Solved High CPU usage all the time

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usbp86

usbp86

PCHF Member
May 6, 2021
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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
 

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.
 
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.
 
high cpu usage .png
 
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
 
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.
 
I don't see Intel Driver Update Utility in Programs & Features. Here is a screenshot from me playing valorant.
high cpu usage during valorant on low settings.png
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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?
 
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
 
But yes, this mainly happens when I play games and this is a fairly new issue that I've run into.
 
Sorry - not a gamer myself.
I notice you are not installing the updates from windows, Any reason why you have updates Off.
have you always had this power settings from the start?
Power Profile
Active power scheme:
Bitsum Highest Performance
Click to expand...

Do you have system restore on? Click On Me
Can you restore to a date before the game crash
 
The April cumulative update has caused many problems including gaming with low framerate a crashes. Your problem may be relegated to that.
Do you have KB5001330 installed? If so please uninstall it & restart the PC.
 
Hey guys,
I ended up resseting my PC and windows to factory settings and wiping it clean (at least it looks that way). My i9 came in today so I will be swapping my i5 for the new i9. I will let you guys know if i’m still having issues after changing the CPU and reinstalling my games and apps.
 
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