CPU usage Very high in games

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jamesa82

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Nov 17, 2014
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Hi everyone recently i noticed that in games my cpu usage was really high across all cores.
I tested it in witcher 3, rome total war 2 and attila total war. The first 2 games (witcher and rome) had cpu usage up to 100% on all cores and attila had them all in the 90's.
The performance has not been affected though and all the games play very well with smooth fps near maxed out but this really high cpu usage does lead to high temps (the highest being 76 degrees (witcher 3) i plan on upgrading my cooler form an corsair h60 to h80i but that still doesn't explain the really high cpu usage.
Is it something to worry about and if so what could i do to fix it ?
I have a gtx 970 evga ftw and an i5 4670k (which came pre oc to 4.3 ghz)
thanks for any help you can give I'm pretty worried about this and i really don't want to have to buy a new cpu over it,
 
Solution
coozie7
I get the same high CPU use in most of my demanding games ( with an i5 4690K which is the same CPU with better cooling compound between the CPU chip and the metal top that covers it) so I really wouldn't worry.

It's a little short on airflow, you don't mention what graphics card is installed but most of us have cards with dual or triple fan coolers that dump all, or most of their heat into the case, so that's probably not helping.
Suggestion: Put two really good high flow fans in the front, blowing IN and a high flow fan in the front roof location blowing OUT, don't put it directly over the CPU cooler rad, it'll rob the cooler fan of airflow.
Unless you like plenty of noise: Noctua, Noiseblocker, Sythe, Phanteks and Be Quiet! make...
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coozie7

coozie7

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Good, it shows little or no restrictions in performance, in short, it is supposed to do that.
The CPU temperatures are a little high for a watercooled part, though, either you live somewhere hot or the case may benefit from extra fans, what case is the system installed in, what fans are installed, and where?
 
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sizzling

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What fps are you getting? Have you dropped the graphics settings to get fps over 100? Witcher 3 is very CPU heavy so that's no surprise, less sure of the others though. If game play is not affected then its not a problem. Are all gpu & motherboard drivers up to date and what is your CPU usage when just on windows desktop?
 
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jamesa82

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I have vsync enabled for my games so fps usually at 60 with occasional drop downs to low/mid 50's in more demanding areas.
How do i check if my motherboard driver is up to date also if i do update it will it affect my overclock (my gpu driver is up to date)
the case i have is an Xigmatek Midgard II and too be honest airflow seems to suck, gpu temps were hitting 79 degrees in witcher 3 until i used a custom fan profile to bring it down to 69/70 degrees.
 
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jamesa82

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Thanks for the quick reply
you say it's a good thing but from looking around the web many people don't have cpu usage this high with the same cpu in games. Surely this means there something wrong with mine?
i live in uk so hot weather not much of an issue but the case fans are non existent and i do plan on adding some. i have the standard fan at the front of my case and the cpu's exhaust fan and that's all. What cpu fans would you recommend, how many, where should i put them and what direction should they be blowing the air (sorry for all the questions i have very little experience with fans)
the case is a Xigmatek Midgard II
 
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jamesa82

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right now with just chrome cpu usage at around 1%
and thanks for the tip on updating motherboard i'll do that now
 
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coozie7

coozie7

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I get the same high CPU use in most of my demanding games ( with an i5 4690K which is the same CPU with better cooling compound between the CPU chip and the metal top that covers it) so I really wouldn't worry.

It's a little short on airflow, you don't mention what graphics card is installed but most of us have cards with dual or triple fan coolers that dump all, or most of their heat into the case, so that's probably not helping.
Suggestion: Put two really good high flow fans in the front, blowing IN and a high flow fan in the front roof location blowing OUT, don't put it directly over the CPU cooler rad, it'll rob the cooler fan of airflow.
Unless you like plenty of noise: Noctua, Noiseblocker, Sythe, Phanteks and Be Quiet! make some of the best around.
Control the two front fans by running them off a single motherboard header by using a cable 'Y' splitter and the top fan off a second motherboard header, their speeds can be controlled through the BIOS.
The splitters look like this: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=fan+cable+splitter&view=detailv2&&id=F15360D48F4B4CA247EF427BD88C3FC1BCC707D8&selectedIndex=1&ccid=vQac2WS7&simid=608012669764700746&thid=OIP.Mbd069cd964bbd369ead0993fd00a079co0&ajaxhist=0
Most computer stores will carry them as do Maplins.
 
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jamesa82

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Nov 17, 2014
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thanks for all your help
i don't have a great deal of experience when it comes too cooling but thankfully i have a few friends who are petty knowledgeable in this area and i'll pass on your recommendations.
 
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