CPU useage not as specified

**EnglishPaul** · 02-03-2008, 11:19 AM

I have just downloaded F@H v5.3 (windows), and in investigating the CPU settings have got some interesting results. If I set the program to 100%, task manager only reports that CPU useage is 50% with no programs running (more with other programs active).
Which may not be strange if I had a duel core machine; but I have a P4 (Prescott, 3GHz) laptop.

It may be a blessing however. In the past I had failed to get a temp program to work, so I had given up. But today I decided that if folding was going to push my machine then I ought to try again. I found Everest through other threads, and installed it. At rest my processor seems to run at 50deg C, and with the processor at 50% all the time it is now running at 70deg. And judging from other posts, over 50deg is ill advised. So how accurate is Everest? Is there another way of verifying the temp? How bad is 70deg? (Before reinstalling windows at Christmas, there were times when the computer would be working at 98% seemingly doing nothing, so it has been far hotter!).
And, is there anything you can really do to cool a laptop anyway?

**Glaswegian** · 02-03-2008, 11:39 AM

Hi Paul

Firstly Everest is no longer updated. I would try PC Wizard - it agrees with readings produced by CoreTemp but CT does not support the P4. I used to have a Pres-Hot P4 - 70C was fairly normal with a reasonable load - 75C under heavy load was not uncommon. The P4 will throttle back before any damage is done, slowing down your PC until the temps drop.

I know you can buy cooling pads for a laptop but I've no idea on their effectiveness.

Before I moved to SMP, I ran the normal client somewhere around 70-80% usage, I think.

Hope that helps a bit - one of the hardware guys will likely be able to give you more info.

**EnglishPaul** · 02-03-2008, 11:47 AM

Thanks Iain,
Its good to know that this is not so unusual.

Incidentally, I've just looked round everest a bit more, and it seems to think that I have 2 CPUs! (the first of which runs at 0% useage) Which is something that I had seen in device manager but discounted as a Microsoftism. My dads guess was that it was something to do with hyperthreading.

**Glaswegian** · 02-03-2008, 11:51 AM

No probs.

I still had an old version of Everest but I switched to PC Wizard - it has a nice easy interface and I do like it. Not sure about the 2 cpus though - I'll leave that one for the hardware guys.

**mattlock** · 02-03-2008, 09:35 PM

Everest Home Edition would recognize the Prescott properly since the last update to Everest was done Dec 2005.

Your CPU is hyperthreaded, so when hyperthreading is enable Windows sees it as two cores.

While the Prescotts ran hot, it's not healthy to run in CPU in the 70° range constantly, and will shorten the life span of said processor. As Iain said, it does have a thermal throttle that will reduce the clock speed when it gets to hot to prevent immediate damage. If after the throttling kicks in the CPU temp continues to rise it will hit the thermal trip point and shutdown completely. The throttle point is around 70°c, and when the Thermal Monitor is active (also known as Speedstep and can be Enabled/Disabled in the BIOS) the thermaltrip point is 100°c (I believe). If Thermal Monitor is disabled the thermaltrip will still be triggered but @ 135°c on the Mobile P4. This is know as On Demand mode.

That might be info than you were looking for, but the bottom line is you want to keep you temps lower 70°. If you want to continue running F@H on your laptop I would consider a laptop cooler as Iain suggested or reduce the CPU usage alloted to F@H.

You might also want to get a can or two of compressed air and blowout the heatsink. Blow through both the exhaust port and intake port, starting with the exhaust port.

**EnglishPaul** · 02-03-2008, 09:55 PM

Thanks for the info Mattlock. Unfortunately I recently cleaned the heatsink path, but I'll check the bios, and tone down F@H.

02-03-2008, 11:19 AM	#1 (permalink)
EnglishPaul Still no avatar Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sheffield Posts: 1,314 OS: XP SP2 Blog Entries: 9	CPU useage not as specified I have just downloaded F@H v5.3 (windows), and in investigating the CPU settings have got some interesting results. If I set the program to 100%, task manager only reports that CPU useage is 50% with no programs running (more with other programs active). Which may not be strange if I had a duel core machine; but I have a P4 (Prescott, 3GHz) laptop. It may be a blessing however. In the past I had failed to get a temp program to work, so I had given up. But today I decided that if folding was going to push my machine then I ought to try again. I found Everest through other threads, and installed it. At rest my processor seems to run at 50deg C, and with the processor at 50% all the time it is now running at 70deg. And judging from other posts, over 50deg is ill advised. So how accurate is Everest? Is there another way of verifying the temp? How bad is 70deg? (Before reinstalling windows at Christmas, there were times when the computer would be working at 98% seemingly doing nothing, so it has been far hotter!). And, is there anything you can really do to cool a laptop anyway?

02-03-2008, 11:39 AM	#2 (permalink)
Glaswegian Moderator/ Rangemaster TSF Academy; Analyst, Security Team; Oor Wullie; TSF Surgeon and Resident Comic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Glasgow Posts: 23,934 OS: Win XP Pro SP3 / Win 7 RC My System Blog Entries: 10	Re: CPU useage not as specified Hi Paul Firstly Everest is no longer updated. I would try PC Wizard - it agrees with readings produced by CoreTemp but CT does not support the P4. I used to have a Pres-Hot P4 - 70C was fairly normal with a reasonable load - 75C under heavy load was not uncommon. The P4 will throttle back before any damage is done, slowing down your PC until the temps drop. I know you can buy cooling pads for a laptop but I've no idea on their effectiveness. Before I moved to SMP, I ran the normal client somewhere around 70-80% usage, I think. Hope that helps a bit - one of the hardware guys will likely be able to give you more info. __________________ Iain - Defender of the Haggis and all things Scottish. I don't help by PM - post in the Forums. Ad-Aware::SpywareBlaster::SpyBot::SpywareGuard::SnoopFree::AVG Free::HOSTS File::HijackThis::Donate::Photographers Corner

02-03-2008, 11:47 AM	#3 (permalink)
EnglishPaul Still no avatar Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sheffield Posts: 1,314 OS: XP SP2 Blog Entries: 9	Re: CPU useage not as specified Thanks Iain, Its good to know that this is not so unusual. Incidentally, I've just looked round everest a bit more, and it seems to think that I have 2 CPUs! (the first of which runs at 0% useage) Which is something that I had seen in device manager but discounted as a Microsoftism. My dads guess was that it was something to do with hyperthreading.

02-03-2008, 11:51 AM	#4 (permalink)
Glaswegian Moderator/ Rangemaster TSF Academy; Analyst, Security Team; Oor Wullie; TSF Surgeon and Resident Comic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Glasgow Posts: 23,934 OS: Win XP Pro SP3 / Win 7 RC My System Blog Entries: 10	Re: CPU useage not as specified No probs. I still had an old version of Everest but I switched to PC Wizard - it has a nice easy interface and I do like it. Not sure about the 2 cpus though - I'll leave that one for the hardware guys. __________________ Iain - Defender of the Haggis and all things Scottish. I don't help by PM - post in the Forums. Ad-Aware::SpywareBlaster::SpyBot::SpywareGuard::SnoopFree::AVG Free::HOSTS File::HijackThis::Donate::Photographers Corner

02-03-2008, 09:35 PM	#5 (permalink)
mattlock Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 4,072 OS: XP SP2, Win 7 Beta, Win 7 RC My System	Re: CPU useage not as specified Everest Home Edition would recognize the Prescott properly since the last update to Everest was done Dec 2005. Your CPU is hyperthreaded, so when hyperthreading is enable Windows sees it as two cores. While the Prescotts ran hot, it's not healthy to run in CPU in the 70° range constantly, and will shorten the life span of said processor. As Iain said, it does have a thermal throttle that will reduce the clock speed when it gets to hot to prevent immediate damage. If after the throttling kicks in the CPU temp continues to rise it will hit the thermal trip point and shutdown completely. The throttle point is around 70°c, and when the Thermal Monitor is active (also known as Speedstep and can be Enabled/Disabled in the BIOS) the thermaltrip point is 100°c (I believe). If Thermal Monitor is disabled the thermaltrip will still be triggered but @ 135°c on the Mobile P4. This is know as On Demand mode. That might be info than you were looking for, but the bottom line is you want to keep you temps lower 70°. If you want to continue running F@H on your laptop I would consider a laptop cooler as Iain suggested or reduce the CPU usage alloted to F@H. You might also want to get a can or two of compressed air and blowout the heatsink. Blow through both the exhaust port and intake port, starting with the exhaust port. __________________ Matt Everest-Thermal Paste Instruction-Power Supply Info-Sensorview PSU Calculator-Speedfan-Bench Test Help TSF Fight Disease. It's Free!

02-03-2008, 09:55 PM	#6 (permalink)
EnglishPaul Still no avatar Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sheffield Posts: 1,314 OS: XP SP2 Blog Entries: 9	Re: CPU useage not as specified Thanks for the info Mattlock. Unfortunately I recently cleaned the heatsink path, but I'll check the bios, and tone down F@H.