AMD GPU spikes to 100% all the time, 16inch MacBook Pro AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB

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Eric19821982 Author

Level 1

13 points

AMD GPU spikes to 100% all the time, 16inch MacBook Pro AMD Radeon Pro 5500M 8 GB

Can someone tell me why in the activity monitor my GPU history is at 100% more then half the time when not doing any intensive tasks? Google Chrome is the champion.. even with only a few tabs open, but also VLC player, Garageband etc.. I am not doing anything crazy here.. no external screen, not a lot of apps open, no virtual machine.. **** with these specs I should be able to run all that together and even that should not be taxing the GPU so much..?

MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Posted on Dec 15, 2019 1:39 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 18, 2019 1:58 PM in response to Eric19821982

Good afternoon Eric19821982,

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!

I understand you are seeing your GPU at 100% on your 16-inch MacBook Pro. You indicated Google Chrome is the main application showing in Activity Monitor.

If you haven't already done so, please update to macOS Catalina 10.15.2 and restart your Mac.

If the issue persists, as a test, I would quit Google Chrome, restart your computer, and use the native Safari app to compare the results for the two browsers. You can also start your computer in safe mode, and in a new user account, to see how these changes affect the levels you are seeing in Activity Monitor.

Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac

How to test an issue in another user account on your Mac

How to use Activity Monitor on your Mac

Please reply to this thread if the issue persists after trying the steps above, and I'll do my best to help you with this!

Take care.

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Answer 2

Eric19821982 Author

Level 1

13 points

Dec 19, 2019 4:34 AM in response to MichelleT18

Hello Michelle,

It is on 10.15.2, and not only Google Chrome. I tried a new user, same thing.

For instance, If I run a video program called Resolume with same task & settings in a 2015 Macbook pro with same Catalina 10.15.2 the GPU only goes op to 75%. With my new macbook pro and 8GB of memory this stays at nearly 100% all the time..

Do I have a faulty GPU or is there a bug in catalina 10.15.2?

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Answer 3

Eric19821982 Author

Level 1

13 points

Dec 26, 2019 12:18 PM in response to Joseph_S.

I did, spend a lot of time with calls to the support-line, and in the shop.. no solution.

I tried doing a clean instal, did not help.. I'm really getting upset here.. just paid a lot of money and my old Macbook Pro 2015 seems like handling the video better..? Is there a bug with the GPU graph?

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Answer 4

Eric19821982 Author

Level 1

13 points

Jan 1, 2020 12:29 PM in response to smsmlee

Apple support asked me to generate a diagnostic file for them, with an app I got from them, they will contact me back when they had a look at it... I would like to change the MBP for another, but they say no, I have to wait for the result.. we'll see.. Still no solution yet.. the most expensive laptop I ever bought, and now this... :(

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Answer 5

Eric19821982 Author

Level 1

13 points

Jan 23, 2020 3:54 AM in response to smsmlee

I got a brand new macbook pro 16inch today, same problem, so it looks like it is software related..

Strange that there are not more topics about this?

One guy from tech support called it a bug in the activity monitor, as the video output and frame-rate does not drop significantly when the GPU graph is peaking at 100.

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