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Tip #163: Measure GPU Performance on Your Mac

… for Random Weirdness

Tip #163: Measure GPU Performance on Your Mac

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Hidden in Activity Monitor is the ability to monitor GPU performance.

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We’ve already seen (Tip 156) how to use Activity Monitor to measure the performance of the CPU. However, hidden in a menu is also the ability to display GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) performance in real-time!

  • Type Shift + Cmd + U to open the Utilities folder. Double-click Activity Monitor to start the app.
  • Choose Window > GPU History.

As you can see in this screen shot, this displays current GPU performance with a new column every 5 seconds.

NOTE: The higher the bar, the harder the GPU is working. Bars that fill the screen represent 100% of total GPU output.

Energy usage related to GPU activity is incorporated into the energy-impact measurements in the Energy tab of Activity Monitor.


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2 replies
  1. Zachary
    Zachary says:

    It doesn’t look like I can pull this info up on my 2008 Mac Pro running El Capitan. I was interested in seeing how my GTX 750 Ti was being utilized.

    Reply
    • Larry Jordan
      Larry Jordan says:

      Zachary:

      Good to know. This module appeared “recently,” but when exactly, I don’t know. My guess is Sierra or High Sierra.

      Larry

      Reply

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