diff --git a/ci/testnet-deploy.sh b/ci/testnet-deploy.sh
index d2ea34c1b..38c1d81ec 100755
--- a/ci/testnet-deploy.sh
+++ b/ci/testnet-deploy.sh
@@ -155,8 +155,10 @@ client_start() {
       sudo snap install solana --$SOLANA_SNAP_CHANNEL --devmode; \
       sudo snap set solana metrics-config=$SOLANA_METRICS_CONFIG; \
       snap info solana; \
+      threadCount=\$(nproc); \
+      if [[ \$threadCount -gt 4 ]]; then threadCount=4; fi; \
       tmux new -s solana -d \" \
-          /snap/bin/solana.bench-tps $SOLANA_NET_URL $fullnode_count --loop -t \$(nproc) 2>&1 | tee /tmp/solana.log; \
+          /snap/bin/solana.bench-tps $SOLANA_NET_URL $fullnode_count --loop -t \$threadCount 2>&1 | tee /tmp/solana.log; \
           echo Error: bench-tps should never exit; \
           bash \
         \"; \