While WindowServer controls the drawing of elements on the screen, mds_stores on your Mac - mds stands for metadata server - is part of Spotlight.

If WindowServer is near the top and takes up more than 60% of CPU resources, you know it’s using more CPU cycles than it should.

Look at the names of the processes in that column.

Navigate to Applications > Utilities and open Activity Monitor.

How to find out if WindowServer is using excessive CPU cycles Having multiple displays can use up computer memoryĮach icon has to be redrawn every time the screen contents change There are a few things that can cause WindowServer to use so many CPU cycles that you notice it or that it slows down your Mac. However, on most Macs, the number of CPU cycles WindowServer consumes should be so small you don’t notice it. When you consider that windows in macOS have lots of effects, such as transparency and drop shadows, it’s hardly surprising that drawing and redrawing them on screen consumes resources. Every time you move a window around, edit an image in Photoshop, or switch to a different tab in Safari, WindowServer needs to redraw your screen. Most graphical elements are refreshed regularly, which is why WindowServer needs those CPU cycles. The more windows you have open at any one time, the more CPU cycles WindowServer needs. Simply, it’s the macOS process that draws elements on the screen, whether they are application windows, icons, or websites. Most of the time, you won’t have to think about it or even know it exists, but if it starts using lots of CPU cycles, it may slow down your Mac. That relationship is managed by WindowServer on your Mac - a process that is responsible for drawing graphical elements on display.

One of the most important macOS elements is the relationship between the calculations carried out by the CPU and what you see on the screen. But to help you do it all by yourself, we’ve gathered our best ideas and solutions below.įeatures described in this article refer to the MacPaw site version of CleanMyMac X. So here’s a tip for you: Download CleanMyMac to quickly solve some of the issues mentioned in this article.

Mac activity monitor window server