[Mac M2 Pro | OBS 31.0.3] – Unexpected High CPU & Temperature with Idle Scenes (Solved by Scene Reset)

bugatsinho

New Member
Hi everyone,

I’m using OBS Studio 31.0.3 on a Mac mini M2 Pro (16GB RAM) and wanted to share an issue I recently encountered — along with the diagnostic process and solution — in case others run into the same problem.

Issue


After returning from a trip and booting my Mac, I noticed that OBS Studio would cause my CPU to spike to 160–240% usage, even when idle, not streaming or recording.


Temperatures went up to 90–94°C, with the Energy Impact > 6000 in Activity Monitor — something that never happened before. OBS was previously stable and efficient for months.

What I Tried First (No Success)

  • Resetting NVRAM & SMC
  • Disabling browser source hardware acceleration
  • Disabling all filters (chroma key, LUT, VST, etc.)
  • Changing encoder from Apple VT H264 → x264
  • Creating a new Profile, but keeping my existing Scene Collection
None of the above fully resolved the high CPU and temps. OBS remained above 130–160% CPU idle, and fans kicked in hard.
 
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