jdmt 12 Posted October 3, 2009 I know what the System Idle process does, so you don't have to tell me. When I play ArmA: Combat Operations or ArmA II, my system idle process takes 90+ % of my CPU, and causes me to lag. From what I know about the System Idle Process, it's supposed to go that high when my CPU isn't doing anything. I have reformatted from Vista to Windows 7, and the problem is still here. System Specs: OS: Windows 7 CPU: AMD Althon X2 4200+ GPU: nVidia 9800GT RAM: 4GB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kklownboy 43 Posted October 3, 2009 are you logging it in game? Our are you Alt-tab out to see in Task Manager? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jdmt 12 Posted October 3, 2009 I have to alt-tab to see that it is the system idle process using the processor, but my G15 tells me ingame that my processor is at 10%. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kalikorz 10 Posted October 3, 2009 When you start the game switch to task manager and find the process then put it at above average or higher priority via a right click on the Arma process. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
draeath 10 Posted October 4, 2009 Apparently you DONT know what "System idle process" is. It doesn't take anything from anywhere, EVER. It's simply the statistic that is reported when your CPU isn't doing anything. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
purgi 10 Posted October 4, 2009 I know what the System Idle process does, so you don't have to tell me.When I play ArmA: Combat Operations or ArmA II, my system idle process takes 90+ % of my CPU, and causes me to lag. From what I know about the System Idle Process, it's supposed to go that high when my CPU isn't doing anything. I have reformatted from Vista to Windows 7, and the problem is still here. System Specs: OS: Windows 7 CPU: AMD Althon X2 4200+ GPU: nVidia 9800GT RAM: 4GB I'm not quite sure if you really do know what the System Idle process does. It actually doesn't do anything. It's a sum of available processor time. If you're alt-tabbing out to have a look, it's likely ARMAII is put in (for want of a better term) a paused state since it's currently not the focus and therefore isn't representative of processor utilisation while it is the focus. I have a 2nd screen and running Windows 7 and using a widget that maps processor utilisation on all cores. When ARMAII is running, I'm getting between 40%-60% utilisation per core. If I swap out, it drops dramatically. If you don't have the luxury of a 2nd screen, try performance monitor. I think you'll find that nasty System Idle process will use less while you're actually in-game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tcp 10 Posted October 4, 2009 (edited) True, the system idle process isn't "using" up anything, and when you alt-tab out of ArmAII, it DOES stop processing the world. However, he is reporting that readings from his G15 keyboard performance monitor in-game, show that ArmAII is only using 10% CPU. I would say try the <-cpucount=2> command line, because the game might be confused as to how many cores are on your AthlonX2. Also, does windows show both of your cores in the task manager? If not, it could be a BIOS or driver issue. Edited October 4, 2009 by tcp Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jdmt 12 Posted October 5, 2009 When I look at my CPU/RAM Meter on my G15, it says only a small percentage of the CPU is being used, when it should be at 60-100%. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maddogx 13 Posted October 5, 2009 On my quad core 60-90% usage in Arma2 is normal. If it's around 10% then you're surely experiencing an unusual problem. Perhaps try disabling AMD Cool 'n Quiet in the BIOS, run the game with the -cpucount=2 parameter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kklownboy 43 Posted October 5, 2009 True, the system idle process isn't "using" up anything, and when you alt-tab out of ArmAII, it DOES stop processing the world. However, he is reporting that readings from his G15 keyboard performance monitor in-game, show that ArmAII is only using 10% CPU.I would say try the <-cpucount=2> command line, because the game might be confused as to how many cores are on your AthlonX2. Also, does windows show both of your cores in the task manager? If not, it could be a BIOS or driver issue. or his G15 is confused, and he should really log his game though admintools or something else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rstratton 0 Posted October 5, 2009 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Idle_Process The threads in the System Idle Process are used by Windows NT to implement CPU power saving. The exact power saving scheme depends on the hardware and firmware capabilities of the system in question. For instance, on x86 processors, the idle thread will run a loop of HLT instructions, which causes the CPU to turn off many internal components and wait until an interrupt request arrives. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teaboy 11 Posted October 7, 2009 system idle is where yur computer is doing nothing. in other words like mentioned above, it is the percentage of time the processor(s) is idle. the less programmes you are running the higher the percentage. at the moment i am running Morzilla firefox and the the task manger along with a number of back ground programmes and my idle percentage is 90-95% if i minimise morzilla its upto 95-98%. While running arma 2 its can be anywhere from 20-90%. lowest at 20% during launch of the game and highest being 90% during paused or in start menu. average for in game play is a percentage of 50-80%. depending on where i am on the game map. lowest percentage for when in towns and cities and highest when in open fields (not good idea if enemie snipers are around) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
