High CPU usage all the time

[usbp86]

Hello, I built my own PC less than a year ago and recently started having issues with my CPU usage %. I used to be able to run any game perfectly fine and never had any issues until valorant crashed out of nowhere recently and my CPU usage was brought to my attention. I’ve done soo many different things, watched many YouTube vids, done almost everything that is recommended by people to fix high CPU usage, and I’m still having the issue. At this point I am at my last straw and I’m about to buy a new CPU at this point. Any help would be nice before I drop money on a new CPU/

My specs are:
Intel i5-9600K @ 3.70GHz
Cooler Master Hyper 212 42 CFM CPU Cooler
ASRock B365M Pro4 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
2x8 DDR4 3200 Corsair Vengeance LPX RAM
Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME SSD
Asus GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB STRIX Gaming OC

[Bruce]

get Speccy from here; Speccy - Download Builds

in Speccy, click File > Publish Snapshot > Copy to Clipboard > Close.
now you can paste (Ctrl+V) that link into a post.

and post your power supply make and model.

and get a snapshot of your CPU usage in Task Manager show the top culprits.

[usbp86]

http://speccy.piriform.com/results/NeYS5DpgWez85DPWJ8MhiT4

Power Supply: Thermaltake Smart 500 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX

I cleaned up my task manager so in idle it sits around 4% but when I go into chrome or Firefox, it sits at 30-40% and yes I cleared search history and cookies / data. Any game I play (which I run every game at low settings for max FPS) my cpu usage sits at 70-100% and crashes everyone in a while when it feels like it.

[Bruce]

when you go into Task Manager, click on the CPU header column, that will sort it in descending order of processes hogging the processor.
provide that screenshot while you have a game running and we can see the worst offenders.

how many tabs do you have running in Firefox and Chrome to get the CPU to 30%, mine sits a 4% with Firefox running. start either browser in their Safe Mode setting and see if that changes things.

[usbp86]

[ATTACH type=“full”]7999[/ATTACH]

[usbp86]

I don’t have many tabs open when I use either browser and I’ve tried safe mode but same issue. I will run a game and get a screenshot for you

[Bruce]

right click that top entry for Intel System Usage Report and kill it.
now the question is what is it and why is it running?

chances are it is the Intel Driver Update Utility and can be uninstalled from Control Panel > Programs & Features.

[usbp86]

I don’t see Intel Driver Update Utility in Programs & Features. Here is a screenshot from me playing valorant. [ATTACH type=“full”]8000[/ATTACH]

[usbp86]

Here is a picture from programs and features. [ATTACH type=“full”]8001[/ATTACH]

[Bruce]

remove Intel Computing Improvement Program, Intel Driver & Support Assistant and Intel Optane (especially if you have no optane memory).

the 2nd Task Manager shot shows Valorant itself being the problem, so that’s an internal issue with the game, and that’s where my experience stops, not into gaming I’m afraid.

in both those screen shots, expand the entry of each of the top suspects and it will give further details of the processes in question.

[usbp86]

Oh - gaming is where I am having the most issues with this random high CPU usage out of nowhere.

I removed Intel Computing Improvement Program, Intel Driver & Support Assistant and Intel Optane. Is there anything else I should remove to speed up my PC a little more?

How do I expand the entry? I am still somewhat new to owning a PC I’m afraid.

[Bruce]

nothing else in the Programs & Features list is of concern, or would speed things up if removed.

to expand an entry in Task Manager, either double click the row or click the > at the start of the row.

[usbp86]

Is this what you’re asking for?
[ATTACH type=“full”]8003[/ATTACH]

[Bruce]

yep, that’s it, and it allows you to see all the sub-processes using memory.
it just show the game as the culprit.
if that game has only started doing this, any chance it is doing something it deems necessary, an update, a patch?
does the CPU spike only happen when playing that one game?

[usbp86]

Um, it’s happening with all my games and I even uninstalled / verified files on all the games I play - didn’t change anything. And yes, I run all my games on the lowest settings for max performance. This is really upsetting because this PC is less than a year old and I’m afraid that I have a defective CPU