How to fix high CPU usage

Maybe your computer's antivirus is scanning your computer in the background and that's why it "hijacks" the computer's CPU temporarily. To make sure that the antivirus is running a scan, run it and double-check.

Note: Usually, the quick scans last up to 30 minutes.

Most of the programs don't consume too much of your computer's resources, however, there are some, such as Adobe Photoshop, which do. The first thing you need to do is to identify them and then close the demanding ones.

If you are a Mac OS user, you can easily identify them via the Activity Monitor (access it by going to Applications  -> Utilities -> Activity Monitor) in the CPU column. The higher the percentage, the more of the CPU is used.

Check out the don't know how to close (quit) programs/applications solutions to learn how to close the programs.

It is normal that the CPU usage is higher when you play games, however it shouldn't reach 100%. If it does, consider uninstalling the game from your computer because you might damage the CPU if you overload it too much.

Systemrequirementslab is a good website which can tell you whether your computer can run a particular game or not.

If your computer can't run a particular game, consider upgrading your computer, or even buying a new one (if it's impossible to upgrade the already existing one).

Check out the don't know which computer to buy guide, if you don't know which one to select.

Maybe the CPU itself doesn't have enough capacity to handle the programs you are running on your computer. If your computer is older than two years, and can't be upgraded to run those programs, consider replacing it with a new one and more powerful.

Check out the don't know which computer to buy guide to find the computer that will meet your needs.

If your computer can't handle the programs you are using it's hightime you upgraded the CPU. The developers upgrade the programs to make them more secure and implement new features in them, but the programs might also require more of your CPU than they used to do in the past.

Before you upgrade your computer, go to a computer store and tell them your computer's (motherboard's) model number (check out the don't know how to find my device's model number guide, if you were unable to find it) and they will tell you if your motherboard can support a newer CPU.

Note: Not all CPU's are the same, and supported by all the motherboards out there.

Most of the programs don't consume too much of your computer's resources, however, there are some, such as Adobe Photoshop, which do. The first thing you need to do is to identify them and then close the demanding ones.

If you are a Windows user, you can easily identify them via the Task Manager (access it by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc) in the CPU column. If you use Windows 7 or below, click the Startup tab first. Close the programs which use more than 50% of your CPU

Check out the don't know how to close (quit) programs/applications solutions to learn how to close the programs.

Maybe a program has become unresponsive or it didn't quit properly. Pressing the restart button is all you need to resolve this issue.

Maybe a virus has infected your computer and occupied your CPU, i.e. uses 100% of it. Sometimes you can even identify it via the CPU column in the Task Manager (press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to access the Task Manager).

Usually, that process will have a random name, e.g. xyzasd.sd, and will use 100% of the CPU.

The next step will be to remove it. Check out the viruses/spywares/malware solutions to learn how to remove it.

Too many startup programs  (i.e. programs that start when your computer starts) can "occupy" its CPU. To stop this, you can prevent some programs from starting when the operating system starts.

Check out the don't know how to disable startup programs solutions , to learn how to select which programs to start, manually.

If a program became unresponsive, or didn't quit properly, the best thing you can do is to force-shutdown your laptop, because laptops don't have a dedicated restart key as desktops do.

Press and hold the power on/off key until the laptop doesn't shut down (usually up to 10 seconds).

Sometimes, the antivirus itself might cause a high CPU usage. There are some antiviruses that demand more of the CPU and others which you won't even notice that are installed in your computer. This might be due to the fact that some antiviruses install additional utilities in your computer, which are running in the background and use the CPU.

There are many antiviruses out there. If you are not sure which one to install, check out the don't know which antivirus software to install guide.

If there are too many processes running in the background, the CPU usage will be higher.

Check out the computer is slow solutions to learn how to close background processes and increase your computer's speed.