Command to get usage % per CPU/core?

Solution 1:

There is a wonderful extension to top, called htop, which shows real-time graphs per CPU in the top-left of the display, as well as many other controls and great customisability:

You can install it with any of the following:

• Homebrew via brew install htop
• MacPorts via port install htop

There is a tutorial on how to get an htop port built for OS X:

https://web.archive.org/web/20100924083315/http://geektechnica.com/2009/07/how-to-install-htop-on-osx/

http://github.com/AndyA/htop-osx/tree/master

Solution 2:

Top shows individual cores, you only have to press '1'. I think there's also an option to change the refresh rate.