kernel_task thermal throttling at low temps during performance
I do VJing (projection visuals for music events) with my Macbook M1 Max.
I was doing a gig as normal a few weeks ago and ran into extreme thermal throttling problems.
Resolume (VJing software) was completely freezing at random intervals, freezing for up to 30 seconds at a time. I had to quickly make a change as it was live and swapped to another computer.
I did some testing and figured out it was the kernel_task taking the cpu. After some more research, it looks like this process consumes cpu to thermal throttle other tasks.
The weird think though, was that the CPU temp (measured via Stats) was only 90 degrees. I even added an external fan to get the temp down to 80 and it was still being throttled. Those temperatures are normal for most other GPUs, which from my understanding can happily get to 110d.
Is it possible that a new macOS update caused this? I am starting to consider moving off the macOS platform for future performance computers if it can't handle extended temperatures without throttling.
System Software Overview:
System Version: macOS 15.3.1 (24D70)
Kernel Version: Darwin 24.3.0
Boot Volume: Macintosh HD
Boot Mode: Normal
Computer Name: Edward’s MacBook Pro
Username: Edward Taylor (edeetee)
Secure Virtual Memory: Enabled
System Integrity Protection: Enabled
Time since boot: 3 days, 1 hour, 37 minutes
Hardware Overview:
Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro18,4
Model Number: Z15G001JTX/A
Chip: Apple M1 Max
Total Number of Cores: 10 (8 performance and 2 efficiency)
Memory: 32 GB
System Firmware Version: 11881.81.4
OS Loader Version: 11881.81.4
Serial Number (system): H*******H
Hardware UUID: EF2E3498-2CB5-5795-841D-F9F98BF057E0
Provisioning UDID: 00006001-000451A83C41801E
Activation Lock Status: Enabled
[Edited by Moderator]
MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.3
