During periods of games where the game should get more CPU intensive, Overwatch just instead drops down from 50%+ CPU usage to sometimes less than 10%, causing the game to almost completely freeze up and the audio to bug out. This was not an issue before today, and the only thing that has changed on my system was that I updated windows. All of my drivers are up to date, and this is not happening in any other application other then Overwatch. Nothing else is using the CPU that causes this to happen; the whole system is at only about 20-30% total CPU usage when this bug occurs. All of my settings are pretty much as low as they can go. Any help?
It could be due to power management settings, try this.
Click Change Plan Settings next to the power plan you’re using for your PC and then click Change Advanced Power Settings . Expand the Processor Power Management listing and then expand Minimum Processor State . Change this setting to 100% (mine is set to 90% as Ryzen balanced setting).
Since you mentioned it only happens in OW, you could do some stress test for your CPU (search online for free one) to see will it behave in same way or your CPU could be overheating (one of reasons why CPU would drop usage %)
Thanks for the reply!
I’ve checked and the “Minimum Processor State” was already at 100%, the same with the “Maximum”.
Since the post, I’ve been able to find out that it is a temperature issue causing the CPU usage to drop; I guess my other games aren’t CPU intensive enough to make the same thing happen. I don’t think there’s anything I can really do about it at this point as I’m not overclocked or anything and all the settings that would effect CPU usage are as low as they can go, so I guess I’m gonna have to put playing Overwatch on hold at least until the room temperature becomes reasonable again so I don’t fry my PC.
Thanks for the help anyway!
No problem. Do you use desktop PC or laptop? There’s some things you can do regarding high temperatures (using compressed air to clean dust and change termal paste)
It is quite a hot summer.
These steps may help, but if you feel you’re not able to maintain your system’s temperatures, wait for cooler times as you suggested.
I use a PC, but I don’t have any spare compressed air or thermal paste lying around. I’ve just been putting getting any off because I’m expecting to completely upgrade my PC later this year anyway. But if there’s anything else I can do with settings or anything, I’m open to suggestions
Unfortunately, I think I’m gonna have to wait for temperatures to come down before I start playing again. I was just getting back into the game too 
Unfortunately there is not much you can do without thermal paste and/or compressed air. If you have a spare fan to install inside of PC case that could help, otherwise you’ll have to wait for temperatures to go down a bit.
Regarding PC upgrade wait for new Ryzen CPU and Nvidia GPUs, it should be out later this year, you’ll have more options to make best possible upgrade.
I know about the upcoming hardware releases and I am waiting for them, not because I want to get them but because they’ll likely pull the prices of previous CPU’s and GPU’s down, so I’m looking to get a Ryzen 7 3700X and a 2060 super. But I would’ve upgraded ages ago if the prices of parts didn’t just skyrocket throughout quarantine, especially PSU’s.
Thats good choice, just pick a good MBO with that CPU and good PSU. Good luck with your upgrade and hopefully you’ll get to play OW soon.
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Thanks! I think I’ll be going for a Tuf Gaming x570 MBO and a 650W be quiet Gold certified PSU. It’ll be my first build from scratch, so I’m just hoping that the parts make it out alive when I’m done with it
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According to reviews MBO is a good value, I never used BeQuiet PSU, only Seasonic, but that should be fine also.
Don’t forget about aftermarket cooler for CPU and a high speed RAM and you’ll be good. Seems like you did your research, but if you need any help let me know, I’ve been maintaining my and several other PCs for more than 10 years.
Although there are a lot of videos on the subject, here is one example how to assemble it all together, its not complicated but some steps need to be applied.
Yeah I’ve been making sure I’ll have a good idea with what I’m doing when I build it, I’ve watched the video you linked and many others
The RAM I’m getting is gonna be a 2 x 8 GB kit of 3600 CL16 Ripjaws V, but I was going to use the AMD stock cooler because apparently its actually decent, and I wont be doing any overclocking so I’m expecting thermals to be fine with it as long as I keep the system clean. But I’ll be reusing my current PC case, which is quite old (Corsair Carbide Spec-03 with stock fans, been using it since about 2016), so I’ve been debating on weather or not to get a new one too
Thanks for helping out by the way, you know way more about this then I do so I appreciate it
RAM is good, matches compatibility list. Stock cooler is decent from what I saw also, you can upgrade if necessary after some time.
Case is old-ish but not bad, you could swap stock fans with new ones (front and back) and get better airflow and less noise (if you decide to do so look out for ones with PWM).
No problem, I started also as you and with a bit of help and self learning managed to get into PC’s and tech things.
To me, its more rewarding maintaining PC yourself, you learn something new and can always be useful in future.
Do you have any suggestions for cases I could use? Because I’m thinking of giving my old system to my little brother, so I’d need one for my new stuff. What I’m trying to do with my new build is make sure that it’s relatively future-proof, so two USB-3 connectors on the front panel and space for 3 front fans would be nice, but I’m really not bothered by aesthetics. I also need a HDD bay with at least two slots, and space to mount an SSD as well. As i previously mentioned, I don’t really mind how it looks, I value a good price over how it looks.
Also I’m sorry for putting all of this on you, I feel like I’m just making you do my research for me, so if you know anything you can recommend off the top of your head I’d appreciate it
Sorry for late reply, yesterday was a busy day for me so I didn’t check forum later in the day.
I’m a fan of Fractal Design, especially because they make cases with more emphasis on functionality rather than case being “flashy” (I don’t care about all that RGB goodness).
Had several cases during last few years, right now I’m using Node 202 (mini ITX build) for my PC and my 2nd one is in Fractal Meshify.
I would go with
https:// www. fractal-design. com/products/cases/define/define-r6-usb-c/blackout/
or this one
https:// www. fractal-design. com/products/cases/define/define-7/black/
They are a bit more expensive, but if you’re building for future I think it would be a good investment.
Check out links and see some reviews yourself if you want, you don’t have to buy just because I recommended them. None of them have space for 3 fans intake in front, just for two fans, but in my experience one more fan won’t make much of a difference.
There are other options but I don’t know whats your budget for case and it depends in what shop you’re buying it.
Are you planning to buy M.2 NVMe SSD or a 2.5" one?
No worries about it, I like to help if I can, so if you have any questions feel free to ask.
edit: found this review, its rather detailed (here case comes with glass side panel). Maybe you can get better picture in comparison charts so you can pick some other case that suits you better due to availability and price).
https:// www.gamersnexus. net/hwreviews/3558-fractal-define-7-case-review
For last I’ll add this, I think its best for you to check this first
https:// www.gamersnexus. net/guides/3604-best-gaming-pc-cases-for-airflow-in-2020-right-now
and decide for yourself (I’m a bit biased here because I like Scandinavian design in general, so my recommendation on Fractal may be in wrong direction).
Those cases do seem a little pricey, but I feel like from what I’ve seen they’re worth what I’d be paying for them. Just in case I decide to get a cheaper case which may include less stock fans, are there any go-to 120mm or 140mm fans you’d recommend adding to a case if there are, for example, no front fans?
And as for the SSD I was talking about, I already have a 2.5" one that I’ll be reusing because it has my OS and everything on it, but might get an M.2 one in the future, and maybe even a PCIe gen 4 M.2 NVMe SSD since the MBO I will have will support it, and it feels like a bit of a waste not to utilise it at any point
Edit: I’d just like to clarify that I do often do large file transfers with my system, which is why I’d get a PCIe 4.0 M.2 instead of a cheaper, slightly slower PCIe 3.0 M.2
If you decide to go with a bit cheaper case I would go with Fractal Meshify C, good value for money.
Front panel is mesh, it has dust filters, 3 slots for 2.5" drives and 2 for 3.5" hard drives, it comes with two fans inside of case, one in front, other in back.
https:// www.fractal-design. com/products/cases/meshify/meshify-c/black/
Otherwise, Noctua makes one of the best fans but they cost also, so something from Coolermaster or Fractal (mid priced range).
Good that you have one to re-use it, I think right now PCIe gen4 SSD are to expensive, with time when prices drop it will be a good investment.
Take in consideration that SSD drives have a limited number of writing cycles, hard drives don’t, so idk if that will affect your large data transfers.
edit: also to note Meshify C comes in two choices regarding side panel, if you pick a metal one price will be lower than glassed one.
For the case I feel like I’m going to go for either the Fractal Meshify C that you suggested, or the Lian Li Lancool II Mesh Performance because of the cheaper price and the 3 included fans (2 x 140mm and 1 x 120mm), and the great reviews its gotten too.
I also know about how expensive everything is at the moment, if I am going to get an M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD it will probably be at least a year from now or more, because I just don’t have the money at the moment to pimp out everything at once, and things will get cheaper with time anyway
I’d like to know your opinions on the Lian Li Lancool II Mesh Performance though, because it is relatively cheap compared to other competators, so if you can spot a reason for me not to use it I’d appreciate it
https:// www.lian-li. com/lancool-ii-mesh-performance/
Edit: just as a quick side note, since I’m trying to make this build as future-proof as possible, do you think that I’ll need a better PSU then the current 600W gold rated one I’m thinking of getting? I just don’t want to find myself with not enough power if I decide to, for example, upgrade my GPU again to something more powerful a few years down the line
Pick Lian Li one, especially if its cheaper. It has better overall performance and thermals in comparison with Meshify C and its more spacious, good find.
If you already didn’t, take a look at this review, I just did, it has some flaws, but there is no perfect case.
Regarding PSU, if you want to buy one with more power pick 650 or 700W, I don’t think you’ll need more than that, especially when you’re buying Gold rated one.
You can use wattage calculator to get approximately how much power your system will need, like this one or you can Google some other.
https:// seasonic. com/wattage-calculator
Alright, I think I’ll go for a gold 650W PSU and the Lian Li case as I can get it for under £75
And I think that’s all I really need help with for now, it’s still gonna be a good few months at least before I get the parts I want, but thanks for all the advice you’ve given me
I’m just hoping the price of RAM and PSU’s go down soon because they still cost so much atm