High CPU usage can cause the computer to slow down, stutter or unresponsive. The solution is to locate and handle high-occupancy processes through the system's own or third-party tools. 1. Windows users can use the task manager (Ctrl Shift Esc) to view processes by CPU, focusing on exceptions or browser tabs; 2. macOS users can check CPU usage through the activity monitor, and the high kernel_task occupancy may be a cooling problem; 3. Linux users can use top or htop command line tools, htop supports more intuitive operations; 4. Third-party tools such as Process Explorer, Glances and HWMonitor can provide more detailed analysis to help identify problem processes, but be cautious when ending the process to avoid incorrectly hindering critical services.

High CPU usage usually slows down the computer, and even gets stuck or unresponsive. To solve this problem, you must first find which process is "eating" the CPU. The good news is that both the system comes with third-party tools can help you locate the problem process.

1. Task Manager (Windows)

This is the most direct way to investigate. Press Ctrl Shift Esc to open the Task Manager directly. Under the "Process" tab, you can see all running programs and their CPU usage.

• Sort by CPU column, you can see which processes occupy the most.
• Pay attention to processes you are not familiar with, such as processes that are disguised by certain backend services or malware.
• If a browser tab takes up a lot of CPU, it may be that there is an automatic video or script running on the web page.

2. Activity Monitor (macOS)

If you are using a Mac, you can use "Applications → Utility → Activity Monitor" to view the CPU usage of each process.

• In the "CPU" tab, you can also sort by usage.
• If you see kernel_task occupancy is very high, it may be that the system limits performance in order to prevent overheating, and you should consider the heat dissipation issue at this time.
• How to force exit the exception process: select it and click the "X" button in the upper left corner.

3. top and htop (Linux)

In Linux systems, the command line tool top is a very basic but practical choice. Enter the following command:

 top

If you want to get a more intuitive interface, you can install htop :

 sudo apt install htop # Debian/Ubuntu
htop

• htop supports mouse operation and color distinction, making it easier to identify processes with high resource occupancy.
• Press F6 to sort by CPU to quickly find the "culprit".

4. Recommended third-party monitoring tools

In addition to the system's own tools, some third-party software can provide more detailed analysis functions, which are suitable for advanced users or those who want to monitor the system status for a long time.

• Process Explorer (Windows) : It is much more powerful than Task Manager, and you can see detailed information about each process, including which DLL files are loaded.
• Glances (cross-platform) : supports Linux, macOS and Windows, and can display comprehensive information such as CPU, memory, disk and other systems in the terminal.
• HWMonitor : Although it mainly depends on the temperature and voltage, it can also assist in determining whether the frequency drops due to overheating when checking for high loads.

In general, it is not difficult to find out processes with high CPU usage. The key is to know what tools to use and how to view the data. When you encounter an unfamiliar process, you can first check which program it belongs to and don't rush to end it, so as not to accidentally affect critical system services.

Basically these are the methods, just choose the right tool according to your operating system.

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