Mail CPU usage spikes periodically - does not crash

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Level 2

269 points

Mail CPU usage spikes periodically - does not crash

I have a 13" MBP with Retina display, running 10.8.4. Several times a day, the CPU usage spontaneously spikes to 100-200% and the fans go nuts. I've been trying to pin it to an activity, but I don't usually notice it until the sound of the jets taking off fans spinning up alerts me and Mail is often in the background. So I can't tie it to anything yet.

I'm running 5 Gmail/Google Apps email accounts. Even though CPU usages spikes badly, Mail doesn't seen to become less usable - the main bummer is the fans spinning up which can be quite distracting in meetings or on Skype calls. After a few minutes, Mail calms down and things go back to normal, or I can kill/restart Mail.

Here's what the resources look like when this happens:

I am running the current version of InDev's Mail Act-On but I uninstalled it and it made no difference - still the same spikes several times a day. No other add-ons in Mail. I've tried resetting the SyncServices folder based on some other posts here.

Any tips on how to resolve this?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4)

Posted on Jun 25, 2013 4:01 PM

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Answer 1

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St. Clair Software

Level 1

5 points

Jul 9, 2013 5:33 PM in response to surjit

In Mail's Window menu, open up the Activity window. The next time the CPU usage spikes, see what Mail is doing. I've noticed it sucking up lots of processor time once in a while and the activity window says something about it synchronizing with my Gmail account, but haven't looked closer to see exactly what it's doing.

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Answer 2

surjit Author

Level 2

269 points

Jul 10, 2013 8:18 AM in response to St. Clair Software

I don't know why I didn't think of that - thank you. I just assumed it was some kind of issue and started disabling plugins and whanot. It looks like one of my older Gmail accounts is doing a lot of updating cache directory/getting unread counts. The processor usage drops once this ends - of course the fans keep spinning for a while.

This gives me somewhere to start. Thanks again!

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Answer 3

Jul 10, 2013 9:04 AM in response to surjit

Have a read of this. Gmail and Mail need a few tweaks before they work properly together.

http://www.macworld.com/article/2033842/make-mail-and-gmail-play-nice.html

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Answer 4

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

Jul 10, 2013 12:34 PM in response to surjit

Some other suggestions.

Gmail and Mail – How to (2)

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Answer 5

surjit Author

Level 2

269 points

Jul 11, 2013 4:20 PM in response to Daniel Ebeck

Thanks Daniel. I had pretty much all of this in place already - I've been using Gmail accounts with Mail for years now, and usually consult the Gmail suggested settings as well. The issue seems to be tied to one Gmail account and they're all set up the same way.

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Answer 6

surjit Author

Level 2

269 points

Jul 11, 2013 4:21 PM in response to Eric Root

Thanks Eric. That article is a couple years old now, and I have all the current suggested Gmail settings in place. Also, the issue seems to be tied to one account - and they're all set up the same way.

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