TBH: Task Bar Hero resource use
The same checks for another taskbar app.
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Bongo Cat High CPU, GPU or RAM Usage: What to Check First
Bongo Cat sits on your taskbar and taps along as you type, so it runs all day. That makes resource use worth checking. Players have found the biggest cause is usually VSync interacting with a high-refresh monitor, not the cat itself.
Bottom line
Check VSync first. Multiple players report that turning VSync off dropped Bongo Cat CPU use from double digits to about one or two percent. After that, look at frame-rate caps, Steam background recording, and which monitor and GPU it runs on. Use the tool below to confirm a change actually helped.
Test a setting, then record CPU, GPU, and RAM before and after to see if it actually helped.
Before and after comparison
| Metric | Before | After | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Enter both values | ||
| GPU | Enter both values | ||
| RAM | Enter both values |
Did it help?
Enter CPU use before and after your change to see whether it helped.
Saved on this device only. Nothing is uploaded. Change one setting at a time so the before and after numbers mean something.
Evidence status
inferred: FrameReady uses this label so predictions, official claims, and unknowns do not get mixed together.
Start with VSync and frame rate
The most reported fix is a VSync interaction. On a high-refresh display, the cat can render far more often than it needs to.
- Turn VSync off for one test run and compare CPU use.
- If your tools allow it, cap the frame rate low. A taskbar toy does not need hundreds of frames.
- Change one of these at a time so you can tell which helped.
Recording, monitors, and GPU choice
Background capture and multi-monitor setups add load that looks like the game but is not.
- Turn off Steam background recording for a test run and compare again.
- Multiple monitors at different refresh rates can raise use. Test with one active display.
- On a laptop, check whether it runs on the integrated GPU or the dedicated GPU, and test battery versus plugged in.
- Running Bongo Cat next to a full game means they share the GPU, so judge them together, not alone.
Battery and heat
Because it runs constantly, small inefficiencies add up on a laptop.
- If battery drains faster with the cat open, the frame-rate and VSync checks above are the fix to try first.
- Rising temperature usually tracks the same high frame rate, so capping frames helps heat too.
Normal RAM versus a rising leak
A small, steady RAM figure is normal. The thing to watch is memory that climbs and never settles.
- Stable RAM use over 10 to 15 minutes is fine, even if the number is not tiny.
- Continually rising RAM that never plateaus is the part worth reporting.
- Restarting the app clears it, but note whether it climbs again.
Confirm the change helped
Do not trust a fix by feel. Record the numbers before and after one change.
- Note CPU, GPU, and RAM before you change a setting.
- Change one setting, then record the same three again.
- The before-and-after tool on this page does the comparison and saves it on your device only.
Related next steps
Sources
- official: Bongo Cat on Steam. Official Steam product page for Bongo Cat.
- inferred: Bongo Cat community: VSync and high CPU use. Players report turning VSync off drops CPU use to about one to two percent.
- inferred: PC Gamer on Bongo Cat. Background on what Bongo Cat is and how it runs on the taskbar.