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MBP - CPU sometimes running off the charts!

Hey Folks

My 13" mid 2009 MBP (2.26 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 8 GB RAM) is giving me grief and I can't figure it out.

It was recently replaced with a new model, when that happened, I swapped the drive into the new Mac and in doing so, the old machine got a SSD that was factory fresh with OS X. It's been updated to 10.10.5 and I set it up for my 7 year old - Meaning, it basically has nothing on it but the stock stuff with parental restrictions engaged, Chrome as a browser. (No bloatware, no downloads and 219.45 GB free space)

It often needs to be restarted because it will be painfully slow to use. I checked the Activity Monitor and it often tells me:

System: 48.33%

User: 41.18%

Idle: 9.55%

Why is the system using almost 50%?

Is Chrome not recommended for this model?

What can I do to keep things under control?

What is the optimal version of OSX for this machine?

This Mac was a great computer just a few months ago. We used it daily for everything (photoshop, etc.) when the logicboard died. It's been replaced, but now this problem is making it a boat anchor.

Thanks

Posted on Oct 9, 2015 12:10 PM

25 replies

Oct 11, 2015 7:45 PM in response to Csound1

I don't - I've asked repeatedly why my system is using 50% of my processor and no one has given an answer. Although I do know the battery doesn't affect system performance.

Oct 11, 2015 7:46 PM in response to stedman1

Not sure why people feel the need to post without purpose or answering a question. Seems they like to hear themselves talk.

Oct 11, 2015 7:53 PM in response to stedman1

True - Thanks for that. Perhaps the newer system is being more picky.

And I'm not saying that chrome isn't being power hungry, just asking why the system is using 50%. When things are not going sideways, it uses about 3%.