Question CPU Usage goes up to 90% when gaming ?

[SteveBeast]

Hey Guys, heres my System

i7 10700k 5 GhZ (Kraken X63)
RTX 4070
32 GB RAM
Win 11 Home
1440p Monitor and 1080p Monitor

It started when I was playing Crusdader Kings 3 and I had a lot of lagging when zooming in and out.
I decided to reinstall Windows 11 clean. I did that, installed all the Drivers (ChipDrivers, GPU Driver) etc. and installed Cyberpunk and Starfield.
I set everything on Ultra and played.

When playing Starfield I got like 80 FPS no Vsync and the CPU Temperature is around 50-60 Degrees.
But the CPU Usage is at 80-95 all the time. It has never been that high. I dont know what causes it, I even ran an Intel Diagnostic Test which was fine.

The same is in Cyberpunk. CPU Usage is 80-90 % all the time. Before the reinstall it was never that high.
I'm really out of options and don't know what I could do.
BTW i bought the CPU 2 years ago, and applied the Thermal Paste which comes with the Kraken X63, havent changed it since. But the temperatures were never high so I don't know if I should do it.
What I see though is that the CPU often fluctuates. It sometimes goes up to 60 even in idle.
Id really appreciate if you could help me out.

And yes I updated the BIOS also, and Intel Turbo is on and also 3200 MHZ Turbo for my RAM.
Games are installed on a 2 TB M.2 SSD

 

[rgd1101]

it is still lagging?

 

[SteveBeast]

it is still lagging?

You mean CK3, yeah when zooming in and out. But fast forwarding on Speed 5 seems to be better.
But the CPU Usage is still bad. Would you recommend another Windows Reinstall?

 

[Deleted member 2962262]

How are you monitoring CPU usage - MSI afterburner?

 

[SteveBeast]

You mean CK3, yeah when zooming in and out. But fast forwarding on Speed 5 seems to be better.
But the CPU Usage is still bad.

How are you monitoring CPU usage - MSI afterburner?

With the Task Manager. But I also have MSI Afterburner.

 

[Deleted member 2962262]

What application(s) / processes does task manager list as taking up most (>50%) of the usage?

 

[SteveBeast]

What application(s) / processes does task manager list as taking up most (>50%) of the usage?

Only the games.

 

[uWebb429]

With the Task Manager.

The Performance tab of the Task Manager shows CPU Utilization. This is not the same as CPU Usage. On Intel CPUs that use a high percentage of turbo boost, the CPU Utilization data will be significantly inflated compared to actual CPU usage. Most people are not aware of this bug. Here is an example on a 10850K where a 50% load gets shown as 72% utilization in the Task Manager.

The base multiplier for this CPU is 36. When using a 52 multiplier, the load percent is multiplied by (52/36) which is a 44.4% increase. Everyone assumes that the Task Manager is showing load but that is not what is being graphed.

Try running ThrottleStop 9.6
https://www.techpowerup.com/download/techpowerup-throttlestop/

The C0% that it tracks is a much more accurate indication of CPU usage. Check the Log File box and go play a game for 15 minutes. When finished testing, exit the game and then exit ThrottleStop so it can finalize your log file. This file will be in your ThrottleStop / Logs folder. Open this file and then copy and paste the data to,

www.pastebin.com

Post some images of ThrottleStop including the main window, the FIVR and TPL windows. For hosting images try using,

www.imgur.com

What does ThrottleStop show for average C0% when your computer is idle? Too many background tasks might be part of your problem.

Low idle C0% results in smoother game play.

For best game results, disable Windows 11 core isolation memory integrity and any other VBS related features.

https://beebom.com/how-disable-virtualization-based-security-vbs-windows-11/

 

[kerberos_20]

but starfield and cyberpunk both should have high cpu utilisation
any other games where you see high cpu utilisation?

 

[SteveBeast]

The Performance tab of the Task Manager shows CPU Utilization. This is not the same as CPU Usage. On Intel CPUs that use a high percentage of turbo boost, the CPU Utilization data will be significantly inflated compared to actual CPU usage. Most people are not aware of this bug. Here is an example on a 10850K where a 50% load gets shown as 72% utilization in the Task Manager.

The base multiplier for this CPU is 36. When using a 52 multiplier, the load percent is multiplied by (52/36) which is a 44.4% increase. Everyone assumes that the Task Manager is showing load but that is not what is being graphed.

Try running ThrottleStop 9.6
https://www.techpowerup.com/download/techpowerup-throttlestop/

The C0% that it tracks is a much more accurate indication of CPU usage. Check the Log File box and go play a game for 15 minutes. When finished testing, exit the game and then exit ThrottleStop so it can finalize your log file. This file will be in your ThrottleStop / Logs folder. Open this file and then copy and paste the data to,

www.pastebin.com

Post some images of ThrottleStop including the main window, the FIVR and TPL windows. For hosting images try using,

www.imgur.com

What does ThrottleStop show for average C0% when your computer is idle? Too many background tasks might be part of your problem.

Low idle C0% results in smoother game play.

For best game results, disable Windows 11 core isolation memory integrity and any other VBS related features.

https://beebom.com/how-disable-virtualization-based-security-vbs-windows-11/

Ok thank you. So heres my Log when gaming (Starfield Ultra Settings): Also what I noticed is that the Games launching takes longer. For example Starfield need 1 minute to launch. And all Games are on a M2 SSD which is fine. And on average CO% with playing Cyberpunk 2077 is around 75-85% which is way too high when Im watching what other Players a getting with the same system (Youtube). And I also get way less fps than them. And here you can see this guy:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbM4yw7yXec&t=343s
He has an average of 30% CPU Utilization while im around 60-70%. And he has the same System

Log - Pastebin.com

Pastebin.com is the number one paste tool since 2002. Pastebin is a website where you can store text online for a set period of time.

pastebin.com

And heres the pictures:

https://imgur.com/a/ddiiJxL

View: https://imgur.com/a/ddiiJxL

And my answer to kerberos_20:
yeah but Ive played Cyberpunk with that CPU before, and it never went over 50 % (monitored with MSI Afterburner), but now its 80-90 Percent and I can feel the Lag when playing.
And Starfield is around 90-95 and theres occasional stutters.
I also tried Age of Empires 4 and there the CPU Utilization seems to be fine, but I havent fought any big battles yet

 

[kerberos_20]

He has an average of 30% CPU Utilization while im around 60-70%. And he has the same System

but enemy levels are 2...so he hasnt even started playin
maybe you have too many outposts?

as far as cyberpunk goes...isnt recommended CPU now 12700k for high details and 12900k for ultra?

 

[uWebb429]

@SteveBeast

ThrottleStop shows that your idle computer is not very idle. Open the Task Manager and go to the Details tab to find out what is running in the background on your computer. Look at the screenshot I posted. Most cores and threads are averaging only 0.1% of their time in the C0 state when idle.

Did you disable core isolation memory integrity or any of the other Windows 11 VBS safety features that are not necessary for a gaming computer? High CPU usage is being caused by junk running in the background on your computer that does not need to be running all of the time.

 

[SteveBeast]

@SteveBeast

ThrottleStop shows that your idle computer is not very idle. Open the Task Manager and go to the Details tab to find out what is running in the background on your computer. Look at the screenshot I posted. Most cores and threads are averaging only 0.1% of their time in the C0 state when idle.

Did you disable core isolation memory integrity or any of the other Windows 11 VBS safety features that are not necessary for a gaming computer? High CPU usage is being caused by junk running in the background on your computer that does not need to be running all of the time.

Ok so in the Task Manager it says 99 CPU System Idle Process. All the other processes are 00.
I looked up the Isolation Memory Integrity, but it says it can be dangerous to disable it, because it could be an open door for malware. So im not sure if I really should disable it? Are you certain it will be safe?
And what about my game temps and the Usage when I was playing Starfield?

 

[SteveBeast]

Heres the photos uWebb

https://imgur.com/a/MZmj8Uk

View: https://imgur.com/a/MZmj8Uk

 

[uWebb429]

Your C states data shows the CPU cores averaging approximately 75% of the time in C7. So three quarters in C7 and one quarter not in C7. One quarter not in C7 means that at any point in time, one quarter of your 8 cores (2 cores) are actively doing something when they should be idle.

Open the Task Manager, use the Details tab and try to find out what is running on your computer. Temporarily disable anything that might be causing this problem.

in the Task Manager it says 99 CPU System Idle Process

The CPU cannot be idle 99% of the time while only spending 75% of its time in C7. Try using Process Explorer from Sysinternals. Perhaps it can help you find what is running in the background on your computer.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

An idle computer can have the cores averaging up to 99% of their time in C7. If you are nowhere near that, there must be something running in the background on your computer.

I would not use ThrottleStop to adjust the turbo ratios unless you are willing to disable core isolation memory integrity. If you do not want to do that, try setting all cores in the BIOS to the 50 multiplier.

 

[SteveBeast]

Your C states data shows the CPU cores averaging approximately 75% of the time in C7. So three quarters in C7 and one quarter not in C7. One quarter not in C7 means that at any point in time, one quarter of your 8 cores (2 cores) are actively doing something when they should be idle.

Open the Task Manager, use the Details tab and try to find out what is running on your computer. Temporarily disable anything that might be causing this problem.


The CPU cannot be idle 99% of the time while only spending 75% of its time in C7. Try using Process Explorer from Sysinternals. Perhaps it can help you find what is running in the background on your computer.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

An idle computer can have the cores averaging up to 99% of their time in C7. If you are nowhere near that, there must be something running in the background on your computer.

I would not use ThrottleStop to adjust the turbo ratios unless you are willing to disable core isolation memory integrity. If you do not want to do that, try setting all cores in the BIOS to the 50 multiplier.

Ok I downloaded the Process Explorer, and here are the results:
Maybe you can find something?!

https://imgur.com/a/4NgAXYb

View: https://imgur.com/a/4NgAXYb