# How high should my CPU Usage be in relation to the Processes my computer is running?



## RayAP19 (May 1, 2011)

I have a Dell Precision M6400 with 16 GB of RAM, running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit. The programs I use most are Firefox and Sony Vegas, which can both use up to about 400,000 KB of memory per window, give or take. I would assume that it's not much for a computer with 16 GB of RAM, but I may be wrong-- my laptop spikes up to 80-100% more often than not, and I feel like it's a miracle when I can get it below 10% at all, not just without any active programs running.

Right now, my highest Process (per the Processes tab within Task Manager) in terms of amount of memory being utilized is Firefox, which is using roughly 400,000 right now. The next highest is Windows Explorer, using 96,000.

Here is a screencap of every single process my computer is currently using:










And here's what my CPU Usage looks like:










Am I wrong to expect my computer to easily to run 4 or 5 programs that use 400,000 KB of memory each? That's why I purchased such a large amount of RAM and an expensive laptop in the first place.

Are there too many Processes running? If so, how can I make sure I'm safely disabling any that aren't necessary?

What should I expect my CPU Usage to be, in the best case scenario, in relation to the amount of memory the processes are using? What can I do to increase the speed and/or efficiency of my laptop?

Thank you.


----------



## Samsung (Nov 14, 2002)

Does it immediately go to 100 when you boot up? I assume 2 8gb sticks so Shut it down and remove 1 stick of ram and test. If that don't fix try other stick. Edit: you may need to place in #1 slot here

Before you start anything up open task manager. Click the Resource Monitor button at bottom in Performance and see if you can tell which is causing. If that don't show it then End process on 1 thing at a time to try

I have 6gb and i'm at 0% with just fox open and I have full Office installed.


----------



## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

I doubt that it's fruitful to try to get a correlation between memory and CPU usage. I could (if I were still a developer) write a one-line program that loops--use 100% of CPU and virtually no memory--or a program that fills memory but does practically nothing. Yes, I'm exaggerating some, but the point is valid. Concentrate on finding the process or service that is running wild.


----------



## fairnooks (Oct 1, 2007)

I'm with Terry, on one system I have 83 processes running, one gig of RAM, Windows 7, one to three percent CPU usage with nothing else going, and while I don't use Firefox but rather Avant, I'll have hundreds of tabs open sometimes, same CPU usage, UNLESS one particular website is causing a conflict somewhere, then I'll get 60 to 100% usage. Closing the offending webpage corrects the problem.


----------



## RayAP19 (May 1, 2011)

Thanks for the advice, guys.

I made some changes recently-- I disabled some unneeded services and used some programs to scan for anything that might potentially slow my computer down. It's helped a little, but the thing is that sometimes, my computer can run multiple instances of programs like Vegas and Firefox at a cool 20% CPU Usage or below. Other times, when I'm doing the exact same thing I'd be doing with sub-20% CPU Usage, the CPU Usage leaps to 80-100% for seemingly no reason. I won't be doing anything differently than normal, and it really has a negative effect on the computer's performance (becomes laggy, programs don't respond, etc.).

Any ideas?


----------



## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

An "obvious" idea is that an anti-virus or similar application may be doing a scan. If this is something that happens for only a few seconds at a time it may be the OS doing some unknown-to-us task. If it lasts a considerable time try to find the process(s) using lots of CPU.

By the way, disabling unneeded operating system services does no real good. They don't use resources when not needed, and eventually your use of the system may change and something won't work right and you will spend hours discovering that a disabled service is now needed. (Voice of experience.)


----------



## RayAP19 (May 1, 2011)

TerryNet said:


> An "obvious" idea is that an anti-virus or similar application may be doing a scan. If this is something that happens for only a few seconds at a time it may be the OS doing some unknown-to-us task. If it lasts a considerable time try to find the process(s) using lots of CPU.


Not sure that this is the case-- I have Symantec Anti Virus, which runs a daily scan at 12 noon, and displays a very noticeable prompt when it does so.

But, maybe I misspoke. It's not always _random_ spikes in CPU Usage-- when I try to do something that might use a good amount of memory, such as watch a collection of videos in 720p HD using Sony Vegas, or converting 1080p videos from .TS to .avi, sometimes the computer completes the task while using anywhere from 80-100%, and then immediately drops back to 10-20%, staying there until I attempt another high-end task. Not a big deal, right?

Other times, it spikes to 100% just like above, but once it's done with the task, it stays near 100%. For a long time. And there's very little I can do other than just sit there, stare at the screen as the computer literally does nothing other than display the program I have open, and wait for it to drop. That's the issue I'm having trouble with.

Now, I do also have random spikes in CPU Usage, which also sucks. But I get the feeling that this might simply be because I have anywhere from 1-6 Processes using 200,000+ KB of memory each.

Also, looking at Task Manager, the Process using the most CPU is "System Idle Process," described as "Percentage of time the processor is idle." I have no idea what this is, but I can tell you that it's using anywhere from 85-95% (I think it's shown in terms of percentage) of the CPU, but only 20 or so KB of memory. Could someone shed some light on this for me?

One more question-- since it's been postulated that there's no direct correlation between Memory Usage and CPU Usage, is there _anything_ that I can gauge in regards to each program/process that can tell me the effect it has on CPU Usage?


----------



## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

> but once it's done with the task, it stays near 100%. For a long time. And there's very little I can do other than just sit there, stare at the screen as the computer literally does nothing other than display the program I have open, and wait for it to drop. That's the issue I'm having trouble with.


I am no expert on this aspect but I would think it is that or those program(s) to concentrate on. It may simply be a case of taking that long to shut down the program gracefully--closing open files, releasing memory and other resources, etc. What program or programs?

Could someone shed some light on this [System Idle Process] for me?

When less than 100% of the CPU is needed the System Idle Process is credited with the remainder to bring the total to 100%.


----------



## RayAP19 (May 1, 2011)

TerryNet said:


> I am no expert on this aspect but I would think it is that or those program(s) to concentrate on. It may simply be a case of taking that long to shut down the program gracefully--closing open files, releasing memory and other resources, etc. What program or programs?


Firefox, within which I usually have anywhere from 5-15 tabs open.

Sony Vegas, which is a high-end video editing program.

Video converters, media players, etc.

That's about it.


----------



## RayAP19 (May 1, 2011)

Here's something weird that I've noticed through a simple little experiment:

Every time I see the CPU Usage spike in the taskbar's Task Manager icon, I quickly open up Task Manager to see which Process is listed highest when sorted by "CPU" in the "Processes" tab. Whenever it's not a program spiking the CPU Usage when it's expected to-- i.e., the "no apparent reason" CPU Usage spikes I experience-- the Process "Windows Explorer" is _extremely_ high in CPU Usage (anywhere from 70-90%). Is this normal?


----------



## Samsung (Nov 14, 2002)

I hope you mean explorer.exe? There is no Process "Windows Explorer"

There is a way to disable System Idle Process if you want to test that
http://www.ehow.com/how_7156721_disable-system-idle-process.html


----------



## RayAP19 (May 1, 2011)

Samsung said:


> I hope you mean explorer.exe? There is no Process "Windows Explorer"
> 
> There is a way to disable System Idle Process if you want to test that
> http://www.ehow.com/how_7156721_disable-system-idle-process.html


Well, yeah-- it's called "explorer.exe," and its description reads "Windows Explorer."

And is disabling System Idle Process safe? I just wanted to figure out why it seems like my folders (that is what Windows Explorer is, right?) are using that much CPU for no apparent reason.


----------



## Samsung (Nov 14, 2002)

1 explorer.exe is your desktop. If you open Windows explorer then another same name will open.

Its safe to test and you can easily reverse that if don't help. Look in Services also to see if Indexing service is running, normally it should not be. I read that shutting that down may also fix 100%

Using Resource Monitor then click CPU tab from above you can look in Services to see if 1 of them is the culprit


----------



## RayAP19 (May 1, 2011)

I turned off indexing, so I don't think that's the issue. Here's something that is an issue, though.










This is what happens sometimes when I try to do something as simple as watch an average-sized, average-quality streaming video. Firefox uses a large amount of the CPU, and for some reason, all the other programs go up too. Why is iTunes and Task Manager so high? All I'm doing in iTunes is listening to a 3 MB audio file on loop, and Task Manager is obviously simply doing what it always does, but for some reason, has a high CPU Usage.

Also, can I disable any of the processes pictured there?


----------



## Samsung (Nov 14, 2002)

Nothing you are showing is high at all. The vegas are running a half a mb each
Don't know which version you have on the Vegas but have you looked at known issues http://sony-559.vo.llnwd.net/dspcdn/releasenotes/vegaspro100c_readme_enu.htm

Yes you can end process on most things there to see which is causing the spike.


----------



## RayAP19 (May 1, 2011)

Samsung said:


> Nothing you are showing is high at all. The vegas are running a half a mb each
> Don't know which version you have on the Vegas but have you looked at known issues http://sony-559.vo.llnwd.net/dspcdn/releasenotes/vegaspro100c_readme_enu.htm
> 
> Yes you can end process on most things there to see which is causing the spike.


iTunes and Task Manager usually use 0 or 1% of the CPU-- as you can see, they're both far higher than normal.


----------



## Samsung (Nov 14, 2002)

Thats why I say, quit using Task manager and click the Performance Tab. Now the Resource Monitor... button
Look at memory used not the CPU


----------



## RayAP19 (May 1, 2011)

Samsung said:


> Thats why I say, quit using Task manager and click the Performance Tab. Now the Resource Monitor... button
> Look at memory used not the CPU


But there's a direct correlation between how hard the CPU is working and how responsive my computer is. When it gets near 100%, it becomes sluggish and unresponsive. I want the CPU Usage to be able to stay at 50% or lower. It's not like my computer is out-of-date, so I'd expect a CPU that can handle streaming video and iTunes loops.


----------

