I'm experiencing some frustrating issues while gaming. My CPU usage usually hangs around 80%, but suddenly it drops to about half, causing my FPS to plummet from 80-120 down to just 1-10 FPS for 10-30 seconds! This happens regardless of the game, including titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and The Finals. Interestingly, my GPU and memory usage seem to behave normally, or they spike a little before returning to normal. I've noticed that every time this drop happens, the Conhost.exe process jumps from a tiny amount of memory usage to 10-25%. When I end that task, my FPS goes back to normal, but the problem returns shortly after. I've tried uninstalling and updating my graphics drivers, as well as updating my chipset drivers and BIOS, but nothing seems to work. Any idea what's causing this or how I can fix it? Here are my specs: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, AMD Radeon RX 5700, and 32GB RAM at 3200MHz.
3 Answers
I found a guide that could help: there's a community post about stepping through various fixes for CPU performance issues. Many users said that following Step 12 worked for them, so it could be worth the read! Don't forget to update the comment section if you find success!
Have you checked what the parent process of Conhost.exe is? Sometimes it can help narrow down the issue. If you're on Windows 11, you might want to download Process Explorer to see what's going on with those Conhost threads. The parent process can give you clues on which application is causing the spike. Just keep an eye on the performance before and after you end the task! Good luck!
Yeah, I looked into it and the parent process showed up as a non-existent one. It’s so weird!
Make sure your CPU frequency is stable. If it's adjusting too often, it might cause those performance drops. Check your power settings in Windows and BIOS—set them to a fixed frequency instead of allowing it to change automatically. When gaming, keeping a stable frequency can make a big difference!
Interesting point. I haven't noticed a frequency issue, but that Conhost process definitely spikes during the drops. Maybe there's a connection?
Thanks for the link! Unfortunately, I've already tried everything detailed there. But I appreciate the suggestion!