cpou usage 100% while gaming

[R3d]

hey guys i'm kinda stumped as to why while playing CS1.6 my cpu amd64 3700 san diego core goes straight up to 100% usage.. temps stay at 42C after about 2 hours of scrimming..

in other games like CS:S, Fear, quake 4, COD, NFSMW the cpu is jumping aroudn but not constant 100%

is it just cuz the 1.6 is based on the older code and not to keen with the 64 bit chip?

i did a search and most of the stuff i found was for the dual core X2's


further system specs..

asus a8n-sli premium
2gb corsair
evga 6800gt w/vf700cu
amd64 3700 w 7000alcu


also another question.. would it be worth the upgrade on the cpu cooler to get a 9500cu? idle temps now are 31 and around 42 at max load

 

[Team Obi Juan]

Unless you're on dual core, that's normal. I mean, is gameplay choppy at all? Can you alt+tab almost immediately to the desktop?

And you don't need to upgrade your heatsink unless you plan on OCing... even then, I'd monitor temps while OCing to see how bad you really need it.

 

[Flak Monkey]

It's normal for the cpu to be at 100% in old games like 1.6. Your video card is beyond fast enough to handle the game leaving your cpu as the limit while it pumps out instructions to the video card,

 

[R3d]

yea i can alt+tab fine and everything.. was just like wtf with the cpu usage.. only thing that i find weird is that every now and again with CS my FPS will drop drastically to like 10 fps for about 30 seconds then go back up to 100 constant.. heat issues as i see aren't the cause.. vid card doesnt go higher then 45C and cpu doesnt go over 42C..

would it be the lcd with the dvi connection at all?
i have a 19" samsung 940bf w 2ms response