and your desktop is filled with files. I'm running the equivalent of four 4K monitors and WindowServer is taking up less than 2GB.
Then log back in and show us what it now says. Clearly Chrome, Safari and WindowServer are using all your RAM.
I can't quite guess why WindowServer would use that much RAM unless you are running a multi monitor setup and your desktop is filled with files. I'm running the equivalent of four 4K monitors and WindowServer is taking up less than 2GB.
Some of the SW you are using is leaking memory. So this is SW problem for sure. I bet that after restart at least for some time it is snappy again, right?
I had a major slowdown issue on my M1 Max after a system update back in January. It turned out to be a problem where the gpus would not properly wake up after sleep, and the system would run at about 10% graphics performance.
the op's mention about expose slowing down sounds very familiar to my issue, as it made the interface almost unbearable. if they wanted to further verify, they could run any gpu benchmark to see if the system is scoring well below the expected performance.
the unfortunate news in my case was, after calling apple support about it, the solution ended up being a complete wipe of the drive and reinstall from scratch (i tried an in-place reinstall of the OS and it didn't help).
the only bright side is that issue hasn't happened again. also, the software update was a public beta (that ironically was supposed to improve UI performances with promotion - but did the exact opposite!), so i've just avoided any further betas since then.
the op's mention about expose slowing down sounds very familiar to my issue, as it made the interface almost unbearable. if they wanted to further verify, they could run any gpu benchmark to see if the system is scoring well below the expected performance.
the unfortunate news in my case was, after calling apple support about it, the solution ended up being a complete wipe of the drive and reinstall from scratch (i tried an in-place reinstall of the OS and it didn't help).
the only bright side is that issue hasn't happened again. also, the software update was a public beta (that ironically was supposed to improve UI performances with promotion - but did the exact opposite!), so i've just avoided any further betas since then.
FWIW - M1 Max w/ 64GB RAM on 16" MBP here and have had 0 slowdowns. Literally 0 which has been amazing.
Use Brave browser mainly (you should ditch Chrome unless you enjoy Google spying on everything you do)
Use Safari as a backup browser
Close unneeded tabs or add them to Tab Groups in Brave so they can go dormant.
Close **** when you're done with it and clean up your Mac (remove unneeded extensions or disable them till needed, like Honey, etc)
Use Brave browser mainly (you should ditch Chrome unless you enjoy Google spying on everything you do)
Use Safari as a backup browser
Close unneeded tabs or add them to Tab Groups in Brave so they can go dormant.
Close **** when you're done with it and clean up your Mac (remove unneeded extensions or disable them till needed, like Honey, etc)
What is with google chrome helper using so much ram? I'd dump it, chrome is pretty slow anyway, but over 7 GB on the main process alone? I know some people like it, but memory hogging, CPU hogging and it is not even fast. Here are my results on my 13 M1 MBP:
Sounds like a corruption somewhere; this is what I would do to troubleshoot.
On your current system document all the conditions which cause your computer to lag. That means quitting all your apps and then progressively opening and using them to see which one is causing the system stress. You an also try using easy Adobe app separately to see if you notice any lag. Do this until you can reliably reproduce it.
Create a new Admin user account and let iCloud sync its things over, but set it up as new and do not auto-migrate system settings or preferences.
Then reproduce your previous steps to see if the issue persists.
Dude, you've got 800 tabs open at all times. You probably never closed those tabs since you bought this laptop.
CNN taking up 1GB of RAM? Finder 1.73GB?
Just record an on-screen video of your apps for everyone to see how ridiculous it is.
Good luck on waiting for that new macOS that will "smooth things over".
Amazing how a browser, chrome, an extension and having too many windows open can bring a machine like this to its knees.
I thought the fan ramping up all the time on my Intel Machine when safari encountered memory leaks was bad.
Sure glad I'm on the fence on Apple Silicon.
I thought the fan ramping up all the time on my Intel Machine when safari encountered memory leaks was bad.
Sure glad I'm on the fence on Apple Silicon.
Speaker pops/scratches occur on my 14" MB M1 Pro too. Online research points to Intel apps that are running via Rosetta that interfere with audio (eg. MS Teams). Killing those apps seems to eliminate the pops.
That would be quite a discovery. Is there an efficient way to find which apps on my system are still on Intel?
EDIT: Found my answer: You can add a Kind column in Activity Monitor which shows which are Apple and which are Intel.
2 years into the transition, apps that still haven't switched over to Apple silicon have no excuse.
Note, I did restart my computer since I started this thread. It hasn't helped.
But your Intel vs Apple Silicon reminded me that I had to start running Adobe Photoshop under Rosetta because some features only work under Intel. That switch might've coincided with the slowdown I started noticing. I'll revert Photoshop back to Apple Silicon and will monitor for improvements.
Last edited:
- The popping sound issue seems finally fixed with the latest update (I say seems because it's been just a few days and this infuriating issue has been present since 2016). Give it a try.
- As with anything Apple these days, they hype the hardware, which is great, but its mostly ran with poor software, OS updates bloat the machine and they keep the 1 year release cycle as if they were bug free. They fix/break/fix again/break again. Rinse & repeat.
- Memory management has gone downhill for a while now, latest solid release was Mojave.
FYI Edge is basically a better version of Chrome for almost all intents, scenarios and purposes. All chrome extensions and tools should work natively on Edge in the exact same way as they do on Chrome.
If I were you I’d try switching over to use Edge instead of Chrome. Edge also supports features such as native tab sleeping, which helps drastically reduce RAM usage, as well as all the other performance tweaks they have in settings.
Chrome has been notoriously known as the great hog of all computer resources pretty much ever since it came into existence.
If I were you I’d try switching over to use Edge instead of Chrome. Edge also supports features such as native tab sleeping, which helps drastically reduce RAM usage, as well as all the other performance tweaks they have in settings.
Chrome has been notoriously known as the great hog of all computer resources pretty much ever since it came into existence.
This is the key point. Kernel_tasks shouldnt be using that much CPU consistently. Chrome is also taking an inordinate amount of RAM79.5% kernel_task? Looks like your CPU is overheating and throttling.
If kernel_task is using a large percentage of your Mac CPU - Apple Support
One of the functions of the kernel task process is to help manage the temperature of your CPU.
M1 SoCs generally shouldn’t overheat like this. You should investigate why.
First, disable all Chrome extensions. Yes, even the ones you really like etc. ALL of them. Kill all Chrome tabs and relaunch. If things are better over time, install your most critically needed extensions ONLY. No, you don't need Honey.
Second, try Safari. It's improved quite quickly over the last 12-18 months and in my experience is much less of a resource hog than Chrome.
Thanks for your feedback guys. Unfortunately, Chrome is a must for my work. We all use Google Workspace company wide. As much as I love Safari and use it as my primary browser, I live in Google Chat (Chrome based, Chrome must be open for Chat to run) and Google Drive.
I mean... I use Google stuff too (Drive, Docs etc). All of the ain stuff I use (the office apps and Drive, mostly) work fine in Safari but Meet does work better in Chrome. So, if Chat requires Chrome (not just a Chromium browser but actual Chrome) then I'd do this:
1) Again, turn off all extensions in Chrome (leave anything needed for work on but ALL else off).
2) Run Chrome and create a tab set for the apps you absolutely need to use Chrome on
3) Use another browser for everything else.
I'm harping on Chrome because it's sucking up 12+ gig of your RAM. How many tabs are you keeping open?
PS: I'd also do this - boot up fresh, don't open any apps. Open Activity Monitor, sort by CPU. Note what Kernel_task is at (and other things, but we're focused on that right now). Start opening things you use for work. Watch kernel_task. What causes it to spike? Because it should not be at 80%.
Finally - do you have any anti-malware stuff running?
Can’t you just keep Chrome open with no windows or 1/2 tabs for the apps/services that truly need it, and then use Edge or Safari or any of the other browsers recommended here for all actual internet browsing purposes?
Lol, Safari for serious productivity its a sad joke. Even for casual browsing & performance lacks big time.