CPU Usage Question

[Jay567]

Hi,

I run a couple finance applications at work and my CPU usage averages about 20%. What does this tell me about my computer? Would I see any speed benefit to upgrading or would it just be excess?

Thanks,

Jay

 

[TallBill]

Well what are the stats of your PC now? And do you experience slow down when running whatever programs you run?

 

[Jay567]

not exactly sure... its at work right now... its a P4 with 1gb of ram from dell - i'll check it out tomorrow...

its not that i actually see slowdown in my programs but wanted to know if there is any slowdown and if my computer runs my programs effectively. for example, is a computer that runs all the programs at a CPU usage of 10% compared to one 20% run those programs faster? sorry for my lack of knowledge...

your help is appreciated.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Jay567
not exactly sure... its at work right now... its a P4 with 1gb of ram from dell - i'll check it out tomorrow...

its not that i actually see slowdown in my programs but wanted to know if there is any slowdown and if my computer runs my programs effectively. for example, is a computer that runs all the programs at a CPU usage of 10% compared to one 20% run those programs faster? sorry for my lack of knowledge...

your help is appreciated.

not necessarily. CPU usage comes from many things. If you have a dual core CPU your usage will be lower than a single core because you are running on what is technically 2 CPUs. So you're not using 100%, maybe only 50% at max with a single app not made for using multiple CPUs/cores. 20% isn't that much usage really at all to be perfectly honest.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: Jay567
not exactly sure... its at work right now... its a P4 with 1gb of ram from dell - i'll check it out tomorrow...

its not that i actually see slowdown in my programs but wanted to know if there is any slowdown and if my computer runs my programs effectively. for example, is a computer that runs all the programs at a CPU usage of 10% compared to one 20% run those programs faster? sorry for my lack of knowledge...

your help is appreciated.

You might get unnoticeable improvements, but as cmdrdredd said, 20% really isn't a whole lot. And really, 1gb is plenty enough memory for almost any application. I'd check to see what % of physical memory you are using during use of your programs as well. If you hit the swap file at all, add another stick.