PC becomes extremely slow—high CPU activity even when not in use.
PC becomes extremely slow—high CPU activity even when not in use.
Last week my computer began acting much worse than before. When idle it consumes about 40% of the CPU (sometimes less, sometimes more). Games that previously ran smoothly at 140fps dropped to 30fps. Older titles that once played steadily at full speed now lag and stutter. Starting any program feels sluggish. Even background music occasionally stutters. This wasn’t happening a week ago. Notably, on one game (PUBG) I receive a blue screen when launching it. This occurs regularly. Blue Screen Stop Code: PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA My system specifications: Windows 11 Education N (Version 22H2) AMD Ryzen 9 5900X CPU 64GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 @ 3200Mhz MSI MAG X570S Tomahawk MAX Wi-Fi motherboard MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming Z Trio Seasonic Prime PX-1300 PSU NZXT Kraken Z73 CPU Cooler Storage: 4TB Samsung 990 PRO NVMe SSD M.2 (Primary Boot Drive) 500GB Samsung 860 EVO SSD 2TB Samsung 870 EVO SSD 1TB Western Digital Blue SSD M.2 6TB Western Digital Ultrastar HDD Display: LG UltraGear 38GL950G Curved 3840x1600 175hz What I've attempted: Restarted my PC (numerous times now) Updated drivers Checked UEFI settings for oddities Run cmd and performed a system file check (sfc) Command prompt and ran a disk check (chkdsk) Ran Windows Memory Check (no problems) Full Windows Defender scan (no issues) Anti-Malware scan (no issues) Tested PC with just one RAM stick (four sticks in total) I previously used a Samsung 960 EVO SSD as my boot drive. I believed the problem stemmed from its age, but after moving everything to my new 990 Pro, the issue persists. I’ve tried several fixes but can’t recall all of them. Still, the problems remain. My thought is it might be a hardware fault with my RAM or CPU, though both are relatively new (over a year old). I’m quite skilled at troubleshooting and usually resolve most issues myself. If anyone needs more details, please let me know! Your help would mean a lot. Thank you!