What I think is a problem with my CPU ...

[Mcreezy]

Ok, To start I will admit I don't know a lot or how to get to certain things on my computer.

So I play games a bunch, much as I can. For the most part games run really well on my computer.

When I play games they usually start out really well. But sometimes I get a crash and the game will freeze.

What I noticed with this is in the task manager when my CPU hits 50 for whatever game I am playing that is when it will freeze.

Now I am assuming 50 is only 50% of my CPU which has me confused ... shouldn't it be able to go past half way? and if so how do I get that to happen?

Comp specs are


OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name ERNY
System Manufacturer MSI
System Model MS-7309
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 107 Stepping 2 AuthenticAMD ~3114 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date American Megatrends Inc. V9.2, 9/5/2008
SMBIOS Version 2.5
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
User Name ERNY\Mike
Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Total Physical Memory 2,048.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 1.15 GB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 3.60 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys


I also ran CPU-Z to get more info on my cpu maybe it will help with the solution.

Name- AMD Athlon 64 x2 6000+
Code Name- Brisbane
Brand ID- 4
Technology 65 nm
Core voltage 1.392v
Core Speed 3114.5 MHz
Multiplier X 15.5
Bus speed 200.9 MHz
HT Link 1004.7

DDR2 Dual channel
Size 2048 Mbytes
Frequency 389.3 MHz



For the most part my computer runs good. Until it hits that 50 CPU mark

It is a few years old so if its running like it should and I should just completely upgrade I can understand that.

Thanks for any help you guys can offer

- Mike

 

[das_stig]

More than likely a heat issue, have you cleaned out the fans/heatsinks of the cpu, video and case and replaced the thermal material, after cleaning off the old gunk.

Also if your PSU is as old as the PC, have you checked if it is suppling enough juice for when you start gaming, as the wattage requirements will go up.

 

[Mcreezy]

I've cleaned it out but haven't replaced the thermal material.

Also no I haven't checked to see if its supplying enough juice. How would I do that?

 

[Mcreezy]

Also is that correct then? that it should only be at 50 max on a game?

 

[majorgibly]

Also is that correct then? that it should only be at 50 max on a game?

That depends on the game to be honest.

 

[$hawn]

What I noticed with this is in the task manager when my CPU hits 50 for whatever game I am playing that is when it will freeze.

Now I am assuming 50 is only 50% of my CPU which has me confused ... shouldn't it be able to go past half way? and if so how do I get that to happen?

Well i don't know why ur cpu freezes, but 50% usage means that your running an application that makes use of only one core, while u have 2. 1core/2cores=50% simple
On my friend's quad core, when only a single core is being used, and its maxed out,it shows only 25% usage (1/4) .

however,its also possible that both ur cores are running at half usage, ie 25%+25%, but thats highly unprobable if its shows almost constant 50% usage...

 

[Mcreezy]

Ok, so is it possible to open both cores for a single app or is it ment to have only one core running per app for multitasking purposes? (sorry about te limited computer knowledge and I appreciate you all explaining this to me)

 

[$hawn]

Ok, so is it possible to open both cores for a single app or is it ment to have only one core running per app for multitasking purposes? (sorry about te limited computer knowledge and I appreciate you all explaining this to me)

You can't "open" cores as such....it all depends on how the software was written If its single threaded, it doesn't matter if u have 2 cores or 32 cores, both will perform the same!!!
Multi-threaded software on the otherhand will certainly benefit by some amount