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*** CPU Usage ***

ttechf

ttechf

Senior member
Hi, I just bought a new i7 laptop. 2.5Ghz with 3.5Ghz turbo boost.

It seems to run nice and fast but one thing I question is the CPU usage. I mean, this is a quad core with hyper threading unyet a flash game uses 20%-23% CPU usage? For as much as these processors get talked about and how powerful they are and the hype, I would think it would only use like 5% of my processor. Is this normal? I notice it will go up to 40% for no reason as well and then back down to 2% - 10%.

This is my first i7, I've had an i5 before.

Just wondering if this is all normal or if maybe some kind of settings aren't correct.


Thank you! : ]
 
ttechf said:
Hi, I just bought a new i7 laptop. 2.5Ghz with 3.5Ghz turbo boost.

It seems to run nice and fast but one thing I question is the CPU usage. I mean, this is a quad core with hyper threading unyet a flash game uses 20%-23% CPU usage? For as much as these processors get talked about and how powerful they are and the hype, I would think it would only use like 5% of my processor. Is this normal? I notice it will go up to 40% for no reason as well and then back down to 2% - 10%.

This is my first i7, I've had an i5 before.

Just wondering if this is all normal or if maybe some kind of settings aren't correct.


Thank you! : ]
Click to expand...

Depends on the power settings, seeing that it's a laptop. 23% doesn't mean it's weak, it means that it's just dedicating 23% of it's power to the application.
 
Are you sure it's a quad-core? Does Task Manager show 8 cores? If it's a laptop i7, and it doesn't say "Q" at the end, it's a dual-core with HT.
 
It's normal. Taskmanager doesn't really show cpu usage properly. 25% means 1 core is fully loaded. A flash game will probably do that.

Also, you might think there is no reason but there is a lot going on in the background. Occasional cpu activity is normal.
 
Yea, my wife plays some on-line city building flash based game, with a lot of players on-line at the same time, and it used up to 40% of an i5 2320 desktop quad core.
 
Ken g6 said:
Are you sure it's a quad-core? Does Task Manager show 8 cores? If it's a laptop i7, and it doesn't say "Q" at the end, it's a dual-core with HT.
Click to expand...


This is a true quad core. Task manager shows 4 cores. 8 logical processors.
 
The CPU usage percentage does not really correlate to how powerful or fast it is. It is only a reflection of how much activity is going on with the CPU.
 
Could be stuff going on in the background as previously stated. It might be interesting to identify the services using the most CPU cycles. Some of them may be able to be removed, or perhaps replaced with more efficient programs.
 
Well the high use is normal and should do so as long as it's not laggy, the program is just using all the speed it needs.
Guess what on my laptop too some sites use <1% CPU other loads it so much that they reach 50%... every time that happens the fan starts to spin ludicrously for nothing: bad optimized software is a curse really.
Anyway not necessarily x% load corresponds to the same amount of operations, say GFLOPs of computation delivered, or at least not useful ones.
 
It also depends what browser you're using. Shockwave can cause high CPU usage in Chrome.
 
Flash's CPU usage is horrific, even for Utube. Can't even play 720p on some older computers that should easily be able to handle it.
 
To add to things others are saying, another reason for that is because of modern chip throttling. Most new cpus(desktop or laptop) have their ghz fluctuate from 800 to more than 3.5ghz on yours (turbo). Note not only the %, but what ghz its running at. maybe its 10% of 1000mhz it currently throttles to. Its certainly not same as 10% of 3500ghz
 
lyssword said:
To add to things others are saying, another reason for that is because of modern chip throttling. Most new cpus(desktop or laptop) have their ghz fluctuate from 800 to more than 3.5ghz on yours (turbo). Note not only the %, but what ghz its running at. maybe its 10% of 1000mhz it currently throttles to. Its certainly not same as 10% of 3500ghz
Click to expand...


No way to change something like that? Or it is what it is?

Is that way desktop processors are more powerful?
 
of course there is a way to change that, but maybe not recommended for laptop because of bigger battery drain. The thing is, with those "fluctuating/throttling" cpu speeds, u don't lose a lot of actual processing power (maybe 1-2% slower for desktop), but saves a lot of electricity. You can disable that function by searching for "power options" (in control panel or windows search) and set to "high performance", or configure the "balanced " power to use lowest cpu speed at 100%. Go ahead and try it I guess
 
Last edited:
Worrying too much!

I had a system that was idle on three cores, and all loaded up on one -- to between 90 and 100%. Thermally -- all was fine. It drove me nuts for several days.

A latency-checker freeware helped me discover a conflict between drivers. Got that fixed in a hurry!
 
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