I've been dealing with some frustrating issues on my PC for a while. Initially, it would crash briefly before rebooting, but I thought upgrading from Windows 10 to Windows 11 would help. Unfortunately, that made things worse. I've reinstalled Windows and factory reset my device twice, plus I've checked the system files through cmd, but nothing has changed. My CPU usage shoots up randomly from 20% to 96%, which creates a lot of problems. Discord barely functions, and I can't watch YouTube while gaming without it lagging. Sometimes, I can't even connect to Ethernet without restarting my PC. I never had these issues until May, and I've already run antivirus checks, both online and offline. I'm starting to wonder if my hardware is too outdated. My specs are Intel i5-10400 CPU @ 2.90GHz, 32GB RAM, GeForce RTX 3060, ROG Strix B460 Gaming motherboard, and I'm on Windows 11 Pro 64-bit.
Edit: I realized I haven't updated my BIOS since 2021 when I built my PC. It looks like there was a compatibility update for RTX 30 series graphics cards, so I'm hopeful that might fix my problems. I'll update again once I check Discord servers to see if everything works afterwards.
2 Answers
Sounds like you've been through quite a bit already! When you say your CPU usage spikes randomly, are you doing anything specific at that moment? It's good you checked your Windows files, but also make sure all your firmware is up-to-date. I had a similar spike issue, and it turned out some background processes were causing it. Maybe keep an eye on Task Manager next time it happens?
I totally relate to your struggles! I had a similar problem when I opened apps like Spotify; it felt like all my other programs went haywire. Have you tried checking if your BIOS needs an update? That was a game-changer for me. Also, running a system file check in CMD (just type 'sfc /scannow' as an admin) might help with any Windows integrity issues. Good luck, and let's hope it's just a quick fix!
Thanks for the tips! I actually realized I need to update my BIOS, so I’m hoping that will do the trick.
Yeah, it spikes when I'm using Discord or playing certain games. I've kept everything up to date, so I guess monitoring Task Manager may help.