Fluctuating CPU Usage

I have a Dell 4550
Windows xp
2.0Ghz P4, 768mb ram
9600SE

okay, my problem is that in almost all games i play, i get choppiness every 30 or so seconds. ive tried everything from disabling my wireless network card (didnt help), disabling my sound (didnt work), and other things i cant think of right now. But looking at my task manager, i can see that my cpu usage is always fluctuating even when im not using any programs. So i thought that maybe this is the root of my problem. Here is a screenshot of my cpu usage:
http://img193.echo.cx/img193/4966/sscpuusage0ca.jpg
btw i recently updated my cpu driver so i cant figure out what the problem is

TIA

 

try process explorer(it's like the task manger but has more options and details,etc) to determine what is making your CPU spike ... also you may want to run through some of the spyware tuts in this site

http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4566

 

Howdy,
In the Task Manger click on the processes tab. There is a column that says CPU, this column tells you how much percent of the cpu each process using. Find out what process is causing this fluctuating cpu usage and post your findings.

 

its a dell thats why.LOL just kidding but you should try system mechanic flush out your ram and lots of stuff

 

That is a very cyclical cpu usage graph to say the least. Now, I would go into task manager and go to the processes tabs. Now, the offending process creating your problem should be listed here and you can tell which process it is by watching the "cpu" column. I would guess that you should be seeing a process that has is fluctuating abnormally -high number then low number - in the column. Post what that process is if you can find it.

 

the process "System" is fluctuating, its going from 0 to ~30 every 3 or so seconds

 

What ATI drivers are you using? I know a few versions of the drivers would make my games run choppy (5.2's and 5.3's)

Try the 5.4's or the older 5,1's those worked great

 

hmm seems as if it was my printer, or my printer port
so i took out my printer port cable, and am going to use a usb cable now instead. it seems as if my cpu usage is nice and low now . Who would have thought that flat-lining could make you so happy. Now my only problem is every time i reboot it reinstalls my printer

 

do you have any print jobs in que?

also make sure you are using the latest drivers