F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Desktop Occasional high CPU activity on i9 13900K when online

Occasional high CPU activity on i9 13900K when online

Occasional high CPU activity on i9 13900K when online

H
HorseyHay
Member
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208
05-15-2023, 03:17 PM
#1
Hey, I’ve got a pretty odd problem with my PC lately. A few days back I played Elden Ring and noticed my CPU was hovering between 70% and 75%, which is way outside the normal range for that game. It also affected my FPS, dropping from around 130 to about 85. What’s cool is that when I open Task Manager to see why things are spiking, my CPU usage drops back to the usual 15%-20%. In the game, it returns to that range and my FPS stabilizes. After a while—10 to 15 minutes—I press Alt + Tab and check Task Manager again; then the CPU usage normalizes to about 15%. This only happens during gameplay, not when I’m just browsing or doing everyday tasks. Once I switch to desktop mode, the same thing occurs, with fans kicking up and I feel like my system is really struggling under pressure.

I’ve tried checking with various software tools—CPU-Z, HWMonitor, Task Manager—and none of them point to a problem. I also cleaned out some unnecessary programs, but nothing worked. Interestingly, the issue only appears when I’m connected to the internet; it disappears completely when I disconnect. I didn’t notice any overheating or performance drops otherwise.

My current specs are: GPU – Asus Rog Strix White RTX 4090, CPU – i9 13900K, cooler – Corsair H170i, motherboard – Z690-A, RAM – 16GB G.Skill Trident Z, case – Corsair 7000D. I’m using Windows 11 Pro with the latest updates.

I’m not sure if it’s malware or something else, but I’ve ruled out typical software conflicts. It seems to be tied to the game and internet connection. If anyone has a solution or can help me troubleshoot further, I’d really appreciate it. Maybe a fresh install of Windows could help, though that would be time-consuming and costly. Thanks in advance!
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H
HorseyHay
05-15-2023, 03:17 PM #1

Hey, I’ve got a pretty odd problem with my PC lately. A few days back I played Elden Ring and noticed my CPU was hovering between 70% and 75%, which is way outside the normal range for that game. It also affected my FPS, dropping from around 130 to about 85. What’s cool is that when I open Task Manager to see why things are spiking, my CPU usage drops back to the usual 15%-20%. In the game, it returns to that range and my FPS stabilizes. After a while—10 to 15 minutes—I press Alt + Tab and check Task Manager again; then the CPU usage normalizes to about 15%. This only happens during gameplay, not when I’m just browsing or doing everyday tasks. Once I switch to desktop mode, the same thing occurs, with fans kicking up and I feel like my system is really struggling under pressure.

I’ve tried checking with various software tools—CPU-Z, HWMonitor, Task Manager—and none of them point to a problem. I also cleaned out some unnecessary programs, but nothing worked. Interestingly, the issue only appears when I’m connected to the internet; it disappears completely when I disconnect. I didn’t notice any overheating or performance drops otherwise.

My current specs are: GPU – Asus Rog Strix White RTX 4090, CPU – i9 13900K, cooler – Corsair H170i, motherboard – Z690-A, RAM – 16GB G.Skill Trident Z, case – Corsair 7000D. I’m using Windows 11 Pro with the latest updates.

I’m not sure if it’s malware or something else, but I’ve ruled out typical software conflicts. It seems to be tied to the game and internet connection. If anyone has a solution or can help me troubleshoot further, I’d really appreciate it. Maybe a fresh install of Windows could help, though that would be time-consuming and costly. Thanks in advance!

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N
NoldonHD
Junior Member
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8
05-15-2023, 03:17 PM
#2
Having a virus is typical malware activity, usually evading detection by most anti-malware programs. It’s better to reinstall Windows, even though it may take time and effort, rather than sifting through startup files one by one to identify threats and risk wasting resources on suspicious files that mimic legitimate ones.
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N
NoldonHD
05-15-2023, 03:17 PM #2

Having a virus is typical malware activity, usually evading detection by most anti-malware programs. It’s better to reinstall Windows, even though it may take time and effort, rather than sifting through startup files one by one to identify threats and risk wasting resources on suspicious files that mimic legitimate ones.

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