CPU usage goes down to 0%

[Firre]

Hello!

I have a problem with my CPU.. It's an Intel Core 2 Duo and it is a couple of years old.

The problem is that all of sudden the CPU usage goes down to 0% and everything just stands still... then after 30-60 seconds (sometimes more) it goes back up to where it was before. Sometimes when the computer is being idle it just reboots for no reason.

These spikes happens usually while I'm playing a game.

I tried to reinstall windows 7 but no luck. I have no clue what might cause this, so pls help me

Thanks in advance,

Roger

 

[unknown_13]

I'd check the PSU for that sudden reboot when gaming. What PSU do you have? And post ur PC specs.

 

[Firre]

Thanks for the reply!

My specs are:

Intel Core 2 (I was wrong earlier...) 6300 @ 1.86 GHz
2GB RAM
GeForce 6800GT
ASRock 775Dual-VSTA motherboard
Windows 7 32-Bit

the PSU is an ACE 620W

 

[13thmonkey]

can you run speedfan and check temps whilst it is running?

 

[Firre]

Ok downloaded speedfan and as a first-time user I dont know exactly what data u want but I'll hope this is it

Fan1: 2722 RPM
Fan2: 2312 RPM

GPU: 61C
Temp1: 35C
Temp2: 39C
Core 0: 45C
Core 1: 45C

This isn't while playing, this is while downloading WoW (again...) and browsing the web!

 

[blackhawk1928]

I really am no expert in this area but maybe your computer reboots from a PSU overload or fault? Has it worked fine before this occurrence? Maybe its has just gone bad, since an OS reinstall didn't help it's most likely a hardware problem.

 

[jerreece]

Those "idle" temps look reasonable. The key would be to see temps while you play games. Just to make sure we're not getting way to hot during load conditions. Based on your idle temps though, I don't see you hitting 70+ but I could be wrong.

Never heard of ACE PSUs. However, a quick Google search suggests it's a very cheap and generic power supply. All the websites for it are either UK or Sweden websites. Saw the ACE 620W listed for £17.99 + Free Delivery @ Play.com which is down right SCARY!

I'm thinking you probably want a new PSU regardless of whether that's the problem or not (and it may very well be).

 

[enzo matrix]

Easier: Download HWmonitor. run the game. play for a bit. exit the game. then read us out the "max" temps reached.

 

[Firre]

I'm downloading wow now so I won't be able to see how high the GPU temp will go so I'll have to report back tomorrow after some testing!

The PSU I got from a friend (and it was more or less brand new) so I have no idea what it cost. But I think ACE is a swedish company and might be a bit cheaper than regular PSUs.

What's the difference between these fancy expensive PSUs and the cheaper ones? What will change if I'd be a new PSU?

I will buy a whole new computer once I can afford it and I don't know if I should buy a new PSU or not...

 

[blackhawk1928]

A more expensive CPU won't go down and take your entire computer with it. An expensive CPU will not break, fry, and won't break other components should anything happen to it. PSU isn't something you'd skimp on, your entire PC lies in the hands of the PSU.

 

[unknown_13]

Yep. Never heard of ACE. Don't buy PSU's that aren't from well known manufacturers!!! Never buy those things. I'm 70% sure this is happening 'cause of the cheap PSU. But you also need to check CPU temps. Although i'm almost sure it's the PSU causing the problems.

 

[icraig]

A more expensive CPU won't go down and take your entire computer with it. An expensive CPU will not break, fry, and won't break other components should anything happen to it. PSU isn't something you'd skimp on, your entire PC lies in the hands of the PSU.

I think he means PSU rather than CPU.

I also agree with buying a more well known make, cheap PSUs use cheap capacitors which can cause major problems within systems. Also the branded PSUs are rated at what they say they are rather than the maximum which some cheap ones are.

I personally have an OCZ StealthXtreme 500w PSU, which was £40 here in the UK and these are fairly good. Corsair have some decent ones too.

 

[unknown_13]

Yep, Antec, Corsair, OCZ, CM, even XFX are doing a good job. Don't save money on PSU's people! They are the key component in your system when your beastly CPU and GPU/GPU's run your games and apps, and they require fair amount of stable power to do so. Cheap PSU's (like Delux, ACE), as the post above me says, use cheap parts that cause stability problems on mid-high end systems. Delux and other cheap PSU's are ok if you have pentium 4/celeron/ AMD 64/Sempron (i call these cpu's calculators, very sluggish things), gig of RAM and a crappy gpu.

 

[Firre]

Thanks alot for info guys!

But how strong of a PSU am I supposed to buy?

The computer I will buy in a month or so will be

Intel i5 750
4GB RAM
ATI HD5770
ASUS P7P55-M

500W?

 

[doive1231]

I have that motherboard and recently had problems I believe the with the AGP graphics slot (BSODs). Is your 6800GT AGP or PCI-express?

 

[Firre]

It is AGP

 

[unknown_13]

Thanks alot for info guys!

But how strong of a PSU am I supposed to buy?

The computer I will buy in a month or so will be

Intel i5 750
4GB RAM
ATI HD5770
ASUS P7P55-M

500W?

550W from Antec, Corsair etc. will do it.

 

[Firre]

Baah just got a blue screen and computer rebooted... I was patching WoW and listening to a song on Youtube and writing my previous reply... ;(

 

[unknown_13]

Did u checked CPU temps?

 

[Firre]

Well right now they are on ~46C but right before and after it crashed I don't know, next time it does I will check in bios on reboot!

 

[unknown_13]

Well 46 degrees is not very high temp. If it goes to mid-high 60's, then it ain't good

 

[Guest]

You say you are running AGP 6800gt on a skt 775 board, is it one of those dual agp pcix boards?

What Video driver version are you using?

 

[Firre]

Yeah it's the one with a PCI-E aswell!

I'm running the latest NVidia drivers, downloaded them yesterday from the official page..

In properties of the card it says driver version 8.17.12.5721

 

[icraig]

Hmmmm, could possibly capacitors on the board going bad too? There was a speight of failures on boards from around that time.

Although if you can afford it it'd be no bad thing getting a new PSU now, and if it isn't the cause when you do upgrade you have a decent PSU that will power your new computer well.

In addition its not just the wattage you need to look at, CIT have some 500w PSUs are they're rubbish. You really need to go with a branded make. A good sign how to test a PSUS quality is how heavy it is. The heavier usually means better quality. As unknown says OCZ, Antec, Artic Cooling, Silverstone and Corsair make good ones amongst other. A decent but cheaper alternative are FSP too, who make some of the above PSUs for other companies.

 

[blackhawk1928]

I think he means PSU rather than CPU.

I also agree with buying a more well known make, cheap PSUs use cheap capacitors which can cause major problems within systems. Also the branded PSUs are rated at what they say they are rather than the maximum which some cheap ones are.

I personally have an OCZ StealthXtreme 500w PSU, which was £40 here in the UK and these are fairly good. Corsair have some decent ones too.

Haha, my mistake, I meant PSU.

And OCZ Stealthxstream are actually pretty good. A while ago I decided to try an OCZ PSU, back when I had my old Pentium D 2.8Ghz and was upgrading from my 7600GS to an 8800GTS 640MB which used to be one the best damn cards you get in the high-end range. So I needed a PSU around 450-500watt and picked up an OCZ stealthXstream which was around 2-3 years ago. It hasn't glitched, it runs very quiet, no crashes...etc. That old system still works fine and stable, rocksolid, my grandpa uses it now. Then I decided to trust OCZ more and buy RAM from them for my current system. I bought for $195 6GB triple channel and its been working perfectly for like 6-7 months now with absolutely no issues. The ram is fast and has nice heat spreaders. So I think buying from OCZ is safe, many people for some reason think otherwise but I am starting to like OCZ. However nobody beats seasonic or corsair in PSU's.

Thanks alot for info guys!

But how strong of a PSU am I supposed to buy?

The computer I will buy in a month or so will be

Intel i5 750
4GB RAM
ATI HD5770
ASUS P7P55-M

500W?

For such a build, a Corsair 550watt will work fine, but it isn't giving you to much room for graphics card upgrades like getting a better single GPU or adding another for Crossfire/SLI. I'd get a 650Watt. This way you have plenty of room for Crossfiring even 5850's and other expansion.