Save Processor Cycles By Avoiding iTunes Store

Jul 18, '11 07:30:00AM

Contributed by: scott721

Keeping iTunes open doesn't use much in the way of processor power -- unless you've got the source selection set to 'iTunes Store.' You can reduce your processor consumption by simply keeping your selection on something internal (e.g., Podcasts or Music) instead.

I'm always trying to squeeze as much extra power out of my iMac as possible and keep a close eye on the processor usage with the iStat Menus widget. I frequently noticed a particularly high percentage of processor power being allocated to iTunes and couldn't figure out why; I wasn't playing music, downloading videos or using any other functions that could put a load on the processor… or so I thought.

After some experimentation I found that whenever the source (that list of items in the left-hand column) selected was the iTunes Store it caused a significant jump in usage. The only thing I can figure out is that the constant updating of the store's home page, revolving graphics and other real-time functions are using processing power whereas keeping the source selected to something more benign, like 'Podcasts' or 'Music' that accesses only locally stored content (i.e., already on your hard drive) doesn't have to do that.

I moved the selection from the iTunes Store to Podcasts and the percentage of processor use dropped from an average of 9% to 1.5-3.5% -- a fairly significant difference for a very small change.

If you, like me, are always trying to wring out the most power from an older machine, consider keeping something other than 'iTunes Store' selected in your iTunes application. It's a small change with a noticeable difference.

[crarko adds: You can see this hit in Activity Monitor as well. The iTunes 'Genius' function is another CPU-intensive activity that you should probably shut off if your trying to save cycles.]

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