Why does the CPU spike?

IanIan
edited June 2004 in Software
I wasn't sure where to put this topic, but whenever I play StarCraft, my laptop's CPU is constantly spiking at 100%. This makes gameplay very frustrating since it's very difficult to move in the game.

Other people have said StarCraft doesn't require much resources at all and shouldn't cause the CPU to spike. Well in my case it does. Sometimes it doesn't spike but only on very rare ocassions if I'm lucky.

Does anyone know what causes this? Could overheating be a factor? My laptop is Pentium III 1 GHz and 512 MB PC133 SD-RAM. Shouldn't be a problem. Or maybe I need to have the internal fan replaced? I dunno. Just want to hear what everyone thinks.

I'll be calling the manufacturer and asking what I can do about this problem.

PS: Laptop!! not PC

Comments

  • When I play Starcraft my system suddenly gets SUPER HOT... so I think you should just replace the internal fan.
  • Awww... haha, that sucks. I was hoping nobody would recommend that. What system do you mean? Are you using a laptop yourself? It really pisses me off. Can't play a decent game.

    Well, if I find a solution. I'll post here again.
  • My desktop! The one I'm using right now (Pentium 4 1.7GHz)! Can you believe it!
  • Woah, now that's crazy
  • It gets from about 84 degrees to 97-101 degrees after playing for about 20 minutes.
  • it's very high!
  • What 84 degrees or 97? I know 84 isn't high, so I'm thinking you're talking about 97....yes it is high.
  • When I do it on my Mac laptop, I have it exit everything (Finder included) and then run. I it's not jerky there.

    -Q
  • You know... 97*F is *NOTHING*. My Duron never drops below ~104*F... right now its 111*F, and alot of times I see it at 120*F....

    The case temperature goes between 89* and 100* depending on the temperature outside... sometimes its more like 78*F.... So I asked my official support technition (Tomchu) how hot it SHOULD get.... you cant go past like 170*F...... which leaves you plenty of room for overclocking :P
  • My computer automatically shuts down when it reaches 168* F.
  • mine does that too, not sure what temp it is, but itll just shut off. Thats a good thing, CPU fan snaps off, your done for unless you have that feature.
  • Are you saying that your CPU usage goes up to 100% when you play Starcraft?

    Well duh. It's a game. It'll use 100% of your CPU. I don't see what the problem is. :P

    If the game runs too slowly, it's probably because your system can't handle it.
  • My Dell laptop always gets hot. Right now it's at 129*F, but I'm using it in bed, and it's not getting good ventilation.

    I need to get a temp monitor for my desktop PC...
  • My Dell laptop always gets hot. Right now it's at 129*F, but I'm using it in bed, and it's not getting good ventilation.

    I need to get a temp monitor for my desktop PC...

    Don't you smell that burning smell? I smell it when I used my Ibook on the bed.
  • Nope... not that I notice at least. My dog likes the heat sometimes, though.

    That can't be anywheres near a good sign when you smell something burning...
  • Its like after 2 hours of using it I notice it.
  • Hmph... my battery is usually partially discharged, so I don't know if I get that far too much.
  • WEll, I'm always leaving it charged... so maybe that's why?
  • I dunno. You'd think you'd be able to leave it charged.
  • I used to leave my thinkpad charging all the time until about 4 days when I realised the AC adaptor started to get hot, now its only plugged in when I use it
  • Yeah that's what I do IBM...
  • Hmmm... my Dell doesn't charge! Have to get that fixed...
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