High CPU utilization of the PC is a fairly common problem. This article will answer the question of how to reduce the load on the CPU. Windows 10 is installed on your machine or any other version of the OS, recommendations are suitable in any case.
Task Manager
If you need to find out how much the CPU is heavily loaded with work and what specific task significantly affects performance, use the task manager built-in utility in the OS.
- To open it, press Ctrl + Alt + Del on the physical keyboard.
- Click the Processes tab. All currently running programs are displayed here. If you click on the inscription "CPU", the list is sorted by the load on the CPU.
- How to reduce the load on the CPU? Highlight the "gluttonous" process and click on the words "Finish". After 5-10 seconds, the program will close.
It is important to look at the entire list of processes if it contains suspicious or duplicate ones, probably your computer is infected with a virus.
It often happens that after the regular completion of the "heavy" program, it minimizes its window, but the process freezes, leaving in an endless cycle. As a result, such an application takes up the lion's share of CPU time. Therefore, to the question: "How to reduce the load on the CPU?" - often answer that the PC should be rebooted. Of course, rebooting can help, but the "Task Manager" allows you to deal with the problem faster.
Advanced Tools
It happens infrequently that the CPU load is kept at a high level, and the process that loads the system as much as possible is not displayed in the built-in utility. In this case, you can try to check the box next to the text "Display processes of all users", however this method often does not bring results.
To solve the problem, download a utility called Process Explorer. Sort the list in the program window by the percentage of CPU usage. Examine the list. If a “heavy” process is found, terminate it by right-clicking and selecting Kill.
Interruptions
How to reduce the load on the CPU if a large amount of system resources is occupied by the interrupts process? Interrupts are interrupts. Often they are the cause of the problem due to hardware problems, a hard disk connected to PIO mode, driver failures, and virus infection of the OS.
To find out if the drivers fail, start the computer in safe mode.
- Reboot the PC.
- After the BIOS checks the devices, press the F8 key several times.
- In the menu that appears, select "Safe Mode" or Safe Mode.
Launch Process Explorer and check the value in the CPU column next to "interrupts". If it does not exceed 2-3 percent, then you need to update or reinstall device drivers. To do this, refer to the official resources of the developers of devices connected to your computer.
How to reduce the load on the CPU if reinstalling the drivers did not help?
Try disabling absolutely all peripherals. If your PC proficiency allows you to disconnect all internal hardware except the video card, processor, and RAM, complete this step. If the CPU load is reduced, connect the devices to the computer one at a time. After each new reboot the operating system and check the level of PC occupancy by system interrupts.
After connecting a new device, the load increased significantly? This means that the device requires repair or reinstallation of the driver. Try several different driver versions. If this approach does not produce noticeable results, the device requires repair. It will not work out on its own. Contact the service center.
How to reduce the CPU load in games?
Computer games today are the most resource-dependent applications. Most often, it is impossible to cope with the unstable work of these without an upgrade. If the PC fully meets the system requirements, try opening the settings inside the game itself. Turn off tessellation, high-resolution effects, dynamic light. Has the game started to run more smoothly after these actions? If the answer is yes, lower the resolution of the textures and set the quality settings to a minimum.
If after following the above steps the game starts working fine, gradually improve the picture quality. Using this method, you can achieve the optimal ratio of FPS and quality.
How to reduce the load of CPU games if nothing helps? Your computer is probably just not productive enough for a particular product. It makes sense to read forums with discussions about the game. Third-party add-ons are often laid out on them, after the installation of which the FPS increases at times, and the quality, accordingly, decreases.
Overheat
Overheating of PC components can cause a heavy load. To see if the processor and video card are too hot, try swiping your hand near the air outlets. On a stationary PC, they are located on the left and rear of the system unit. If the air is hot, the cooling system may not be doing its job.
To accurately determine the temperature of the main elements of a PC, it makes sense to use the AIDE application. However, understanding which temperature range is acceptable for your computer is not possible without a user guide. You can find it on the official resources of the iron manufacturer.
How to reduce the CPU load on the laptop if the cooling system is inefficient? First of all, try to clean all radiators from dust and replace thermal grease. After that, again monitor the performance of the sensors.
Did the cleaning not help? Open the motherboard or video card setup utility. Typically, such software is installed with the drivers. Check if the fans spin 100%, if not, set the speed forcibly.
How to reduce the load on the CPU? Does Windows XP and any other OS version still show that the temperature is at a critical level? In this case, you will have to replace the cooling system.