Cpu usage help i5 3570k

[Garzak]

My cpu usage jumps around a lot when I'm idle and doing things. Most of the time it is at 80%.
I've read many threads on the forums and couldn't find anything.

Before anyone comments on what I should do I'll list what I have done already.

I've scanned for malware.
I've reinstalled windows.
I have messes with svchost.

None of these have done anything.

I noticed the cpu usage after I over clocked my cpu. I reset it and its still at a high cpu usage %.

could my cpu just be old, I've had it 2 years now.

 

[IamTimTech]

In my line of work I find intense CPU usage is most often caused from:
1. Malware - even if it's hard to find
2. Pending Windows updates - I find these eat up the most CPU cycles and can bring systems to a crawl, especially if it is pending many updates.
3. Norton or McAfee - Antivirus Suites tend to have a bunch of running services that eat up resources, the mentioned ones the most. I like to have only an antivirus and my firewall turned off all together.

The age of the CPU has nothing to do with the CPU usage percentage, however; the age of your current operating system installation may have a lot to do with it. If your system was built and loaded with windows a few years ago it may be getting bogged down, as this happens over time. My money is on malware. Go into task manager and see which processes are using the most memory and the most cpu cycles and report back and let us know.

 

[Garzak]

In my line of work I find intense CPU usage is most often caused from:
1. Malware - even if it's hard to find
2. Pending Windows updates - I find these eat up the most CPU cycles and can bring systems to a crawl, especially if it is pending many updates.
3. Norton or McAfee - Antivirus Suites tend to have a bunch of running services that eat up resources, the mentioned ones the most. I like to have only an antivirus and my firewall turned off all together.

The age of the CPU has nothing to do with the CPU usage percentage, however; the age of your current operating system installation may have a lot to do with it. If your system was built and loaded with windows a few years ago it may be getting bogged down, as this happens over time. My money is on malware. Go into task manager and see which processes are using the most memory and the most cpu cycles and report back and let us know.

I reinstalled windows less than a month ago after i saw that my cpu usage was high so it can't be that.

 

[IamTimTech]

You are right, it won't most likely be that. Considering you just re-installed windows make sure you aren't pending any important updates and that it isn't stuck or failing to install any updates. Unless you are really bad at computers I can't imagine that you got your PC infested with malware that fast in just a couple months (though it is very possible) so my guess is updates.

Like I said, check to see exactly which processes are using the most CPU and then let us know. That right there is exactly your answer. Also:

How old is your hard drive? You should test it with crystal mark or Western Digital Diagnostic tool, a bad hard drive can lead to high cpu usage.

What is your antivirus, and what programs do you supplement it with? I have JRT, Malwarebytes and Hitman Pro as my supplemental programs to my antivirus which is Vipre by cleverbridge.

What's your operating system? Vista, 7, 8.1? Is it legit and activated?

 

[Garzak]

svchost sometimes jumps up there but I'm not sure what to do about it i've followed tutorials and everything I could find and nothing helped. Other than that things like Steam and -Ts3 take up only like 7-10% of the cpu at most

 

[Garzak]

My hard drive is about 2 years old. I have windows 7 and it's legit and activated. I have avast and malwarebytes not a big fan of avast but it does the job.

 

[IamTimTech]

svchost is just a process that lumps multiple application commands and requests together to optimize resource usage, it is completely normal for it to bounce around. It is also normal for your CPU usage to spike when doing things like steam. How do you feel your PC is performing? I ask because if you feel like your PC is working just fine and you've only noticed the CPU usage because you were overclocking then there may be no problem at all. Windows and other applications are starting to use more resources and your 3570K may just be working harder to keep up.

 

[Garzak]

Whenever I open chrome my cpu usage goes up to 100% and stays there for a minute then comes down to 30% If I use steam it goes up to 50% and it comes down to 30%. My computer feels slow and its bugging me I can't find anything that will help.

 

[IamTimTech]

Test your hard drive.

 

[Garzak]

Said everything was fine. Unless you send me a link to something i should use.

 

[IamTimTech]

Are you still experiencing a problem?