CPU reaches 100% when running simple programs

[Demsi]

Hey everyone, i've got a bit of an issue at the moment, last saturday after having doing some errands for some hours i came back to my computer for some reason not being able to detect my WiFi usb, at this point my computer had been in sleep mode while i was out and i dind't really think much of it.

I rebooted the computer, but it took an awful lot of time, as the computer just kept processing and was on the blue "Restarting" screen for a while, i ended up holding the power button just to shut down the computer and then turn it on again.

When i booted up the computer again all went fine, i was able to get my wifi going and all seemed fine, except for one thing, everything became painfully slow, like really slow, i recently upgraded my computer with an i-5 9400f and a rog strix b360f MOBO, i also have a 1060 6gb as my GPU, so it's not an old computer by any means.

I had a slight suspicion that something was up with my CPU, i opened task manager and as it turned out i was right, merely launching google chrome caused it to reach 100% usage, and other programs such as spotify and even task manager itself would spike in CPU usage.

As you can imagine this makes playing video games out of the question as i'm getting serious frame issues that i weren't getting a few hours before i went out that saturday, anyone else had these issues? I dont think it's a hardware issue, since my computer boots just as fast as before and i'm not getting any sort of warning screen or even any sound from the MOBO.

[Kagthul]

sounds like throttling due to heat.

dismount your CPU cooler, and remount it.

[Logwyn]

I rebooted the computer, but it took an awful lot of time, as the computer just kept processing and was on the blue "Restarting" screen for a while, i ended up holding the power button just to shut down the computer and then turn it on again.

What's "a while"?
You should honestly let windows go through its gyrations and not interrupt it. Not doing this can cause the computer to do weird and wonderful things.

Try re-seating the CPU with new thermal paste as suggested.

[Frozenstorm]

Hey everyone, i've got a bit of an issue at the moment, last saturday after having doing some errands for some hours i came back to my computer for some reason not being able to detect my WiFi usb, at this point my computer had been in sleep mode while i was out and i dind't really think much of it.

I rebooted the computer, but it took an awful lot of time, as the computer just kept processing and was on the blue "Restarting" screen for a while, i ended up holding the power button just to shut down the computer and then turn it on again.

When i booted up the computer again all went fine, i was able to get my wifi going and all seemed fine, except for one thing, everything became painfully slow, like really slow, i recently upgraded my computer with an i-5 9400f and a rog strix b360f MOBO, i also have a 1060 6gb as my GPU, so it's not an old computer by any means.

I had a slight suspicion that something was up with my CPU, i opened task manager and as it turned out i was right, merely launching google chrome caused it to reach 100% usage, and other programs such as spotify and even task manager itself would spike in CPU usage.

As you can imagine this makes playing video games out of the question as i'm getting serious frame issues that i weren't getting a few hours before i went out that saturday, anyone else had these issues? I dont think it's a hardware issue, since my computer boots just as fast as before and i'm not getting any sort of warning screen or even any sound from the MOBO.

My suggestion since you mentioned recently upgrading, is to completely re-install the OS. If it keeps happening it is possible you got a faulty CPU.

Also make sure EVERYTHING is up to date. You could have a CPU that still isn't patched for the security vulnerabilities that plagued Intel and AMD a couple years ago.

Other then that, my last off the cuff explanation would be Mal-ware or some sort of Mining Trojan that basically someone has hacked and is using your computer to mine bitcoins. I know this is a bit of a stretch but my brother had a similar issue happen to him, except it was his video card that was always at 100% so it was super easy to pinpoint the issue. He had Malware that basically would run his video card at 100% and ended up finding a Trojan Virus and eventually a deep level BIOS/BOOT Sector virus that ultimately meant he had to replace the motherboard and HD of his computer to fully get rid of it.

My best guess though is a full re-install of the OS should fix this. If not, I'd say you got a faulty CPU or at some point you burned it out due to poor cooling, which is why people are suggesting reseating it in the socket and apply some thermal paste (never use a lot, you only need a pin drop of this stuff).

[drivec]

sounds like bad cpu. try reseating like other have said if it doesnt get better most cpu have a warrenty either from the site you bought it or from the manufacturer.

its not an old cpu it looks like it was just released jan 2019. hell my cpu is from 2012 and that puppy runs games just fine.

also make sure you arent running in overclocks or have any settings left over from the previous cpu.

[Kagthul]

Try the simple stuff first.

Reseat the CPU and Cooler (re-paste, obviously, or, better yet, get a graphene pad)

Make sure all the power is plugged into the motherboard securely.

Install diagnostic software (HWiNFO 64, etc) so you can monitor temps and clock speeds in real-time.

Particularly if it isn't heat, it might be voltage (bad PSU), so if you notice that the CPU is never running near its clock speed, swap the PSU (use another good one if you have one available, even if you have to temporarily unplug it from another rig).

THEN start worrying about it being a bad CPU or MoBo.

[Cilraaz]

Before you bother with hardware, install hwinfo and check both temperatures and core speeds. See if the temps are too high or if the CPU is downclocking. If neither of those are occurring, reseating the heatsink isn't likely to help.

[Kagthul]

BTW that CPU is considered old and is not that great. I don't mean to rain on your parade, but it is an old CPU.

lolwut?

The 9400F is a perfectly modern CPU, its not even a year old (and the 9400 its based on is only a little over a year old).

Srsly.

[Temp name]

BTW that CPU is considered old and is not that great. I don't mean to rain on your parade, but it is an old CPU.

It launched 11 months ago (7th of January 2019).. Not exactly "new", but still definitely not old.

[Corroc]

CPU being 100% load doesn't mean anything other than the cpu is using all the power it can. I play with my old i5-3570k and while playing destiny 2 its always 100% load. it doesn't actually throttle or anything because it has good cooler and the temps stay at 50-60. The thing with that CPU is that just because it has 4.1 turbo clock doesn't mean it can use that speed when all cores need load. If all the cores are at 100% load during games the clock speed will most likely settle at 2.9 which is the base clock and that clock is really low for gaming.

So get yourself HWinfo and monitor these two things core load and core temperatures.

[Djuntas]

CPU being 100% load doesn't mean anything other than the cpu is using all the power it can. I play with my old i5-3570k and while playing destiny 2 its always 100% load. it doesn't actually throttle or anything because it has good cooler and the temps stay at 50-60. The thing with that CPU is that just because it has 4.1 turbo clock doesn't mean it can use that speed when all cores need load. If all the cores are at 100% load during games the clock speed will most likely settle at 2.9 which is the base clock and that clock is really low for gaming.

So get yourself HWinfo and monitor these two things core load and core temperatures.

This. Also that 9400f is a great budget CPU. AMD might beat it now a days for priceerformance but else...

[Demsi]

Tanks for the suggestion guys, i'm hoping a re install of my OS might solve the issue, and by "new" i meant it in the sense that i installed i like 2 weeks ago.

[Frozenstorm]

Tanks for the suggestion guys, i'm hoping a re install of my OS might solve the issue, and by "new" i meant it in the sense that i installed i like 2 weeks ago.

I do apologize for my comments about the CPU. I will remove it from my original post. It wasn't needed.

[Kagthul]

CPU being 100% load doesn't mean anything other than the cpu is using all the power it can. I play with my old i5-3570k and while playing destiny 2 its always 100% load. it doesn't actually throttle or anything because it has good cooler and the temps stay at 50-60. The thing with that CPU is that just because it has 4.1 turbo clock doesn't mean it can use that speed when all cores need load. If all the cores are at 100% load during games the clock speed will most likely settle at 2.9 which is the base clock and that clock is really low for gaming.

So get yourself HWinfo and monitor these two things core load and core temperatures.

the 9400f (especially with the iGPU disabled) can actually maintain 4.0 all-core no problem, even on the stock cooler. Though it does get loud AF.

[Demsi]

I do apologize for my comments about the CPU. I will remove it from my original post. It wasn't needed.

It's all good my man, i do appreciate the help.

- - - Updated - - -

Update:

Turns out my computer was most likely downloading an update when i shut it down, wich caused the issues, i downloaded the latest windows update and everything is back to normal, i was really scared that i might have flushed my money down the toilet but i'm relieved that it's all fixed

[shade3891]

I had this only when it tried to play Anthem with only 8GB ram. Upgraded the pc and then everything went back to normal.
So it might be bad RAM? Sorry not an expert but that fixed it for me.

Edit:
Oh doh, missed that last post! Glad you got it fixed!