CPU 100% and temp increases

Bond007ukBond007uk
edited January 2004 in Hardware
Hello

The temps of my machine keep rising more than they used to and i get cpu 100%. I was running a simple game like Civ3 and i got cpu 100%, infact just running the Autorun for that game after inserting the CD Rom pushed the temp from 38c to 50.5c!! Now i know a game may take up a lot of cpu time but not the autrorun program! I watched it increase using Motherboard monitor.

What concerns me is the noise, if forces my CPU fan to oncrease in speed from 3200rpm to 3600rpm and i don't have a quiet fan so it gets noisey. Despite the 100% cpu time used i could still access the start menu and load other programs without any slowdown.

This happens on quite a few of my games and installed programs mainly Video player software.

I am using Windows XP home SP1 and the bios version of my motherboard is 1010

Any ideas??

For Troubleshooting purposes i have uninstalled my Antivirus.

I Think the problem i have is a little more serious. I Have just removed imesh and did i litte bit of a tidy up, now when i run Civ3 the game no longer takes up 100% CPU and the temp stays at 39c while in game. When i run the Autorun from the cd the cpu devotes 100% to this simple program and the temp goes up to as high as 48c to 51c!! It stays there at that level doesn't go down!

What the hell is going on! How can a program like Autorun that is effectivly idle take up 100%??

Is it my BIOS, can i downgrade it? Is it a windows update? A Virus? A Hardware fault?

Comments

  • kanezfankanezfan sunny south florida Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    are you running some kind of distributed computing app, like folding@home? otherwise, it sounds like maybe you have some spyware using up your cpu cycles. install and run ad-aware and spybot search and destroy to check. also try installing avg antivirus, it will find viruses that norton wont.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    spyware.

    trojans.
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited January 2004
    I think the HS isnt seated properly. I had this once. IT was in the high 30s at idle but shot up in the 50s when it was load. Make sure the HS is seated correctly.
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited January 2004
    its possible that mmomnin is right, but ima have to agree with prime on this one. i recently fixed up a friends computer that was "running slow." what was really happening was a piece of spyware was eating up 100% of the cpu time.

    download Ad-Aware or SpyBot Search & Destroy, let it run and delete all the spyware it finds. if that doesn't fix it, try a full AV scan (after updating definitions of course) to see if you can't uncover a trojan or 2. my last idea on this track would be to check out the startup tab in msconfig and check to see what EVERY startup item really is (usually you can just google it). i haven't quite decided yet whether or not things with blank names should stay or go, but if you find something thats labeled as spyware online, TURN IT OFF. then run adaware again
  • Bond007ukBond007uk
    edited January 2004
    Last time i ran adaware (professional) it only found a few cookies and some regkeys no spyware was discovered. I Used Imesh-Lite, which onlike the proper imesh has no spyware (or so they tell me!)

    However i will download that AVG Antivrus as suggested and update on the result.

    Thanks

    MATT (United Kingdom)
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Well, look at what happens as far as base CPU load, in MBM 5. The autorun is loading a bunch of graphics, and the graphics are causing the CPU load-- they have to be processed before they show on screen. So, if it runs at 85% before the autorun starts loading the game graphics part and then it shoots to 100% that is somehting that a very intense game with drivers that ahre a bunch of graphics prework to the CPU can cause just that way. The fact that you can pull things and not have this happen makes me think this is video card effectiveness and possibly also drivers. BUT, spyware and trojans can load things up, and internet access can also, so do that also. Also check and see what HS compund you are using and see what the newer ones do as far as cooling versu that.

    I will tell you that when under 85-90% load my CPU temps are about 8 C less than when the the CPU is under full load for a long time-- it runs at about 15 C above case temps under full load (47-49 C). And this is a Barton CPU with Ceramique and an SLK-900A fan. My P4 hovers stable at 48-50 C under full load, STOCK Intel HS on that, with Ceramique. The 1-2 degree diff between yours and mine could be in fact that you are not getting perfect to real temps shown, but would check your HS compound as your rise is sharper than mine by 4-5 C from lower load to high load. And one reason to run a secure box is to eliminate extra unwanted CPU load as well as O\S corruption by malware, so do that AV thing also.

    John.
  • GobblesGobbles Ventura California
    edited January 2004
    did this just start happening? is this a new game?

    I have several directx titles and they always runn at 100% cpu.. Ive got no spyware, no virus' its just the game as Ill load an opengl game and run at 40% cpu usage...


    Gobbles
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    what does the task manager say is using the the cpu the most?

    (press ctrl+alt+del, and select the task manager)
  • Bond007ukBond007uk
    edited January 2004
    Have installed AVG and Spybot S&D, ran scans using both, no viruses or trojans detected and only a few regkeys found with S&D.

    So any reason why Civ3 would run 100% in single player when imesh-lite was installed and then only use 4-to 6% when it was removed?

    Another question: I had a Very silent PSU installed (quietpc.com) and it had become faulty it was getting very warm, you could feel the warmth by touching the top of the case. It had two fans one underneth to suck air out of the case. The one i have in at the moment does not. I need the broken one replaced will it make a big difference with temps?
  • ginipigginipig OH, NOES
    edited January 2004
    Did you have imesh-'lite' running all the time? Either the author of the supposedly 'lite' version left memory leaks/bugs in, or he's doing something malicious in nature.

    You may also have to consider getting a decent software-firewall prog.. or you could learn some basic unix, and build a hardware one out of a 486 DX4 100 p.o.s.

    Most PSUs produce a lot of heat. If I were you, I'd replace that psu lickety split.. never neglect the psu. It may not give u more cpu cycles or bandwidth, but it's the glue that holds everything together. If you're not willing to fork out the dough, you could always unscrew the psus back panel, and replace the fan with one under the same specs.
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited January 2004
    Bond007uk wrote:

    Another question: I had a Very silent PSU installed (quietpc.com) and it had become faulty it was getting very warm, you could feel the warmth by touching the top of the case. It had two fans one underneth to suck air out of the case. The one i have in at the moment does not. I need the broken one replaced will it make a big difference with temps?

    Well, look at the specs for the PSU that broke, on sticker and on the web site-- compare to PSU you stuck in for now to do that broken PSU's job. A PSU that is gradually overheating more and more is possibly being overloaded on one or two power legs, has a bad fan (lots of PSUs have thermal protection in them these days, so the fan replacement was a good idea as a tryout thing), and probably if it has thermal-cutout often needs to be looked at by mfr. If you CAN RMA the old one, even knowing why it failed will help you decide if you even want the same PSU again.

    The noisy part of the PSU is usually fans, BTW, unless you are REALLY stressing the heck out of it in which case transformers can hum. If you get a high-pitched whistly noise out of it, that is fan bearings going lots of times. A stethescope can help localize what is making noise (this is why a NAISE cert Auto engineer or a heavy computer tech probably carries one in toolkit somewhere, it magnifies noise local to its pickup as would a sensitive decibel meter with a directional pickup which can also be used to isolate things), but if the broken PSU is dead it has blown a fuse and probably is junked unless you can RMA the thing and get a new one(rarely do the input fuses blow unless something is radically wrong inside PSU).

    John.
  • Bond007ukBond007uk
    edited January 2004
    The 'Quiet' PSU i had was no cheap thing it cost me £106 (about $176 for you Americans) It was also 400W i have 1HDD 1FDD 2 CDROMS (One DVD one CD Writer) a network card and sound card. Not overloading one bit.
  • Bond007ukBond007uk
    edited January 2004
    For some reason removing imesh-lite as calmed down the fan under load which is loads better.
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited January 2004
    imesh is an ad-ware ridden piece of trash
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