System Idle Process - 99% CPU usage?

[iamaelephant]

Is it normal for your system idle process to be using 99% of your CPU clock cycles? I've just installed my new mobo and CPU and I'm having a few minor annoyances with Windows locking up and stuff like that. I was thinking maybe I have a virus? I'll do a virus scan right now.

Anyways, can someone just do me a favour in the mean time and check their CPU usage for System Idle Process?

 

[Dead-Inside]

Whoa, you dumb? System IDLE process. That's how much that's *not used*.

Edit: Sorry but seriously it kinda explains itself.

 

[Revisedsoul]

always seems such a waist of cycles

 

[VeZ]

i second dead inside

 

[DiSTuRbEd]

Is it normal for your system idle process to be using 99% of your CPU clock cycles? I've just installed my new mobo and CPU and I'm having a few minor annoyances with Windows locking up and stuff like that. I was thinking maybe I have a virus? I'll do a virus scan right now.

Anyways, can someone just do me a favour in the mean time and check their CPU usage for System Idle Process?

I can't believe you are......asking this!!!!

 

[Dead-Inside]

If you still don't get it, (Taken from www.dictionary.com);
adj. i·dler, i·dlest

Not employed or busy: idle carpenters. See Synonyms at inactive.
Avoiding work or employment; lazy: shiftless, idle youth. See Synonyms at lazy.
Not in use or operation: idle hands.
Lacking substance, value, or basis. See Synonyms at baseless. See Synonyms at vain.

v. i·dled, i·dling, i·dles
v. intr.
To pass time without working or while avoiding work.
To move lazily and without purpose.
To run at a slow speed or out of gear. Used of a motor vehicle.

v. tr.
To pass (time) without working or while avoiding work; waste: idle the afternoon away.
To make or cause to be unemployed or inactive.
To cause (a motor, for example) to idle.

n.
A state of idling. Used of a motor vehicle: an engine running quietly at idle.
A mechanism for regulating the speed at which an engine runs at rest: set the idle higher to keep the motor from stalling.

--------------
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=Idle

Hope that helps.

 

[Asus]

What issues or kind of lock-ups have you had?
Make sure your chipset drivers are updated.

 

[iamaelephant]

Yeah, ok guys, I get it. I'm not an idiot, I just sort of misread the chart. Asus - just some weird things, like one time everything worked in Windows except the taskbar (as in nothing of the taskbr worked at all). I have a random crash in Steam playing CS:S (probably a problem with CS:S/Steam rather than my system) and a couple of lock-ups when transferring files from my network.

I changed my memory latency from Auto to CAS 3 (which is what the slowest of my sticks runs at) which seems to have solved the problem.

Also Asus, this isn't really worth starting a new thread over so I'll ask you here - do you use that Dynamic Overclocking on the Neo Platinum board? What about the Cool 'n' Quiet thing? Or do you prefer manual OC'ing.

 

[Asus]

I use Cool&Quiet. To enable go into Bios, then download the AMD driver and set your Power schemes to 'Minimal Power Management' under Screen Saver/Power.

I don't recommend the Dynamiic Overclocking at all. I have heard of unstability from the Dynamic OCing.

I OC manually. I set my HT from 4x to 3x and increased my 200MHz bus from there. The reason I decrease the HT link is I don't want that to limit my OCing. There is no performance decrease from that. 3x200 is still 600Mhz. I am running mine at 230MHz bus right now.

The memory setting caps how fast it clocks your memory. It increases by a ratio to your Bus speed. 200 and it won't go above 200Mhz (DDR400), 166 and it won't go above 166Mhz. Mine is set to 200 or Auto, I forget, and my memory (PC2700 DDR333 166MHz) is running at 191MHz.

For the memory turn off enhanced timings or something like that. It's outside of the memory speed page.