CPU use over and beyond 200% average

[Mr Sir]

So I shall start be setting the details before I get replies about "remove mods, reinstall" etc.

Game reinstalled
No mods
Clean empty world - just created
PC fresh reboot
All drivers updated in last 24 hours
Potentially conflicting services or programs stopped
Graphic settings were on high-Extreme (auto detect) = reduced to minimum.
Experience is not replicated on far more demanding games EXCEPT 1 - World of Warships.

Tech specs:
i7 8700k water cooled OC 4.2ghz
16gb RAM
nVidia Geforce RTX 2080
240gb SSD

Experience:
After 2-3 minutes game freezes for few seconds
Another minute later, game freezes this time for 20 seconds
Repeat until sick of it and sht down game.
Check performance viewer - 70fps min
CPU thread usage stable around 80%
During freeze CPU thread use increased to as much as 4000%

No blocks on screen. Floating in space.

After over 1500 hours enjoying this game, without issues on the same rig (3 years old), I am seriously losing the desire to play because of this.

I've seen a few posts similar, many have suggested what I have already tried - I've even researched trying to limit/increase the cores/threads being used, this makes no difference

Why is the CPU getting smashed so hard for no reason, when the GPU can handle so much more?

[Mad Scientist]

Voxel games always use a fairly high amount of CPU compared to other games due to how they function in general, from Space Engineers, 7 Days to Die, Avorion, and the likes.

For these kinds of games, limiting the FPS with VSYNC can highly reduce the CPU usage rather than allowing it to work much harder than necessary. That's one thing that you'll notice hits your CPU much less, other things are hit/miss and depend on how much stuff needs to be processed.

[davidanttila1980]

I'll be the first to admit that Space Engineers is in desperate need of optimization.
But even. You got to admit Space Engineers is trying to do a lot of complicated calculations and Geometric algorithms as well..

[Dan2D3D]

HI, I recommend to tell all this to the ones working on the game, send them all the impotant data so they can have a look at the problem you found and be able to start working on a fix for your PC to run the game.

I tell you this cause I still use a 10 years old PC and all good for me playing on Default options and Default Medium graphic settings 70 FOV.

+ I don't know what other players can do to help you if you already done the important so your best chance is to report directly to the SE Programmers.


____

Support Portal = https://support.keenswh.com/spaceengineers/pc
(create "Bug report" or "Request help"(Private) or "Feedback"(Petition) on the Portal)

You may use the Support Email to report if you prefer :
Email = [e-mail]

Here is the important Data you must add in your report to help the SE programmer before they ask you :
https://steamcommunity.com/app/244850/discussions/1/523897653318639486/

_____


In case you did not tried all, I recommend to have a look at the Forum Workaround(s) thread, it's the first things to do when having game problem and helped a lot so far :

https://steamcommunity.com/app/244850/discussions/0/2440336020748966737/

[Dan2D3D]

Dangermousem,
can you share Steam screenshot with the world stats on screen?

Hit Shift+F11 one time to see the world stats on screen and take a Steam screenshot F12.

Here is my current SS world with stations and ships on all planets, we could compare the Perfo if you share :
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2662656751
112 FPS with 1.02 Simulation Speed = Very good

[Anty4444]

As you mentioned you upgraded your drivers, have you tried downgrading some of them? Not worth much especially since it's the CPU being hit but it's better than nothing. Another thing would be to try reversing your overclock as it could be potentially destabilising your experience, though very unlikely.

As the others have said the game can be quite demanding but that's not a reason for your high cpu usage, especially considering my dinky laptop can run the game no problems.

[Dan2D3D]

Oh! It may be the new NVIDIA Driver ??

I still use the last 2020 Driver and no problems / no crashes at all.

to compare :

-> I play all on default Options and Default Medium graphic settings
(game never crashes)

Motherboard ASUS P7P55 LX (10 years old)
Intel Core i5 cpu 760 @ 2.80GHz 2.80 GHz (10 years old)
RAM 16 Gb
Sys. Win10 Pro 64 bit (updated from Win7 Pro)

Graphics NVIDIA Strix GTX 1050 Ti
Driver I use = 456.71 (not up to date)

[Dan2D3D]

Another thing I have noticed, It happens to me sometimes where the game will freeze for a few seconds and noticed I am disconnected from Steam, I lose my Steam Market suits, I can't publish Steam screenshots and or access my Friends Activity in Steam app when that happens and why I know the freeze comes because I lose connection.

+ Worst on tuesdays because
-> Steam is down for routine maintenance every tuesday.

[Karmaterrorᵁᴷ]

These numbers confuse me... What software do you monitor it with?

What's the actual per core usage when it happens... It won't be over 100%.

A core at 80% cannot increase by 4000%... Maybe you are looking at overall usage Vs single core/thread usage.

An afterburner screenshot showing all threads+overall+ram+GPU usage would be more helpful to diagnose stuff.

What are your temps at time of crash... A throttling CPU may cause increasing stutter/freezes untill it crashes.

Also a three year old machine with heavy usage is a prime candidate for dried out thermal paste causing excess heat. If it's above 80 at any point I'd look into that. Taking the heatsink off and applying thermal paste should be easy enough as long as you don't have a custom water loop with riged tubes. AIO cooler with flexible pipes it's super easy :)

[Mr Sir]

Originally posted by Anty4444:

As you mentioned you upgraded your drivers, have you tried downgrading some of them? Not worth much especially since it's the CPU being hit but it's better than nothing. Another thing would be to try reversing your overclock as it could be potentially destabilising your experience, though very unlikely.

As the others have said the game can be quite demanding but that's not a reason for your high cpu usage, especially considering my dinky laptop can run the game no problems.

The problem has been going on for 6 months or more, so unless the last few drivers have been broken, I cannot see how rolling back drivers would help. Thanks though.

[Mr Sir]

I think I'm going to have to take the cooling apart, and check the thermal paste. The cooling unit is fixed loop, not flexible, so it will be tricky. While i'm at it, I will replace the fluid and make sure it has been cleaned out.

I am not sure there if there is a physical issue or not, but this will hopefully confirm.

[Stellar Remnant]

Originally posted by Karmaterrorᵁᴷ:

Also a three year old machine with heavy usage is a prime candidate for dried out thermal paste causing excess heat. If it's above 80 at any point I'd look into that. Taking the heatsink off and applying thermal paste should be easy enough as long as you don't have a custom water loop with riged tubes. AIO cooler with flexible pipes it's super easy :)

Why do people keep saying that thermal paste can go bad? I built my system 6 years ago, and the cpu temps have been fine whenever I check them, ~60C max.

[Grat Dalton]

Hey OP, I have same CPU.
- Just checked CPU usage & temperature using MSI afterburner while running game at high settings with screen resolution 1440p. No abnormal usage with CPU.
- Is Space Engineers installed on your 240gb SSD ?
- I would suggest check task manager for back ground programs running while Space Engineers is running, but you said already checked that in original post.

Windows 10 x64 -- Version 21H2
2560 x 1440 144hz G-sync Monitor
i7-8700k LGA1151
Geforce GTX 1080Ti > Driver version 472.12
Z370 Aorus gaming 7
G.Skill TridentZ DDR4 16GB
Samsung NVMe SSD 960 EVO 250GB
Crucial MX300 SSD 1Tb
Seasonic 80 + Gold 850

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2701526590
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2701544470

[Karmaterrorᵁᴷ]

Originally posted by Unreality:

Originally posted by Karmaterrorᵁᴷ:

Also a three year old machine with heavy usage is a prime candidate for dried out thermal paste causing excess heat. If it's above 80 at any point I'd look into that. Taking the heatsink off and applying thermal paste should be easy enough as long as you don't have a custom water loop with riged tubes. AIO cooler with flexible pipes it's super easy :)

Why do people keep saying that thermal paste can go bad? I built my system 6 years ago, and the cpu temps have been fine whenever I check them, ~60C max.

Because it's not even a question... It's very well documented and well known issue.

If you, for some reason, don't believe it, i suggest googling for images of dried out paste.

You will see dry cracked paste... If you can find a vid of one being cleaned you will see the powder paste becomes with your own eyes.

Not all paste is equal.. nor is system usage.. someone may have bad paste with heavy usage Vs someone with good paste and light usage.

Either way past can, and does dry out. Which can have a massive impact on your system, even causing it to completely shut down to protect the CPU :)

[Draylynn]

Originally posted by Karmaterrorᵁᴷ:

Not all paste is equal.. nor is system usage.. someone may have bad paste with heavy usage Vs someone with good paste and light usage.

It's also worth noting; Many CPU's have paste inside them that also wears out over time, depending on the brand/manufacturer, as CPU's approach 5 years old the CPU may benefit less and less from fresh paste on the connector, it may need it's 'internal' paste replacing.
You can try de-lidding (Google this, tons of videos on how to do this) the CPU, it's a delicate process and easy to break the CPU entirely.