High CPU usage with simple applications

[papermouse]

Hello!
I woke up this morning, and I booted up my PC. I ran into some overheating problems regarding my CPU, but that is fixed. For some reason, however, most of my stuff is using way more CPU than it should. Chrome, as an example, goes well high when I do simple stuff as scrolling (30%), and its not just Chrome, even just scrolling on Spotify spikes the CPU usage to about 60%!
Now, of course you might ask, what are your specs, so here is a screenshot of that:http://prntscr.com/l9io8q
Here is a little bit more info about the issue, I have 3 tabs open in Chrome, but it is saying (13). Spotify is the same problem, only got one Spotify open, but it says (4). Here is a picture of what I mean: http://prntscr.com/l9ipd9 The CPU usage is low, because I am not scrolling or doing anything. Thanks!

 

[Darkbreeze]

Those screenshots don't tell us much at all.

Download HWinfo, install it, and run "Sensors only". Take screenshots of ALL the sensors, which will require scrolling down the HWinfo window to capture. Usually, three screenshots to capture all the sensors. Do this both at idle and under load conditions, then post the results here.

*Click here for instructions on how to post images in Tom's hardware forums

 

[papermouse]

Hello darkbreeze! Thanks for the quick reply! I have taken screenshots of the entire program on idle. What would you suggest for the "under load"? Like, high-end game?

 

[jeremyj_83]

Probably have some Windows Updates or virus scans running.

 

[papermouse]

jeremyj_83 - I really doubt it, I have never had a problem like this before, and nothing is out of the ordinary regarding games or anything. I checked for Windows updates earlier, and I installed those, but the problem was before and after that. I dont really think a virus scan would put such small applications to a hold, when I have been running virus scans in the background of my games and barely noticed a difference. But hey - Those were my first thoughts too, sorry I did not mention that!

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'd recommend Prime95 version 26.6, Small FFT option, or Furmark, or Heaven benchmark.

To the other question, maybe not, BUT Windows running and creating Restore images, which it does OFTEN if Restore is left enabled, can often cause things like this. Windows uses a lot of resources to run System restore when it's backing up images so turning it off and creating them manually using something like Acronis true image or Macrium reflect is a much better option. Window restore images don't have a lot of success anyhow in my experience.

Obviously, there are a lot of other possibilities, but I'd probably do that anyhow as it's a good idea and something I do on every system I work on along with showing the system owner how to create periodic backup images manually.

 

[papermouse]

I downloaded Furmark, how long should I run it for before taking screenshots?
I have that disabled, yes. I looked around for a fix and I found that as a possibility, so I did it, but it did not work, sadly.
Manually backups are a good idea - If the person remembers to do them that is.

 

[papermouse]

I booted the program up, and I started taking screenshots 30 seconds in. Here they are.
http://prntscr.com/l9kesj
http://prntscr.com/l9keyf
http://prntscr.com/l9kf4d
http://prntscr.com/l9kfa3
http://prntscr.com/l9kff0

 

[Darkbreeze]

What are your full system specs? CPU, motherboard, memory module part numbers, everything?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Before you do anything else, check to see that you have the MOST recent motherboard bios installed. If not, install it. There are plenty of online tutorials on how to do this if you are not sure. Even if you have previously updated the bios, check again to see if there is a newer version.

I see some temperatures in your screenshots that look to me like something is overheating. VRMs or something. I'm not sure what temp 3, 4 and 5 are, but they are very high, in the Z170-P section of your sensors screenshots.

 

[papermouse]

What are your full system specs? CPU, motherboard, memory module part numbers, everything?

Any program you would advice me to use? Sorry, I dont usually need to find things like these, and I am semi-new to it. I am so sorry to bother.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Just list them.

Use this as a guide for figuring out what you have.

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2299418/obtain-basic-advanced-system-information.html

CPU-Z and GPU-Z are also useful, as well as HWinfo (NOT HWmonitor, Speccy or Open hardware monitor), for helping to identify what hardware is being used as well.

 

[Darkbreeze]

HWmonitor, Open hardware monitor, Realtemp, Speccy, Speedfan, Windows utilities, CPU-Z and most of the bundled motherboard utilities are often not the best choice as they are not always accurate. Some are actually grossly inaccurate, especially with certain chipsets or specific sensors that for whatever reason they tend to not like or work well with. I've found HWinfo or CoreTemp to be the MOST accurate with the broadest range of chipsets and sensors. They are also almost religiously kept up to date.

CoreTemp is great for just CPU thermals including core temps or distance to TJmax on AMD platforms.

HWinfo is great for pretty much EVERYTHING, including CPU thermals, core loads, core temps, package temps, GPU sensors, HDD and SSD sensors, motherboard chipset and VRM sensor, all of it. Always select the "Sensors only" option when running HWinfo.

In cases where it is relevant and you are seeking help, then in order to help you, it's often necessary to SEE what's going on, in the event one of us can pick something out that seems out of place, or other indicators that just can't be communicated via a text only post. In these cases, posting an image of the HWinfo sensors or something else can be extremely helpful. That may not be the case in YOUR thread, but if it is then the information at the following link will show you how to do that:

*How to post images in Tom's hardware forums



Run HWinfo and look at system voltages and other sensor readings.

Monitoring temperatures, core speeds, voltages, clock ratios and other reported sensor data can often help to pick out an issue right off the bat. HWinfo is a good way to get that data and in my experience tends to be more accurate than some of the other utilities available. CPU-Z, GPU-Z and Core Temp all have their uses but HWinfo tends to have it all laid out in a more convenient fashion so you can usually see what one sensor is reporting while looking at another instead of having to flip through various tabs that have specific groupings.

After installation, run the utility and when asked, choose "sensors only". The other window options have some use but in most cases everything you need will be located in the sensors window. If you're taking screenshots to post for troubleshooting, it will most likely require taking three screenshots and scrolling down the sensors window between screenshots in order to capture them all.

It is most helpful if you can take a series of HWinfo screenshots at idle, after a cold boot to the desktop. Open HWinfo and wait for all of the Windows startup processes to complete. Usually about four or five minutes should be plenty. Take screenshots of all the HWinfo sensors.

Next, run something demanding like Prime95 version 26.6 or Heaven benchmark. Take another set of screenshots while either of those is running so we can see what the hardware is doing while under a load.

*Download HWinfo


For temperature monitoring only, I feel Core Temp is the most accurate and also offers a quick visual reference for core speed, load and CPU voltage:

*Download Core Temp

When it comes to temperature issues, especially if this is a build that has been running for a year or more, taking care of the basics first might save everybody involved a lot of time and frustration.

Check the CPU fan heatsink for dust accumulation and blow or clean out as necessary. Avoid using a vacuum if possible as vacuums are known to create static electricity that can, in some cases, zap small components.

Other areas that may benefit from a cleaning include fans, power supply internals, storage and optical drives, the motherboard surfaces and RAM. Keeping the inside of your rig clean is a high priority and should be done on a regular basis using 90 psi or lower compressed air from a compressor or compressed canned air.

Use common sense based on what PSU your compressor is set to. Don't "blast" your motherboard or hardware to pieces. Start from an adequate distance until you can judge what is enough to just get the job done. When using canned air use only short blasts moving from place to place frequently to avoid "frosting" components.

 

[papermouse]

Before you do anything else, check to see that you have the MOST recent motherboard bios installed. If not, install it. There are plenty of online tutorials on how to do this if you are not sure. Even if you have previously updated the bios, check again to see if there is a newer version.

I see some temperatures in your screenshots that look to me like something is overheating. VRMs or something. I'm not sure what temp 3, 4 and 5 are, but they are very high, in the Z170-P section of your sensors screenshots.

I have never updated bios. I will get some help from a friend when he has time. He knows a bit more than me about it.
And yes - I had extremly high temperatures earlier. Just on Chrome it was showing about 100 degrees celcius (On Speccy). But they have droppede ALOT since then I guess.
I will, however, be gone for the next few days, but I will get my bios updated monday/tuesday next week. Do you mind if I check back in on here by then?

 

[papermouse]

HWmonitor, Open hardware monitor, Realtemp, Speccy, Speedfan, Windows utilities, CPU-Z and most of the bundled motherboard utilities are often not the best choice as they are not always accurate. Some are actually grossly inaccurate, especially with certain chipsets or specific sensors that for whatever reason they tend to not like or work well with. I've found HWinfo or CoreTemp to be the MOST accurate with the broadest range of chipsets and sensors. They are also almost religiously kept up to date.

CoreTemp is great for just CPU thermals including core temps or distance to TJmax on AMD platforms.

HWinfo is great for pretty much EVERYTHING, including CPU thermals, core loads, core temps, package temps, GPU sensors, HDD and SSD sensors, motherboard chipset and VRM sensor, all of it. Always select the "Sensors only" option when running HWinfo.

In cases where it is relevant and you are seeking help, then in order to help you, it's often necessary to SEE what's going on, in the event one of us can pick something out that seems out of place, or other indicators that just can't be communicated via a text only post. In these cases, posting an image of the HWinfo sensors or something else can be extremely helpful. That may not be the case in YOUR thread, but if it is then the information at the following link will show you how to do that:

*How to post images in Tom's hardware forums



Run HWinfo and look at system voltages and other sensor readings.

Monitoring temperatures, core speeds, voltages, clock ratios and other reported sensor data can often help to pick out an issue right off the bat. HWinfo is a good way to get that data and in my experience tends to be more accurate than some of the other utilities available. CPU-Z, GPU-Z and Core Temp all have their uses but HWinfo tends to have it all laid out in a more convenient fashion so you can usually see what one sensor is reporting while looking at another instead of having to flip through various tabs that have specific groupings.

After installation, run the utility and when asked, choose "sensors only". The other window options have some use but in most cases everything you need will be located in the sensors window. If you're taking screenshots to post for troubleshooting, it will most likely require taking three screenshots and scrolling down the sensors window between screenshots in order to capture them all.

It is most helpful if you can take a series of HWinfo screenshots at idle, after a cold boot to the desktop. Open HWinfo and wait for all of the Windows startup processes to complete. Usually about four or five minutes should be plenty. Take screenshots of all the HWinfo sensors.

Next, run something demanding like Prime95 version 26.6 or Heaven benchmark. Take another set of screenshots while either of those is running so we can see what the hardware is doing while under a load.

*Download HWinfo


For temperature monitoring only, I feel Core Temp is the most accurate and also offers a quick visual reference for core speed, load and CPU voltage:

*Download Core Temp

When it comes to temperature issues, especially if this is a build that has been running for a year or more, taking care of the basics first might save everybody involved a lot of time and frustration.

Check the CPU fan heatsink for dust accumulation and blow or clean out as necessary. Avoid using a vacuum if possible as vacuums are known to create static electricity that can, in some cases, zap small components.

Other areas that may benefit from a cleaning include fans, power supply internals, storage and optical drives, the motherboard surfaces and RAM. Keeping the inside of your rig clean is a high priority and should be done on a regular basis using 90 psi or lower compressed air from a compressor or compressed canned air.

Use common sense based on what PSU your compressor is set to. Don't "blast" your motherboard or hardware to pieces. Start from an adequate distance until you can judge what is enough to just get the job done. When using canned air use only short blasts moving from place to place frequently to avoid "frosting" components.

Do you mean this?
http://prntscr.com/l9l2fj
I hope I found the right thing

 

[Darkbreeze]

No, that is the system summary. You want to run "Sensors only", like I said, and then take screenshots of ALL sensors, which means scrolling down the HWinfo window and taking several screenshots. Also, it's a lot easier if you post the images IN this thread, rather than having to go look at them elsewhere. I gave you instructions on how to do that. Use tinypic.com or imgur.com to host the images. Image urls must end in an image format like .jpg or .png, etc., or else they won't display here. Wrap them in the image tag.

 

[papermouse]

No, that is the system summary. You want to run "Sensors only", like I said, and then take screenshots of ALL sensors, which means scrolling down the HWinfo window and taking several screenshots. Also, it's a lot easier if you post the images IN this thread, rather than having to go look at them elsewhere. I gave you instructions on how to do that. Use tinypic.com or imgur.com to host the images. Image urls must end in an image format like .jpg or .png, etc., or else they won't display here. Wrap them in the image tag.

Hello again! I think I have found the reason behind the high CPU usage. Not sure what to do about it though. I found a sub-process or whatever you would like to call it under Chrome in taskmanager. Its called "Software Reporter Tool" Which takes ALOT of CPU. The dates also match regarding the beginning of the high CPU usages my Chrome as it was added the 17 th. of october. I will try to do a reinstall of Chrome before I do anything else.

 

[Darkbreeze]

https://www.ghacks.net/2018/01/20/how-to-block-the-chrome-software-reporter-tool-software_reporter_tool-exe/

 

[papermouse]

Thank you. I will keep an eye out to see if anything weird happens again. Thank you so much.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Sure. No problem.