CPU Hits 100% no matter what game I run!!

[tom_green]

Whatever the game may be,Far Cry 1 or Far cry 3,my CPU hits ~100% while running em and I did check for spywares,malwares and all of those,I've got none of it!!

Here's a screenshot of the task manager while running NFS Shift 2 at 640*480....

I'm dead tired of trying to fix this,my mates run the same games but their CPU doesn't cross 60%,,it just takes away all the fun of gaming when your PSU and CPU fans start sounding like they're fitted to a diesel engine!!!

My specs
CPU- AMD Phenom 2 X2 550-3.1 GHz (not overclocked)
MotherBoard - Asus M4N68T-M series
Ram- Corsair (2+2) 4 GB DDR3
GPU- Sapphire HD 7750 1GB GDDR5 (not overclocked)
OS- Win7 Ultimate 64 bit
HDD-500 GB
Monitor- 18.5" VGA LCD
PSU- Some chinese company named 'mercury',450 Watts

Could it be that by GPU is underpowered???
Oh and if you're wondering what happens while I'm not gaming... the CPU usage stays well within 50%... the only other time it reaches 90+% is when I'm converting video files from one format to another......

 

[tom_green]

Well, that's just unfortunate.

You know that's not true.......?

a mate of mine runs a mirror image of my PCs' config,except for the processor,he uses a 1st gen i3 and mine's at least twice as fast as his,in everything,easily.....

 

[gamerk316]

CPU-usage was again,at 90+... but while running Far Cry 1,there was a process named 'rundll.exe' which consumed about 40% of the cpu,it opened along with Far Cry 1 and the game wouldn't run without it...

Rundll is the process that handles running external .dll files, likely the DirectX dll files. This would indicate that CPU is spending an obsessive amount of time inside the DirectX runtime.

a mate of mine runs a mirror image of my PCs' config,except for the processor,he uses a 1st gen i3 and mine's at least twice as fast as his,in everything,easily.....

...no. Any i3 will beat any Phenom II X2 at any speed. Easily.

 

[goonbar79]

I'll try it out with a diff psu and see if it makes a difference... I can't re-install the OS until a few more months,I'm working on a project and can't afford the risk involved.. I hope a good PSU solves this....

Well, if you can't touch the current HDD, try using a 2nd HDD with a freshly installed OS (if you have a 2nd HDD, that is). I usually simply crack open the case, and disconnect HDD1 and connect HDD2, reinstall OS. Once testing is done, reconnect 2nd OS. You can't rule out faulty HDD or in many many cases, faulty OS due to a zillion reasons.

From all of your symptoms, I am leaning towards psu or OS, but don't rule out the cpu or mobo. I have had a bad cpu causing the clock to randomly go up and down without any reason. This is easily detectable using Prime95 full load, because the cpu is supposed to be running at max, so any frequent drop in clock means something is up. And as for the mobo... Dont get me started.. Anything can happen with mobos.

 

[goonbar79]

Rundll is the process that handles running external .dll files, likely the DirectX dll files. This would indicate that CPU is spending an obsessive amount of time inside the DirectX runtime.

a mate of mine runs a mirror image of my PCs' config,except for the processor,he uses a 1st gen i3 and mine's at least twice as fast as his,in everything,easily.....

...no. Any i3 will beat any Phenom II X2 at any speed. Easily.

I agree. 1st gen i3 (clarkdale) @ 2.9ghz is roughly 20% faster than Phenom II X2 2.9ghz (deneb with 2 disabled cores). When using the 2 virtual cores (hyperthreading) the difference is about 70%. Clarkdales are actually comparable to Phenom II X4's.

BUT, STILL this should not cause cpu load to be 100%... Dual cores are still very good for most low~mid gaming.

 

[tom_green]

Well, if you can't touch the current HDD, try using a 2nd HDD with a freshly installed OS (if you have a 2nd HDD, that is). I usually simply crack open the case, and disconnect HDD1 and connect HDD2, reinstall OS. Once testing is done, reconnect 2nd OS. You can't rule out faulty HDD or in many many cases, faulty OS due to a zillion reasons.

From all of your symptoms, I am leaning towards psu or OS, but don't rule out the cpu or mobo. I have had a bad cpu causing the clock to randomly go up and down without any reason. This is easily detectable using Prime95 full load, because the cpu is supposed to be running at max, so any frequent drop in clock means something is up. And as for the mobo... Dont get me started.. Anything can happen with mobos.

My mobo is outdated,that I admit,a seperate HDD could be the answer though... god,I hope future PCs can self-diagnose for minor errors like this,the whole trial and error process is a bit frustrating!!

 

[CyberEgg]

Test the CPU with another PSU. Please mention how old the CPU is. I had the same problem with intel pentium 4 which would reach 99 percent usage and make noise. HDD may also be the cause