You need to know how much CPU your operating system is using. But how do you find out?

Knowing how much CPU your operating system is using is important for optimizing your performance, troubleshooting issues, and managing your resources. But how do you find out? Depending on your operating system, you can use different tools and commands to monitor your CPU usage. In this article, we will show you some of the most common and useful ways to check your CPU usage on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Key takeaways from this article

Windows users, try Task Manager:

Easily access Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Delete or right-clicking the taskbar. It provides a detailed view of CPU usage by processes, helping you identify and manage resource-intensive applications.### *Linux enthusiasts, utilize top command:Open a terminal and run the top command to monitor real-time CPU usage. This tool displays active processes and allows you to customize the output for better analysis.

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1 Task Manager

If you are using Windows, you can use the Task Manager to see how much CPU your operating system is using. To open the Task Manager, you can press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and select it from the menu, or right-click on the taskbar and choose Task Manager. The Task Manager will show you a list of processes and applications running on your system, and how much CPU they are consuming. You can also see the overall CPU usage in the Performance tab, where you can also view other metrics such as memory, disk, and network usage.

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2 Top command

If you are using Linux, you can use the top command to see how much CPU your operating system is using. The top command is a command-line tool that displays the processes running on your system, and how much CPU they are using. To run the top command, you can open a terminal and type top. The top command will show you a summary of your system's activity, such as the number of tasks, load average, and CPU usage. You can also see the individual processes and their CPU usage, sorted by the most CPU-intensive ones. You can use various keyboard shortcuts to customize the output of the top command, such as changing the sorting order, filtering by process name, or killing a process.

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Shaurya Jain

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I also use SAR and systat for historical data related to CPU Usage along with top and htop which is helpful to monitor current stats.

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Franky Weber Faust

Database Specialist | DBA Team Lead | Exadata Expert | Cloud Admin | Oracle ACE Pro ♠
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I’d use top, htop or btop. Those are tools that can help understanding CPU usage in the system. /proc filesystem can also help troubleshooting where processes are spending most of their time. psnapper is a great tool that helps diagnosing processes in Linux.

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João Silva

System Administrator / Help desk / programmer / cat herder
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Well, top is an option for that task, however if the need is to trace the usage of a misbehaving multi thread process htop can give better insights about what is going on.

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3 Activity Monitor

If you are using macOS, you can use the Activity Monitor to see how much CPU your operating system is using. The Activity Monitor is a graphical tool that shows you the processes and applications running on your system, and how much CPU they are using. To open the Activity Monitor, you can go to Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor, or use Spotlight to search for it. The Activity Monitor will show you a list of processes and applications, and how much CPU they are using. You can also see the overall CPU usage in the CPU tab, where you can also view other metrics such as threads, processes, and idle time.

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Sergio Redondo

The best or nothing
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Todos los SO cuentan con su propio monitor de sistema o de actividad, y éste es imprescindible en entornos en los que el uso de CPU pueda suponer un reto. Su medición habitual nos ayudará a optimizar recursos y con ello tomar medidas para minimizar el uso de energía de modo sostenible, aumentar la durabilidad de los equipos y mejorar la respuesta de los mismos a las exigencias que se hagan.

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4 Other tools

In addition to the built-in tools, there are also a number of third-party tools available for monitoring CPU usage across various operating systems. Some of these tools are cross-platform, while others are specific to a certain platform. Examples of these tools include htop, which is a command-line tool with a colorful interface that is similar to top but with more features; Glances, which is a command-line tool that provides an overview of system activity such as CPU, memory, disk, network, and sensors; Process Explorer, a graphical tool for Windows that provides information on processes and applications running on the system including CPU, memory, disk, network, and handles; and iStat Menus, a graphical tool for macOS that displays metrics such as CPU, memory, disk, network, and battery in the menu bar. Reporting and documenting the incident will help you inform and reassure the stakeholders, as well as provide valuable insights for improving your cloud security posture.

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Nirav Raychura

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Process Explorer for your Windows tasks. It's my go-to tool – like having a superpower for understanding what's happening on your system. It unveils all the details about processes, their connections, and resource usage. Trust me, once you start using it, you won't want to go back. It's the key to unlocking the full potential of your Windows experience.

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5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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You need to know how much CPU your operating system is using. But how do you find out?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Task Manager

2 Top command

3 Activity Monitor

4 Other tools

5 Here’s what else to consider

Operating Systems

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You need to know how much CPU your operating system is using. But how do you find out?

1

2

3

4

5

1 Task Manager

2 Top command

3 Activity Monitor

4 Other tools

5 Here’s what else to consider

Operating Systems

Rate this article

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