Sunday, March 29, 2015

Disable CPU Throttling in Mac OSX


Adjusting the speed of the CPU also called "dynamic frequency scaling", CPU throttling is commonly used to slow down the computer whenever possible to use less energy and conserve battery. It is also used to make the system quieter, but slower. The below will force all the CPU cores in Mac to be online:


  • Enable Root user
    • System Preferences
    • Users & Groups
    • Login Options
    • Network Account Server: Join
    • Open Directory Utility
    • Edit -> Enable Root User
  • Open Terminal
    • Execute:
      • su - root
      • nano /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/com.apple.Boot.plist
      • add the following string
        • <string>idlehalt=0</string>
      • Exist and Save
  • Reboot
at

5 comments:

  1. UnknownMay 26, 2016 at 2:28 AM

    How do I revert / undo the settings ?

    ReplyDelete
  2. i-TweakJune 6, 2016 at 7:54 AM

    From terminal, execute:
    sudo nvram -c

    Reboot

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousOctober 27, 2016 at 2:57 PM

    when u go to save and exit it ask what to name the file ?

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousMarch 7, 2017 at 8:23 AM

    Thanks for the post, but unfortunately it didn't work for me.

    MacbookAir6,1, macOS Sierra (10.12.3)

    Anyway:
    Before editing the *.plist you need to disable Apples System Integrity Protection (SIP):
    http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/208478/how-do-i-disable-system-integrity-protection-sip-aka-rootless-on-os-x-10-11/208481#208481

    Other methods:
    * pmset (sudo pmset -a dps 0): isn't working anymore
    * IOPlatformPluginFamily.kext (delete it): not working either

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownMay 2, 2017 at 3:26 AM

    I set the idlehalt=0 and reboot but my CPU frequency is still 800Mhz. Any idea? Screenshot https://www.dropbox.com/s/puqxfxf47nglha1/me294_%E2%80%94_nano_and_i-Tweak__Disable_CPU_Throttling_in_Mac_OSX.jpg?dl=0

    ReplyDelete