Experience issues: CPU is locked at 100%, causing the game to drop to 0 frames briefly.
Experience issues: CPU is locked at 100%, causing the game to drop to 0 frames briefly.
I have a 3060 Ti and a 5600X. Occasionally in certain games my CPU freezes at 100% and the game freezes completely to 0 FPS. I also noticed my RAM usage is around 89%. I’m unsure what to do. My initial idea was to replace the GPU, but now I’m considering more RAM and upgrading to a 5800X. I need advice quickly. If you have any experience, let me know. This isn’t a virus—I’ve already checked it. I’ve tried some CPU optimization tips, but they haven’t helped.
Stay calm and remove your credit card. The system is handling 89% well, Windows 11 is using unused RAM and adjusting accordingly, so your utilization will be higher than usual—this is normal. Full CPU usage with no frames is a clear issue not tied to extra cores. Let me know if you'd like more details about what's happening.
What amount of RAM do you have? Are you connected to an SSD or a traditional hard drive? If your system runs low on RAM and switches to paging, Windows must decide which data moves to the page file and which stays in RAM. This can lead to performance issues like freezing or lockups when processes need to be swapped back in and out of memory. The situation worsens with a hard drive.
I can review the Task Manager details to identify which program is utilizing your CPU at full capacity.
It doesn't focus on the game at all; it jumps to other things almost instantly, even before reaching the game itself (paging is pretty smooth these days, which is surprising given how much people talk about it). This won’t guarantee perfect CPU usage or smooth gameplay.
When a game demands more memory than your system has, it will load additional files from disk. Extra memory won’t just show up automatically when the game needs it. For users with limited resources like 4 or 8GB, there’s a chance the game might actually require more RAM than available.
He mentioned RAM was at 89, not 97. If OP was running an 8, it would definitely be a keynote moment. With a 3060ti and a 5600x, it seems unlikely anyone is using 8 anymore. They don’t really market them any more, and DDR4 has been affordable for a long time—someone who bought a Zen 3 CPU wouldn’t have thought about it.
It might be related to the Windows system or the wsappx application. I've experienced this before, but it tends to stop working after a short time, especially when using an HDD. Without knowing his specific usage or the programs running at startup, it's difficult to pinpoint the exact cause.
It seems the person asking likely has a system with 16GB of RAM, though I should always verify locally. Remember that OEM setups are possible. It’s probable they also use an SSD, which has become common recently, but OEM configurations are still valid. The Aurora R10 Ryzen Edition on Dell’s site currently features a 5600X paired with just 8GB RAM and a 1TB hard drive.
Assumptions are reasonable. The term "Never" isn't suitable for younger audiences. It would be extremely difficult to locate a ready-made setup with a 5600x and 3060ti that wouldn't require at least a 120GB SSD and 16GB of RAM. Perhaps a configuration with a 7500 and a 1060 3GB would work, but beyond that it seems unlikely.