What happens if CPU utilization gets too high?

When CPU utilization becomes excessively high, it can lead to a significant slowdown of the server's performance. This slowdown occurs because the CPU is overwhelmed with tasks, making it unable to manage additional processes effectively. As a result, response times for applications can become delayed, and if the situation persists without resolution, the server may eventually crash due to the inability to handle the workload, leading to potential downtime and affecting any services dependent on that server.

This phenomenon highlights the critical nature of monitoring CPU utilization as part of system performance management. While other factors like memory and processes can be impacted indirectly by high CPU usage, the direct correlation with server slowdown and possible crashes makes the first choice the most accurate representation of the consequences of high CPU utilization.