Windows 11 24H2 Update Brings Accurate CPU Readings Across Task Manager Tabs

A Long-Awaited Fix for Inconsistent CPU Metrics in Task Manager

Power users, developers, and IT professionals have long relied on Windows Task Manager to monitor system performance and troubleshoot sluggishness. Yet for years, one glaring inconsistency persisted — the CPU usage shown under the Processes tab never quite matched the figures from the Performance or Users tabs. That’s because Windows used different formulas behind the scenes. Now, with the release of Windows 11 24H2 (May 2025 Update, KB5058411), Microsoft has addressed this discrepancy by standardizing how CPU usage is calculated across all Task Manager tabs.

This long-overdue adjustment introduces a unified industry-standard formula, ensuring that readings in the Processes tab now align with those from Performance and Users views, as well as third-party monitoring tools. The change improves accuracy, simplifies diagnostics, and finally clears up years of confusion for anyone trying to make sense of CPU percentages that never added up. Let’s break down what’s changed and why it matters.

What’s New in the Windows 11 24H2 Update (KB5058411):

The May 2025 Update for Windows 11 introduces a major internal correction to Task Manager’s Processes tab. Before this release, users often scratched their heads when trying to diagnose performance issues — CPU usage in the Processes tab frequently reported figures that didn’t match up with the Performance or Users tabs. That’s because the Processes tab was still using a legacy formula called “Processor Utility,” which didn’t consider logical processors or the effects of turbo boost, leading to CPU totals that could appear wildly inaccurate.

In contrast, the Performance and Users tabs (along with third-party monitoring tools) have long relied on the standard metric called “% Processor Time/Utility.” This calculation is more precise, especially on modern multi-core CPUs, and accounts for the true workload across all threads.

With the 24H2 update, Task Manager now uses a single standardized formula across all views:

CPU % = (Δ Process CPU Time) ÷ (Δ Elapsed Time × Logical Processors)

This means that if the total CPU load is 69%, each process’s contribution now adds up properly to reflect that value, resolving previous inconsistencies.

The change brings Task Manager’s behavior in line with other performance monitoring tools such as Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), PowerShell’s Get-Counter, and PerfMon. It also ensures that readings are consistent whether you’re using native tools or third-party applications.

For those nostalgic for the old system or who may need it for compatibility purposes, the legacy CPU utility view can still be accessed via the Details tab by right-clicking a column and enabling “CPU Utility.”

What Undercode Say:

This update

The heart of the issue was the outdated “Processor Utility” formula. It ignored how many CPU cores a system had, and more problematically, calculated usage relative to the CPU’s base clock speed. That led to inflated percentages when turbo boost kicked in, sometimes showing CPU usage over 100% — a clear sign of misreporting. When you added up the usage from each process, it wouldn’t total anything close to what the top-level CPU metric displayed. That inconsistency made diagnosing bottlenecks more of an art than a science.

Now, by adopting the formula already used by WMI and Performance Monitor, Microsoft has effectively standardized system diagnostics. This update also removes a longstanding discrepancy between native Windows tools and third-party performance software like HWInfo, CPU-Z, and others, making cross-verification easier and more trustworthy.

Additionally, the improvement shows Microsoft’s growing attention to user feedback and the needs of developers and IT professionals. Aligning these metrics might seem trivial, but in enterprise environments, even small inaccuracies can ripple into false alarms or overlooked issues.

It’s also a nod to future scalability. With the proliferation of CPUs with 8, 16, or more cores, using a calculation method that ignores core count was simply outdated. The fix supports better analytics on high-performance machines and lays the groundwork for more robust system insights.

The optional fallback to the legacy view is a considerate move. It allows older applications or workflows that still rely on “Processor Utility” to function without disruption, though most users will benefit from sticking with the new standard.

Overall, this is a technical yet impactful update that enhances reliability, consistency, and trust in a tool that countless users rely on daily.

Fact Checker Results ✅

✔ Task Manager’s CPU calculation is now standardized

✔ All tabs now use “% Processor Time” formula
✔ Legacy view is still accessible under Details tab

Prediction 🔮

With this unified CPU calculation model, expect future updates to improve Task Manager’s accuracy further — possibly adding clearer visualizations or alerts when per-process usage spikes out of sync. Microsoft may also expand these changes to other performance metrics, helping developers and IT admins gain a more holistic and accurate view of system behavior, especially as multicore CPUs become the norm in consumer and enterprise devices alike.

References:

Reported By: www.windowslatest.com
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