I'm facing a frustrating issue with my Ryzen 7 5800X where the CPU usage spikes to 100%, causing my whole PC to slow down drastically. This impacts my gaming experience, leading to significant stuttering and low FPS. I've noticed that even without opening any applications, the CPU usage climbs, making it impossible to even open my web browser. The PC is about 5 years old, so I'm considering that it might need maintenance. Do you think I should replace the thermal paste, or is it time for a new CPU altogether?
3 Answers
First things first, check your CPU temperatures. If it's overheating, that could be the issue. Also, open up Task Manager to see what's actually hogging your CPU. Usually, just browsing should only use a little CPU. If you're not seeing any high usage programs, it might be a thermal issue.
This really sounds like it could be a virus. Check Task Manager for anything suspicious. If you’ve downloaded anything recently, especially mods or plugins, there could be malware affecting your CPU usage. It might help to run a virus scan or two just to be safe!
I might have downloaded something suspicious recently, but I wasn't sure if it was related. Thanks for the heads up!
If issues persist, consider doing a fresh install of Windows. Sometimes, a clean slate is all you need to get everything running smoothly again without those 100% spikes.
Thanks for this tip! I didn't think to check the temps at first!