I could see "kernel_task" running and eating up CPU, in an attempt to throttle the system and cool things off. At least that's my understanding of it. Basical

I could see "kernel_task" running and eating up CPU, in an attempt to throttle the system and cool things off. At least that's my understanding of it. Basically it came down to process of elimination, although I'm sure someone more experienced in the various fan and temperature readings on the Mac could have diagnosed it sooner. It completely stopped once I ran the 4k monitors at native resolution, and when I got the eGPU setup. The enclosure I purchased is the Razer Core X Chroma. One silver lining is it basically acts like a dock - has USB, wired NIC, and powers the system. Video card is a Radeon RX 580.