CPU started maxing out today

mike2480 · Jul 8, 2015

Hello all,

I'm having a problem with my CPU that just began yesterday morning and I can't for the life of me figure out why, or how to fix it. I'll start out with my specs.

Intel i5-4590 3.3 Ghz
MSI Z97 SLI-Krait Edition
MSI GTX 970 4G
8Gb Ram
Windows 7 Professional

My problem is that whenever I enter a game (GTA V or Cities Skylines) my CPU almost immediately jumps to 100% usage. What's weird to me is that this hasn't always been the case; until yesterday my normal CPU values for those games was between 60-75%, maybe a little higher at times, but certainly not >95%. I've closely monitored temperatures, and as far as I know, they remain normal (around 45C) when I hit the 100% mark, so it's not a cooling issue. I didn't change any settings, or install any software that should cause the CPU to change like this. All of my software/drivers are up to date as well.

If anyone has any suggestions or possible fixes please let me know. I'll also do what I can to provide further information if necessary.

Thanks,

Mike

IntelTurtleFan · Jul 8, 2015

I do not see a issue with it hitting 100%. It normally will hit that in games especially a CPU intense game like GTA5. Check in the BIOS to see if all the cores are enabled and is the CPU reaching its clock?

mike2480 · Jul 8, 2015

Right, but this didn't start happening until yesterday. Before that I was at 75% usage. Now that it's at 100% my games are lagging terribly, which they didn't when I was at 75%.

IntelTurtleFan · Jul 8, 2015

What about the enabled cores? And does the clock fully reach 3.3?

mike2480 · Jul 8, 2015

All the cores are enabled. I am unsure about it reaching the full 3.3, I will have to check that later.
What could have changed though from 2 days ago to today? If I didn't change any settings, everything is updated, and now I'm at 100%.
Is there some round-about configuration that is known for altering CPU usage that I'm unaware of?

Thank you for your quick responses.

IntelTurtleFan · Jul 8, 2015

Not really. I just cannot explain the sudden change without something happening. You should also check Windows Updates and uninstall any that have been installed since when you started having issues. Check in taskmanager for unwanted processes also.

mike2480 · Jul 8, 2015

I'll be sure to check Windows updates to see if anything happened without me noticing. I was watching tack manager and nothing seemed out of place. All of my processes before opening a game seemed normal with the CPU being <5%. Then when I open a game all processes go to <1% and the game goes to 99-100%. It only happens to games too. Opening up chrome tabs, watching youtube videos, etc, run the processor as they normally would, it's only games that cause problems.

IntelTurtleFan · Jul 8, 2015

I did a bit more searching and found this:https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/805355/pc-components/how-to-know-your-cpu-is-too-weak-for-certain-games-/
Seems like a similar issue. I think it is different however but you should check it out.

Also: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/351260-yet-another-gta-v-thread-high-cpu-usage-help/

mike2480 · Jul 8, 2015

Thank you, I'll read those in a bit. I'll try a few things out when I get home and report back.

Thank you for you help so far.

mike2480 · Jul 8, 2015

You asked earlier if my cores were reaching the full 3.3 Ghz. I'm not sure if this is was exactly what you meant, but when checking with CPUID HWMonitor, my clocks (Core #0-#3) all have a value of 2000Mhz with a minimum of 800Mhz and a maximum of 2000Mhz.

IntelTurtleFan · Jul 8, 2015

It is not reaching the full clock if it maxes at 2000. Can you take a screen shot of the HW monitor? Run the game for a few min with it open so I can see a max and min better.

mike2480 · Jul 8, 2015

Here's the screenshot:

http://imgur.com/knZqjmC

I didn't realize it capped both monitors, so there are the readings from CPUID as well.

IntelTurtleFan · Jul 8, 2015

Try resetting the bios back to default and clear the CMOS. It should fix it.

mike2480 · Jul 8, 2015

Will do. For further reference, when it says the the max value is 2000Mhz, it should say something like the max is 3300Mhz, is that right? So it's telling me that I'm only getting 2000/2000 when it should be out of 3300, right (but it's not going to 3300 for some reason), right?

IntelTurtleFan · Jul 8, 2015

Exactly yes.

mike2480 · Jul 8, 2015

I reset the Bios and cleared the cmos. According to HW Monitor I'm still at a max of 2000 Mhz.

i7Baby · Jul 8, 2015

Download HWInfo and run Sensors. Game for 20mins. Post the Sensors results - usually 3 screenshots in Gyazo or similar. To see voltages, clocks, temps etc.

mike2480 · Jul 8, 2015

Downloaded it, gamed for 20 minutes, and uploaded the results. I put it all into one picture, the entire results list is broken up into three columns, should be easy to see how I did it.

http://i.imgur.com/yF9v4vo.png

Thanks

i7Baby · Jul 8, 2015

Yep - gtx 970 running OK. PSU voltages OK. CPU at 2000MHz and only 0.869V

Seeing as how you did a bios reset, I'd say your VRM isn't working properly - RMA your motherboard.

mike2480 · Jul 8, 2015

A few questions first.

Is the problem the 0.869V for the CPU?

If so, what should it be?

Is this usually a motherboard issue?

What would cause it to work for the past few months and then quit working all of a sudden?

Why would it only cause the CPU to malfunction, if it's a VRM issue, wouldn't it bother the other hardware too?

I've read online about manually changing voltages to various components, would that work to fix this?

IntelTurtleFan · Jul 8, 2015

First contact your mobo manufacture and see what they can do. MSI is not known for the greatest quality parts. But maybe they can do something for you.

i7Baby · Jul 8, 2015

Is the problem the 0.869V for the CPU? Yes

If so, what should it be? 0.9V at idle and 1.2V gaming.

Is this usually a motherboard issue? Usually someone has tried OCing the CPU. But resetting bios gets rid of the problem.

What would cause it to work for the past few months and then quit working all of a sudden? Age, fatigue, high temps.

Why would it only cause the CPU to malfunction, if it's a VRM issue, wouldn't it bother the other hardware too? Could be the CPU itself. But very very rare.
Check for bent CPU socket pins too.

I've read online about manually changing voltages to various components, would that work to fix this? You can try.

madchemist83 · Jul 8, 2015

Yeah vcore min at 0.112 V = something is wrong, it's freaking out. Can you provide pics from your bios ?

mike2480 · Jul 8, 2015

Obviously, the last thing I want to do is go through the process of getting a new motherboard. It's entirely possible that I got a bad board and it took this long to discover that. However, I find it hard to believe that it would work for months on little stress (heat, usage) and then crap out like this.

I realize it's inefficient, but other people have disabled SpeedStep, is that a possible, yet inefficient solution?

I'm at a loss for possible fixes without replacing the motherboard, but I also want to understand the issue further. Any further explanation you can provide would be appreciated.

IntelTurtleFan · Jul 8, 2015

A good mobo that is better than yours for 95 dollars is the Gigabyte Z97 Gaming 5 if you do update. But do check inside of the BIOS to see if it shows the same voltages and frequency.

CPU started maxing out today

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