Question All CPU load gets directed to one core at random, insane lag

[cstarring]

Hi, I am new to this site, so please forgive me if something similar to this was posted. From the searching I've done, no one else has had this specific issue so far.

Here is a list of my specs:
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-H110M-H
CPU: i7-6700k@4.00GHz
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 2x8GB @2133MHz (mobo only supports 2133)
SSD: Crucial MX500 500GB
HDD: WD Blue 1TB 7200RPM
GPU: EVGA GTX 1070 SC
PSU: Corsair VS500 (Yes I know VS PSUs are generally bad, I've just never upgraded since I still use under 500w)

For the past week or so, my CPU has started redirecting all load to one core, and it does this at random. This issue has never happened to me in the past. After this happens I'm forced to reboot my pc for it to return to normal. It does this regardless of what process is open, and whenever any load is put on the cpu, only core 3 (reading with coretemp, so core 4 since it reads as 0-3) actually does any work. This pins that core, and every other core stays around 0-7% usage while it does this. This makes any game pretty much unplayable, even minecraft.

Like I said before, it doesn't just affect games though, it affects the whole system. EVERY single process gets loaded on the fourth core for some reason, when it would usually get spread across all four cores evenly.

In short, CPU functions good until it randomly chugs on one core regardless of task.


I know that my CPU does NOT bottleneck my GPU in any way, so for this to happen is beyond frustrating.

Any help is greatly appreciated

 

[mdd1963]

IN device manager, try deleting the shown CPU assets, and allow them to be redetected/reintalled upon a reboot...

(assuming no one has played with any core assets, core parking, etc., within settings that ought not be played with, anyway)

 

[cstarring]

IN device manager, try deleting the shown CPU assets, and allow them to be redetected/reintalled upon a reboot...

(assuming no one has played with any core assets, core parking, etc., within settings that ought not be played with, anyway)

I haven't tooled around with any assets or core parking, so this just happened randomly. I'll give what you said a try and update in a bit if the problem persists. Thanks!

One thing to note; I noticed that the problem seems to only happen semi-shortly after I wake my PC up from sleep mode. I'm not sure if this actually has anything to do with it, but I think I'm seeing a pattern.

Here is a pic of the issue I'm having.
http://prntscr.com/t5u5tm

 

[cstarring]

Update - Trying to delete the processors in device manager only results in me having to restart after trying to delete only one of them. Problem still persists, but I linked a screenshot of the problem before I had to restart.

 

[TerryLaze]

Try to take a picture of task manager,sorted by CPU usage,when this happens and share it here.
There is probably some software running and you just have to find out which one it is.

Also is your core #1 always hotter than the others? Because otherwise there was something heavy running on that core as well.

 

[cstarring]

Try to take a picture of task manager,sorted by CPU usage,when this happens and share it here.
There is probably some software running and you just have to find out which one it is.

Also is your core #1 always hotter than the others? Because otherwise there was something heavy running on that core as well.

Yes, my core 1 is always slightly hotter than the rest. I most likely applied the thermal paste incorrectly, I just lent my tube to a friend and haven't gotten around to re-applying it.

I want to believe it is a software problem causing this, but I honestly am not sure.

The thing that stops me from believing it's a software problem is the fact that load is low on all cores, but whenever I start a process that puts load on the CPU, it immediately opts to only use my fourth core. This core isn't always pinned at 100% (more often than not I'll be idling with all cores at 0-8%, but the fourth is at 20%+) but it gets there very often because of this issue.

I will post a screenshot of task manager once this happens again. Started my PC fresh today, issue hasn't happened yet. It only seems to happen after waking up from being asleep, for some reason.

 

[lordmogul]

Do you have any software running that "manages" your CPU load for you? Stuff like ProcessLasso? That could "optimize" the load into that core.

That Core #1 is the warmer is not surprising, it is most likely one of the cores further away from the iGPU that in your case does nothing but takes heat from the cores next to it and dissipates it to the IHS. The cores on the other side have less silicon next to them and might run a tad warmer.

 

[cstarring]

Do you have any software running that "manages" your CPU load for you? Stuff like ProcessLasso? That could "optimize" the load into that core.

That Core #1 is the warmer is not surprising, it is most likely one of the cores further away from the iGPU that in your case does nothing but takes heat from the cores next to it and dissipates it to the IHS. The cores on the other side have less silicon next to them and might run a tad warmer.

Nope, no optimization software installed. Additionally, I learned the hard way that the problem also happens even if it was from a fresh boot.

The problem just happened now. I opened minecraft to show the problem, since it's opting to load the whole game on that single core, which gives me around 7 fps on the menu. Absolutely chugs.
Here is my task manager when this happens:
http://prntscr.com/t7bul7

Core 3 pinned, all other cores around 0-4%.
It seems like my CPU decides randomly whether it will load the game on all four cores, or load it on that single core. It's incredibly inconsistent. One time I'll open the game and it loads on a single core, and another I'll load it and it works as normal.

This happened super recently and I haven't downloaded anything that can edit CPU load or optimize load. The only CPU-related software other than CPU-Z that I had was Intel XTU, which I uninstalled since my mobo is a H110 and doesn't support overclocking anyway.