I never understood ,what is CPU usage,and what is good for?

I have this small window on my computer,with CPU usage,and a small graph.
It's written CPU usage.What is this good for?

Can anyone help with an answer?

Thank you!

reply to post by diamondsmith


It's basically what processes and how many of them you have running that determines your computer usuage.
Is that what you're asking?

It tells you how much of your processor (CPU) capacity is being used. The more capacity used, the slower your computer will respond.

Its the amount of work the CPU Core is doing in real time.

CPU usage is just a term which basically means how much the processor is being used. The graph will usually have a number of different lines on it depending on the amount of cores the processor has which shows the usage in percentage per core, the more cores, the faster it can process commands.

reply to post by diamondsmith


CPU refers to your processor. The CPU usage graph usually determines how much your computer is processing. If you're having speed issues with your PC and you see that the CPU graph is all the way up near peaking levels then you have too many things running or you have to upgrade your CPU. I think some graphs even determine your CPU temperature, usually good for people who overclock their systems and need to keep an eye on their CPU. Most people don't have any use for the graph.

reply to post by diamondsmith

CPU usage is just that. How much the CPU is being used. Put differently, a CPU has a certain capacity, a bit like an engine. It has a certain amount of power and can execute a certain number of instructions per second. When CPU usage is at 100%, then the PC will appear to be sluggish and unresponsive (worst case scenario).

Take video processing as an example, a fairly CPU intensive task due to all the calculations needed. CPU X can process 1 hour of video per hour. CPU Y (being a newer and faster model) can process 1 hour of video in 45 minutes.

Hope it helps.

Just to add.......

CPU = Central Processing Unit

Simply put, if your CPU is eating up all your resources, your system will eventually crash and fail.



Last thing you want, is your CPU to overheat. But before it overheats it will shut off, give you the blue screen of death and go BEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPP

Thank you all for your explanation,I try to understand,I am not that good with computer!

In simple terms. You have too much stuff running. If your not running anything, your computer is old and needs some replacing. Its really not that bad these days, you can get a good one for 450.