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Old 04-07-2022, 03:50 PM   #1
mdiorio
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Default Monterey DisplayLinkUserAgent high CPU with one app

Dell D6000 dock, MacBook Pro 15" 2017, latest DisplayLink drivers installed today.

I have an app (available in the App Store), called TacticalPad Coach's Whiteboard.

App works great on my built-in display. As soon as I move it to the external display, DisplayLinkUserAgent CPU shoots up immediately and my CPU fan kicks on. As soon as I move it back to the built-in, CPU drops.

It appears that the app engine is Unity and it directly relates to frame rate. I this app I can set the frame rate. It defaults to 20fps. That yields DisplayLinkUserAgent consuming over 100% CPU. If I set it to vSync, same thing.

Only when I set the frame rate to something like 5 fps does DisplayLinkUserAgent CPU drop down to about 10%. 10fps is roughly 25-30% CPU.

Also fun - when the external monitor is my main screen, the app shows up fine. When the laptop display is my main screen, the app appears as a black screen when on the external monitor, but moving it to the built-in display and it shows up fine.

Any ideas?

Last edited by mdiorio; 04-07-2022 at 03:55 PM. Reason: Add additional info
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Old 04-11-2022, 01:20 PM   #2
xavierr
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I have a similar problem. I have a MacBook Pro 16' 2019 with 32GB RAM. I plug in 2 external motors directly in my MacBook (via USB), and I plug in an additional 3 more via my Dell DisplayLink Dock.

I've had issues with this setup from day one (documented in my many posts on this forum, sadly). I was hoping that upgrading to BigSur / the new DisplayLink driver would help, but I just started having different problems.

My main issue with the new driver manifests itself each time I share my screen via Zoom / Google Meet. My Macbook progressively grinds to a halt within 5 minutes. The CPU usage of the kernel_task process progressively goes up to ~1000% CPU usage, at which point my Mac is unusable. My understanding is that kernel_task high CPU usage is linked to the Macbook overheating...

The high CPU usage of kernal_task is due to the DisplayLink driver: as soon as I kill the DisplayLink driver application, I loose 3 of my external monitors and the CPU usage progressively goes down to normal.

I posted several times on this forum, but I only got one response from Kate / DisplayLink.
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Old 04-12-2022, 05:42 PM   #3
fsantiago
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Quote:
Originally Posted by xavierr View Post
I have a similar problem. I have a MacBook Pro 16' 2019 with 32GB RAM. I plug in 2 external motors directly in my MacBook (via USB), and I plug in an additional 3 more via my Dell DisplayLink Dock.

I've had issues with this setup from day one (documented in my many posts on this forum, sadly). I was hoping that upgrading to BigSur / the new DisplayLink driver would help, but I just started having different problems.

My main issue with the new driver manifests itself each time I share my screen via Zoom / Google Meet. My Macbook progressively grinds to a halt within 5 minutes. The CPU usage of the kernel_task process progressively goes up to ~1000% CPU usage, at which point my Mac is unusable. My understanding is that kernel_task high CPU usage is linked to the Macbook overheating...

The high CPU usage of kernal_task is due to the DisplayLink driver: as soon as I kill the DisplayLink driver application, I loose 3 of my external monitors and the CPU usage progressively goes down to normal.

I posted several times on this forum, but I only got one response from Kate / DisplayLink.
I am experiencing a very similar problem. I only have 2 monitors but the pattern is the same. I used to have the same setup using 2 hdmi ports coming out of my Macbook and it used to work just fine. Now, using a dock station with the DisplayLink driver it it is basically impossible to use.
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Old 04-20-2022, 02:56 PM   #4
xavierr
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Hi fsantiago

Indeed, very similar problem.

A couple more things (some of which may be of interest to you):
- When I used the old version of the driver (v5.3.1 -- which stopped being supported on BigSur), I could connect all my monitors and I didn't experience the kernel_task high CPU usage
- However, with v5.3.1 my monitors didn't "stay in place" (I had to go in my MacOs Display Settings and readjust my monitors each time I restarted my Macbook).
- when I disconnect the DisplayLink docking station from my USB, it disconnects the external monitors that are plugging into it, but I continue to have the high CPU kernel_task issue when sharing my monitor in a Google Meet / Zoom call.
- the only way for me not to get the high CPU kernel_task grind to a halt issue is to Quit the display link driver completely.
- it has gotten to the point where I am no longer using my displaylink docking station at all. I have posted a 2 star review on amazon, which I should really downgrade to 1 star at this point, because the DisplayLink does not work as advertised on MacOS.
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Old 05-12-2022, 03:26 PM   #5
fsantiago
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Alright folks, I managed to find a fix for the problem.

I don't know exactly why but it seems MacOs tries to do some processing with the image sent to the display that causes the high CPU usage etc.

In order to mitigate the issue, I had to select a "low resolution" mode. That means:

1. Access Display Manager
2. Select the display you want to set to "low resolution mode"
3. Set the resolution to "Scaled" while holding the option key in the keyboard. (That should list hidden resolution modes)
4. Select "Show all resolution modes"
4. Select the low resolution mode in the list, just like the image below.



Let me know if that works for you.

Cheers!

Last edited by fsantiago; 05-12-2022 at 03:28 PM.
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Old 01-23-2023, 05:20 PM   #6
paissad
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Hello @fsantiago

by "downgrading" the resolution, the CPU consumption reduced drastically, but it's such a pity !!!
Thanks for the tip !
Hope they will resolve this quickly and post the software update

Regards,
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