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Use the built-in process monitor on your computer: sort Task Manager by CPU on Windows, or Activity Monitor by % CPU on a Mac. The top entry shows what is using the most CPU at that moment—not necessarily what is causing a problem.
Find the busiest processes in Windows Task Manager
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Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager. If it opens in a compact view, expand it to show the full interface and process list. Microsoft documents the shortcut and Task Manager’s role in checking resource use in its Windows performance tips and overview of system configuration tools.
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In the process list, select the CPU column heading to sort by current CPU use. Select it again if needed to reverse the order, placing the heaviest users at the top.
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Look at both apps and background processes. If the list changes quickly or the activity seems intermittent, wait briefly and check again rather than treating one snapshot as a diagnosis.
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For more detail on a Windows process that appears to be consuming unusually high CPU, Microsoft’s high CPU troubleshooting guidance describes using Resource Monitor alongside Task Manager.
Find the busiest processes on a Mac
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Open Activity Monitor. One route is Finder > Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor.
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Select the CPU view, then select the % CPU column heading to sort processes by CPU use. Apple’s guide to viewing CPU activity in Activity Monitor covers this process view and the separate CPU Usage display.
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To see the overall CPU activity graph, choose Window > CPU Usage.
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Apple describes Activity Monitor as a way to inspect processes and find apps or processes that may be contributing to sluggish performance in its Activity Monitor User Guide.
How to interpret the top CPU reading
The list is a live snapshot. A process at the top may be doing legitimate work, such as an intensive calculation, and its position alone does not show that the app is defective. Recheck the list to see whether the activity persists, then identify what the process belongs to before taking action. Do not end an unfamiliar system process just because it appears near the top.
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These utilities help locate active processes; they do not provide a universal threshold for what counts as “too much” CPU. Whether a reading matters depends on what the computer is doing and whether the load continues alongside the slowdown you are investigating.
Windows 10 support status
Microsoft Support states that Windows 10 support ended on October 14, 2025. That lifecycle date does not change the basic Task Manager check, but Windows 10 users should account for the end of support when considering the broader condition and security of their PC.
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