A computer user who does not know what the words “CPU loading” mean does not control the processes occurring in the installed operating system. The meaning behind this term is quite simple. A person who does not know what CPU loading is is like a sailor who went on a long voyage, having learned only the rules for controlling the helm. The slightest malfunction, which caused the engine to stop, and the ship will be in the grip of the waves, although the reason may be commonplace.
What do the words “CPU utilization” mean? As you know, any program is a procedure, a kind of instruction that runs the central processor (CPU). The term “fulfills” means that the computing nodes, the internal blocks of the transistors of this large microcircuit, are involved. That is, the processor does a certain job. The more complex the task, the more blocks are connected to solve it. If all available blocks are involved, then we can say that at the given moment the CPU utilization is 100%, which, however, is obvious. That is, a value of 100 is the limit, while the lower limit is limited to 1-5%. With a loaded operating system, 0% cannot be fundamentally, although the appearance of multi-core processor models allows a completely new look at the load distribution between the cores. If the CPU load jumps, then you should not worry about it - it should change periodically.
The amount of load depends on:
- the complexity of the task. Everything is clear here: the more actions are required, the more actively the computing power is used;
- CPU performance. Users with experience remember that earlier, when watching a movie compressed in the simple mpeg format, processors loaded at almost 100%. Now the same film, launched on the same player, but on new CPU models, will take no more than a dozen percent of the processor time. This can be easily explained using an analogy: a child carrying an object weighing 10 kg will use all his strength to solve the problem, but an adult will carry the load “one left”. That is, loading depends on power;
- program optimization. Any task can be solved in different ways: the less intermediate steps are required, the less load.
Particular attention is required to load the CPU 100. Windows 7 allows you to see its current value in several ways. The simplest one is through the integrated task manager. We hover over the taskbar (bar at the bottom of the screen), press the right button and launch the aforementioned dispatcher. Here we go to the tab “Processes”. The “Image Name” column displays the visible processes currently being performed by the processor. Opposite the columns are “Memory”, “Description”, “User” and “CPU”. The latter just shows the load on each process - it is clear what exactly loads the processor with work. For modern models, 100% loading is possible with complex calculations, converting multimedia streams, archiving, etc.
100% loading may also occur due to an emergency. For example, sometimes a running program for one reason or another “freezes” - does not respond to button presses, but in the task manager it can be seen that it completely takes up processor resources. The calculations performed at this time are looped, that is, they do not have a solution, hence the hang. You need to select the process and end it with the corresponding button. More flexible features are provided by the procexp program - this is a powerful analogue of the task manager.
If at each boot of a computer some program creates a 100% load, then it needs to be deleted. Some viruses behave this way, so it’s useful to check your computer with an antivirus application.