CompTIA A+ Core 2 (220-1202)Operating SystemsEasy
A user reports that their macOS computer is running extremely slowly and frequently freezes. The technician suspects that a specific application is consuming excessive CPU resources. Which of the following macOS utilities would be best to identify which application is causing the high CPU usage?
- ADisk Utility
- BConsole
- CSystem Preferences
- DActivity Monitor
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: D. Activity Monitor
Activity Monitor in macOS provides real-time monitoring of CPU, memory, energy, disk, and network usage for all processes. It can be sorted by CPU usage to quickly identify applications consuming excessive resources.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Disk Utility manages storage and partitions, not real-time process monitoring.
- B. Console displays system and application logs, which might show errors but not direct CPU consumption.
- C. System Preferences configures system settings but does not provide real-time process monitoring.
macOS Activity Monitor (CPU)
A macOS utility that allows users to monitor and manage system resources, including the CPU usage of individual applications and background processes.
- Displays real-time CPU usage percentage for each process.
- Can be sorted to identify the highest CPU-consuming applications.
- Allows quitting unresponsive or resource-hogging processes.
Memory trick: Monitor activity to find the CPU hog.