Want to Keep CPU Usage Less than 50% through out ? How to do it ?

V

Hi Guys,

I am using an old computer which has Windows 7 and Intel old generation chip dual core Pentium processor.There is a software which I want to use on this computer and the developer of the software says that to use the software at its optimum make sure that the CPU usage does not exceed more than 50%. So when I open my task manager I see that it keeps on fluctuating between 40% to 70% what do I need to do? which programs do I need to close ? how do I make sure that for the time being that I am using that software my CPU usage does not exceed more than 50% ? are there any tricks and tips to do this how do I control the CPU usage that it does not exceed more than 50% ?

I have marked and attached in the picture the area I am talking about

Upgrade the CPU to a quad/hexa core

vishk said:
Hi Guys,

I am using an old computer which has Windows 7 and Intel old generation chip dual core Pentium processor.There is a software which I want to use on this computer and the developer of the software says that to use the software at its optimum make sure that the CPU usage does not exceed more than 50%. So when I open my task manager I see that it keeps on fluctuating between 40% to 70% what do I need to do? which programs do I need to close ? how do I make sure that for the time being that I am using that software my CPU usage does not exceed more than 50% ? are there any tricks and tips to do this how do I control the CPU usage that it does not exceed more than 50% ?

I have marked and attached in the picture the area I am talking about

View attachment 21731

50% usage isn't much to worry about. Your CPU will still be able to multitask at those levels. Don't worry about that efficiency figure quoted by the developer. As long as your PC doesn't lag annoyingly or throttle (which causes more lag) under heavy loads, you'll be fine.
There are some to ways to help the CPU-
1. Restrict any background apps that are not needed.
2. Disable start up for said apps.
3. Turn off any animations or transitions in the the control panel.
4. Delete any unnecessary apps.
This should help somewhat-

If you still feel that you're not getting the performance desired, then upgrading your components would be a good choice

Also consider a fresh install of Windows.

V

SaiyanGoku said:
Upgrade the CPU to a quad/hexa core

Very Bad Suggestion.

V

DestGod said:
50% usage isn't much to worry about. Your CPU will still be able to multitask at those levels. Don't worry about that efficiency figure quoted by the developer. As long as your PC doesn't lag annoyingly or throttle (which causes more lag) under heavy loads, you'll be fine.

No I have experienced the Software does Malfunction the Moment my CPU Usage goes above 50% So he is talking sense. I can see it live !

on a weaker chip like pentium cpu usage would hit 50-100% frequently.Only solution will be to upgrade to a modern platform with atleast a quad core cpu as suggested by @SaiyanGoku

vishk said:
Very Bad Suggestion.

Sadly, no. Genuinely time for an upgrade if it is lagging/underperforming for your tasks.

Just run the software as it is. There's only a limited amount of resources you can free up by closing other apps. Unless you are not willing to upgrade your computer, you can explore linux based OS as those use a lower amount of resources than Win7 also at times. See if your software supports Linux.

vishk said:
No I have experienced the Software does Malfunction the Moment my CPU Usage goes above 50% So he is talking sense. I can see it live !

What are your complete PC specs?

V

Guys what I meant was any tasks that I can kill by going into Task Manager which could keep the CPU Usage Low below 50%

V

DestGod said:
What are your complete PC specs?

*gadgets360.com/acer-aspire-e-e1-510-7273

vishk said:
Guys what I meant was any tasks that I can kill by going into Task Manager which could keep the CPU Usage Low below 50%

You could end some third party processes like MS Teams, any launcher (just some examples) or bloatware. Factory resetting will help as well. Again, don't expect any massive changes in performance.

V

DestGod said:
You could end some third party processes like MS Teams, any launcher (just some examples) or bloatware. Factory resetting will help as well. Again, don't expect any massive changes in performance.

I have just formatted my machine, so it is a Fresh Install. How does MS Teams and any Launcher help in this case ? in keeping CPU usage Low ?

I get that you are using a dual core laptop and the only possible upgrades you can do to it are SSD and RAM. Consider installing Bodhi Linux instead of windows for more responsive system but if a programs needs the CPU, it will utilize it as much as possible.

vishk said:
Guys what I meant was any tasks that I can kill by going into Task Manager which could keep the CPU Usage Low below 50%

Point we are trying to make is that there is only so much you can do on an old laptop to free up resources. You have already done a fresh install, so it is already less bloated. Hence my previous suggestion to try another OS which takes fewer resources in the background than Win7.

V

DestGod said:
50% usage isn't much to worry about. Your CPU will still be able to multitask at those levels. Don't worry about that efficiency figure quoted by the developer. As long as your PC doesn't lag annoyingly or throttle (which causes more lag) under heavy loads, you'll be fine.
There are some to ways to help the CPU-
1. Restrict any background apps that are not needed.
2. Disable start up for said apps.
3. Turn off any animations or transitions in the the control panel.
4. Delete any unnecessary apps.
This should help somewhat-

If you still feel that you're not getting the performance desired, then upgrading your components would be a good choice

Also consider a fresh install of Windows.

The. Video that you linked in the reply was the best solution that anyone can offer at this moment to me. This should help. Just what I was looking for.

Only thing in this. Video that scares me and in my case if it is required. I have just formatted and fresh installed the OS on my computer. Do I still need to defragment my hard drive ? If anyone can throw light on this topic.

vishk said:
The. Video that you linked in the reply was the best solution that anyone can offer at this moment to me. This should help. Just what I was looking for.

Only thing in this. Video that scares me and in my case if it is required. I have just formatted and fresh installed the OS on my computer. Do I still need to defragment my hard drive ? If anyone can throw light on this topic.

No I don't think there's a need to defragment. You should be fine with what you have now. I don't think it would make a big difference.

V

DestGod said:
No I don't think there's a need to defragment. You should be fine with what you have now. I don't it would make a big difference.

And you are saying this because I mentioned that I have just formatted my computer and it is a Fresh Install of the OS. is that the reason why you are saying there is no need for defragmentation ?

vishk said:
And you are saying this because I mentioned that I have just formatted my computer and it is a Fresh Install of the OS. is that the reason why you are saying there is no need for defragmentation ?

No. Because I've done it plenty of times on my own laptop and I don't see much of a difference (either I'm doing something wrong or I'm clueless or there's nothing wrong in my system)

DestGod said:
No. Because I've done it plenty of times on my own laptop and I don't see much of a difference (either I'm doing something wrong or I'm clueless or there's nothing wrong in my system)

You are not doing anything wrong, HDDs are slow and a bottleneck as an OS drive.

SaiyanGoku said:
You are not doing anything wrong, HDDs are slow and a bottleneck as an OS drive.

For Win7 or even Win8, HDDs are still ok. Heck I tried Win10 2015 version on a laptop HDD a year ago & that was working well enough. Current Win10 needs an SSD as must.

omega44-xt said:
For Win7 or even Win8, HDDs are still ok. Heck I tried Win10 2015 version on a laptop HDD a year ago & that was working well enough. Current Win10 needs an SSD as must.

Its actually not too bad. One of my school computers (well most of them actually) have a dual core Pentium with no hyperthreading, 4GB DDR3 1333Mhz and a 500GB HDD. It actually works decently. There is a noticeable lag when switching quickly between apps, but it's not as bad I thought. It runs on version 21H1 as well.

Edit: For the defragmenting thing, Jay explains it well here-

DestGod said:
Its actually not too bad. One of my school computers (well most of them actually) have a dual core Pentium with no hyperthreading, 4GB DDR3 1333Mhz and a 500GB HDD. It actually works decently. There is a noticeable lag when switching quickly between apps, but it's not as bad I thought. It runs on version 21H1 as well.

Edit: For the defragmenting thing, Jay explains it well here-

Pentium dual core should be ok, but Win10 21H1 on HDD? I have used 3 old laptops in the last 1 year where I saw Win10 using 100% disk usage continuously, resulting in a laggy experience. 7200RPM drives are a bit faster, but still nowhere close to cheap SSD fast.

Also about a year ago, I tried 2015 Win10 & 20H1 Win10 on the same laptop with HDD, former did run fine on it.

@vishk
Apart from closing unwanted foreground apps, I would be curious to know how CPU usage would fare if you take a clean boot approach. (Unless the app itself internally runs as a service) It is of course not a normal approach but no harm in trying it out. From MS services shut down update, bitlocker, indexing, firewall etc.

Is the app having any option or a switch to give it higher CPU priority, if it was designed back in XP or Win 7 days?

V

patkim said:
@vishk
Apart from closing unwanted foreground apps, I would be curious to know how CPU usage would fare if you take a clean boot approach. (Unless the app itself internally runs as a service) It is of course not a normal approach but no harm in trying it out. From MS services shut down update, bitlocker, indexing, firewall etc.

Is the app having any option or a switch to give it higher CPU priority, if it was designed back in XP or Win 7 days?

what is a clean boot approach ? The APP is a very Modern APP it is basically using Airplay (Which is only an Apple exclusive Feature) from a Windows Computer, not possible untill now but this guy has cracked it.

vishk said:
what is a clean boot approach ? The APP is a very Modern APP it is basically using Airplay (Which is only an Apple exclusive Feature) from a Windows Computer, not possible untill now but this guy has cracked it.

*support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/...neral tab, select,before, and then select OK.