NotchStar System tab vs Activity Monitor
NotchStar is not a replacement for Activity Monitor. The System tab gives five headline readings you can see in a second. Activity Monitor is the place to go when you need to know which process is responsible and why.
What each one shows
| NotchStar | Activity Monitor | |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Whole Mac, one ring | Per process, history graph, per core view |
| Memory | Active, wired and compressed against total | App Memory, Wired, Compressed, Cached Files, Memory Pressure graph |
| Disk | Used share of the startup volume | Reads and writes per process |
| Network | Download and upload speed, WiFi and Ethernet | Bytes sent and received, per process |
| Battery | Charge level and charging state | Energy impact per app |
| Open it | Hover over the notch | Spotlight or Applications, Utilities |
What NotchStar adds for processes
The Disk tab has a Monitor section. Its Usage view lists the five busiest processes by CPU and the five using the most memory, refreshed every 3 seconds. It does not give history or per process network and energy.
Its Ports view lists programs listening on a TCP port, which Activity Monitor does not list. See the Ports list columns.
Which to use
- A glance while you work: NotchStar. It is already in the notch.
- A fan is loud, or the Mac is slow, and you need a name: Activity Monitor, then NotchStar’s Monitor for a quick check.
- A server is hogging a port: NotchStar’s Ports view, which can stop it.
Apple’s page on memory in Activity Monitor explains the terms used in the table. For the NotchStar side, read the System stats feature page and what the memory gauge counts.
