# Unstable CPU performance?



## anonomousguy (Jan 27, 2010)

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## Steelfox (Nov 10, 2003)

My best guess would be some program running in the background. It might not be a virus just something you installed. Almost all programs now days have something that starts up on boot.


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## ShyGuy86 (Sep 17, 2011)

comscar said:


> The processor usage keeps jumping from, say, 10% to 40% continuously.


If you check the task manager, which processes are using the CPU?

EDIT: OS info, CPU, general compuer info could be useful


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## foolosophy11 (Aug 21, 2011)

http://www.av-comparatives.org/images/stories/test/ondret/avc_od_aug2011.pdf

As steelfox mentioned, it's most likely some crapware you installed. But just in case, try some good AV instead.


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## Syndacus (Aug 9, 2011)

Run Malwarebytes to search for any malware. Also be sure to check your task manager and lists any processes that seem to be hogging up your memory. I had a PING.EXE virus which jacked up my CPU resources until it crashed my entire PC last night. It would go from 1.6k to 1.5mb in 30 seconds.


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## Some Russian Guy (Mar 20, 2009)

just disable superfetch and all will be golden


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## anonomousguy (Jan 27, 2010)

Right, I guess it would be helpful to include some specs... Let's see, vista 64, an intel dual core (can't remember the speed)

But I tried malware bytes, a hijack this log, but still nothing. Anything that it did note suspicious was a windows related file.

As for the task manager, the only things that use up a lot of memory is wmp.exe (which I assume is the media player), steam and explorer.exe. And even with these not running it still persists and is stll noisy.

Never heard of superfetch, but I'll look into that I guess.


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## ShyGuy86 (Sep 17, 2011)

comscar said:


> As for the task manager, the only things that use up a lot of memory is wmp.exe (which I assume is the media player), steam and explorer.exe. And even with these not running it still persists and is stll noisy.


We're not looking for memory usage, but for CPU time percentage, though, aren't we?
Open the Taskman, get the processes tab, sort them by CPU usage (most expensive on top) and post a screenshot. Especially if the numbers don't add up (eg. the sum of the percentages excluding the idle process is not the same number as the "CPU usage" figure at the bottom).

Also, you say in your first post that your CPU "usage keeps jumping from, say, 10% to 40%", where do you see that figure? Do you have the habit to open the taskman to check the CPU usage? It's a good habit.


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## anonomousguy (Jan 27, 2010)

ShyGuy86 said:


> We're not looking for memory usage, but for CPU time percentage, though, aren't we?
> Open the Taskman, get the processes tab, sort them by CPU usage (most expensive on top) and post a screenshot. Especially if the numbers don't add up (eg. the sum of the percentages excluding the idle process is not the same number as the "CPU usage" figure at the bottom).
> 
> Also, you say in your first post that your CPU "usage keeps jumping from, say, 10% to 40%", where do you see that figure? Do you have the habit to open the taskman to check the CPU usage? It's a good habit.


Well, I cant post an image 'cause I don't have a connection of my own, so I just wrote it down:

Dwm.exe - 24,164k
Explorer.exe - 16,960k
LGDCore.exe - 13,904k
Wmplayer.exe*32 - 13,340k
Pen_tablet.exe - 11,936k
Steam.exe*32 - 8,108k
LCDmon.exe - 7,832k
WMPsideshowgadget.exe - 6,688k
Pen_touchuser.exe - 5,796k
NvXDsync - 5,648k
Taskeng.exe - 4,348k
RAVcpl64.exe - 4,228k
Nvvsvc.exe - 4,212k
LCDclock.exe - 4,064
wisptis.exe - 3,968k
LCDpop32.exe - 3,864k
ccsvchst.exe*32 - 3,528k
wisptis.exe - 3,432k
D3DOverider.exe - 2,844k
NUA.exe*32 - 2,384k
Winlogon.exe - 2,296k
Nvtray.exe - 2,172k
LGDevAgent.exe - 2,932k
csrss.exe - 1,728k
atiedxx.exe - 1,708k
Unsecapp.exe - 1,592k
Pen_tabletuser.exe - 1,536k

Oddly enough, it seems to have gone to normal as I was writing this...

And my keyboard is a logitech g15 and has a display for games and has a display for gamestats and such, and it has one that shows CPU and RAM usage.

Edit: Also I just started up minecraft, and it's using 763,880k memory, CPU usage is at 80 - 100% and 59% physical memory. In the task manager, under CPU the number says 47. Unsure what that is exactly, but damn.


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## ShyGuy86 (Sep 17, 2011)

comscar said:


> Well, I cant post an image 'cause I don't have a connection of my own, so I just wrote it down:
> 
> Dwm.exe - 24,164k
> Explorer.exe - 16,960k
> ...


That must've taken you some time, to write all those numbers down! Again, I thought we were looking at CPU usage, not RAM! Not sure what you mean by "I don't have a connection of my own", though. Can't you take a screenshot and upload it on any image hosting service?

If CPU usage spikes when there's a game open, it's normal (unless game performance degrades during the spikes). In fact, I'd be bothered if a game *didn't* use my CPU as much as it could. If Minecraft runs smoothly at all times, you shouldn't worry.

What would worry me is instead unusual CPU usage during *idling*. I've had some experience of CPUs constantly reading 30% - 35% usage even when no CPU-intensive application were running. And it it wouldn't add up in the Task Manager. Both times solved matters by unclogging the CPU's heat sink from dust.


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## Cynical (Aug 23, 2011)

^ I have nothing that's worth contributing I just really had to say.... I was kind off hoping that you were going to say "Have you tried turning it off and on again" on your first post LMAO


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## ShyGuy86 (Sep 17, 2011)

Cynical said:


> ^ I have nothing that's worth contributing I just really had to say.... I was kind off hoping that you were going to say "Have you tried turning it off and on again" on your first post LMAO


Hehehe. I'ts too late now, huh? I _was_ tempted, but the I thought OP wouldn't appreciate the joke very much. :lol


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## Innamorata (Sep 20, 2011)

ShyGuy86 said:


> Hehehe. I'ts too late now, huh? I _was_ tempted, but the I thought OP wouldn't appreciate the joke very much. :lol


Aww, that would have been awesome.

*white noise again* :b


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## anonomousguy (Jan 27, 2010)

ShyGuy86 said:


> If CPU usage spikes when there's a game open, it's normal (unless game performance degrades during the spikes). In fact, I'd be bothered if a game *didn't* use my CPU as much as it could. If Minecraft runs smoothly at all times, you shouldn't worry.
> 
> What would worry me is instead unusual CPU usage during *idling*. I've had some experience of CPUs constantly reading 30% - 35% usage even when no CPU-intensive application were running. And it it wouldn't add up in the Task Manager. Both times solved matters by unclogging the CPU's heat sink from dust.


I guess it's normal for games to do that, I just never noticed...

I'm not rally sure what you mean by adding up the CPU usage, this whole thong is beyond me (sorry if I seem like an idiot)

But yeah, the idling is the thing that's unusual. It's still jumping 10 - 50% right now...

I'll have to give that a try, cleaning the CPU heatsink. I know the other day my case was coated in dirt with all the construction going on.


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## ShyGuy86 (Sep 17, 2011)

comscar said:


> I guess it's normal for games to do that, I just never noticed...
> 
> I'm not rally sure what you mean by adding up the CPU usage, this whole thong is beyond me (sorry if I seem like an idiot)
> 
> ...


Lol, no problem, you don't seem like an idiot. 

Here, consider this screenshot:










Notice how the "CPU Usage" field at the bottom says *18%*.
Now, if you do as the picture instructs and click on the CPU column header (I'm not sure why the pic says to do it twice, in my case only once was enough), you sort the processes by CPU usage.
This is how it should work: at any given moment, the sum of all the CPU usages _except for the System Idle Process_ should give the same number as the "CPU Usage" field at the bottom.

In the case of the picture:

11% iexplore
03% Snagit
01% Picasa2
01% svchost
01% explorer
01% crss

Sum all those up, and lo and behold, you do get *18%*.

If it adds up, you get a detailed view of what processes are eating up 10 - 50% of your CPU. Be aware that to do the maths it's best to take a screenshot of the task manager and consider the numbers in the picture, as if you were "pausing" at a certain moment in time. Othewise, trying to count while the numbers move can be tricky.

If it doesn't add up.. well that's where I suspected overheating, and it worked in my case.


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## MagusAnima (Mar 4, 2010)

^
As mentioned above, it could be an overheating issue, try to keep your pc well ventilated.


Sometimes Antivirus software can cause this, if your antivirus is set up to scan files as you use them this can cause CPU 'spikes'.

You could try uninstalling any software (such as Norton) you suspect of causing a problem, and test the CPU performance before and after uninstallation to help you diagnose the problem.


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## anonomousguy (Jan 27, 2010)

ShyGuy86 said:


> Lol, no problem, you don't seem like an idiot.
> 
> Here, consider this screenshot:
> 
> ...


Ok that makes sense.

Everything reads at 00, with an occasional 1.

I just realized I can email video with an iPod (which is what I'm doing all this by)...

Can I have your email adress and I'll shoot over a video?

That might help a bit more to actually see what's going on, rather than going by my vague descriptions...


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## ShyGuy86 (Sep 17, 2011)

comscar said:


> Ok that makes sense.
> 
> Everything reads at 00, with an occasional 1.
> 
> ...


Well, if the keyboard display is working properly, it should show the same thing as the "CPU Usage" field at the bottom of the Task Manager. So, if that field says 3%, but your keyboard says 40% - 50%, then I daresay your keyboard is not working properly, but at least your CPU is.

For the video to be useful, you have to take it when the problem appears, that is when your keyboard says 40% (or anything strange), and no programs are running except the Task Manager.
You can send it to [email protected]


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## ShyGuy86 (Sep 17, 2011)

[Reply to video sent in e-mail]

Well there you go then, things _don't_ add up. As I said earlier, when this happened to me, I solved things by removing the dust from by CPU's heatsink.
You may search google for the best way to remove dust from a heatsink.
I noticed there's some people advising against using a vaccum cleaner, because the fear that air rushing though the heatsink fins will cause a buildup of static electricity, or that the fan may spin in the opposite direction causing unwanted voltages. My advice is to ground yourself, then use a vacuum cleaner anyway, while keeping the fan still and grounding the heatsink by touching it.

Also, since you will have your computer open, and a vacuum cleaner in your hand, you might as well take the chance and give a general cleanup to the interior of your computer.


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## anonomousguy (Jan 27, 2010)

ShyGuy86 said:


> [Reply to video sent in e-mail]
> 
> Well there you go then, things _don't_ add up. As I said earlier, when this happened to me, I solved things by removing the dust from by CPU's heatsink.
> You may search google for the best way to remove dust from a heatsink.
> ...


Oh boy, I tried removing the fan on top of the CPU and forgot how to unhook the plug things.

Which is quite pathetic since I build the damn thing.

Well, thanks a lot for the help, even though I guess I still don't understand it :/

Hope the vacuuming works, Thanks again for your time!


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## ShyGuy86 (Sep 17, 2011)

comscar said:


> Oh boy, I tried removing the fan on top of the CPU and forgot how to unhook the plug things.
> Which is quite pathetic since I build the damn thing.
> Well, thanks a lot for the help, even though I guess I still don't understand it :/
> Hope the vacuuming works, Thanks again for your time!


Don't bother to remove the fan from the heatsink, with a moderately powerful vacuum cleaner you should be able to remove the dust through the fan blades, if you take some care to prevent the fan from spinning.

I guess it's the moment of truth. I'd be pretty much at a loss if it didn't work. At any rate, you got your computer clean, which is never bad.


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## WolfehJ (Oct 13, 2011)

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