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MacBook Pro CPU Spikes

So It's been a long escalating issue...

My MacBook Pro has been having CPU spikes, when using my audio software (Pro Tools), in an ever-growing frequency, for more then a year now. It has come to a point that it's impossible to work anymore, and the software brakes every 20-30 seconds (see screenshot below).


  • The software's CPU meter reads between 50%-60% in the heaviest sessions, but occasionally spikes to 100% for a split second. Correct me if I'm wrong - around 60% don't seem much to me...
  • Core average temperature reads (using Mac Fan Control) above 90˚c when Pro Tools is playing
  • Fans' max speed isn't even on both sides: Left 6156 rpm | Right 5700 rpm


Here's a little summary of my machine before I go on describing what I did so far trying to resolve this:

  • MacBook Pro 15" Retina, Mid-2015 (Bought brand new on July 2017 though...)
  • 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7
  • 16GB of Ram
  • Catalina 10.15.7
  • Pro Tools 2020.9.1
  • Using only legally licensed plugins.


* Please note that OS and software are probably irrelevant since this has been happening for a long time using many older versions of both Pro Tools and macOS, usually while taking compatibility into consideration when updating.


So far I've tried:

  • Doing everything Avid recommended regarding this error as well as optimising my Mac according to their suggestions.
  • Deactivating plugins and freezing channels. It helps reducing cpu usage of course, but there's no one plugin in particular that is cpu heavy. It's the accumulated sum of them all.
  • Reinstalling Pro Tools and plugins.
  • Formatting my Mac and reinstalling everything. It's a great thing in general but didn't fix the problem.
  • Cleaning dust off my fans and reapplying new thermal paste on the CPU. It went perfectly well, but didn't reduce the temperatures nor did it fix the problem.


Any idea of how to resolve this will be very much appreciated.


Thank you for reading it all :)


MacBook Pro 15″, 10.15

Posted on Oct 19, 2020 6:53 AM

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MacBook Pro CPU Spikes

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