50% CPU while idle, after video card and power upgrade

V

Vidosoli

After I upgraded my video card to a Geforce 660 TI I noticed that after a couple of minutes in, my CPU gets an additional 50% on it. I'm very afraid that if I dont do something about this it will greatly shorten my CPU's lifespan. I've done everything I could. Checked my PC with avast and malwarebytes, I'm clean. I've noticed that svchost has been taking a large amount of CPU, in particular 2 Services:
PlugnPlay
AudioEndPointBuilder
I know that those two processes are key Windows related ones and cancelling them will just ruin everything all together. Anyone got any ideas on how I can solve this? Pre the hardware updates my CPU was just fine, going up at 2ish% while idle, now it's 50ish.
 
Did you do a clean install of the drivers for your 660Ti? It's generally a good idea to rid your machine of all trace of the drivers from your previous GPU before installing a new one. Driver conflicts can cause all manner of problems.

I'd try running sfc scannow. You may also want to check if your GPU is properly seated. Also, while I'm sure you've already done it, I'll go ahead and suggest uninstalling and and re-installing the drivers for your 660Ti -- just in case you missed that one. It'd be better if you download the drivers from the Nvidia website. Make sure you install the latest WHQL release.

Did you install the new GPU yourself? The title of your post says "...power(watt) upgrade." I'm sorry, but I have to ask, does this mean you upgraded your PSU, as well?
 
Yeah, sorry for the lack of information, in order to be able to support the new GPU I had to upgrade my pwoer supply. I didn't put in the new GPU myself, I'll check if there are any traces of my old GPU tho, thanks a bunch! Will report back with results
 
If the problem persists, try doing a clean install of the new drivers. I run Driver Sweeper while my machine is in safe mode to thoroughly clean out old drivers. You have to be extra careful when using this kind of software, though. Some will even advise against using it. Your call.
 
Honestly, I am suspecting that the problem may very well be that I still have some parts of my old drivers. That might be what's causing the high CPU usage. I just have a question. What's a proper way to find out if there are any leftovers of old drivers at all. I'm pretty sure the way I've done it was wrong. How do You find out if you have any old drivers?
 
Take a look here.

Make sure you uninstall all components of the old Nvidia graphics drivers -- including PhysX drivers and profiles, etc. This would, for me, comprise the initial steps.

Now for some, this initial step would be sufficient. Most of the time, I think it is. But -- like I mentioned earlier -- I take the extra precaution of running Driver Sweeper to make sure I don't run into driver conflicts, deleting whatever trace of the old driver that Driver Sweeper finds in my machine. You can read more about the tool here.

Again, many knowledgeable PC users would argue that using tools like Driver Sweeper is unnecessary. I think they're right in most cases. Driver Sweeper will mess with your registry, and that's always risky. I urge you to do some thorough research on it as that would permit you at least some cursory information on the subject. Besides, it's always good to learn a thing or two about these things. ;) So don't limit yourself to the links I've provided.

If you decide to use Driver Sweeper, be very careful. Run the tool after uninstalling the old drivers as described in the first step. Then restart your PC in safe mode and run the sweeper. What was your previous card? If it was also an Nvidia, check only Nvidia Display and Nvidia PhysX. Make sure you're sweeping only the stuff that needs to be cleaned out.The software will seek out any leftovers from the old drivers and prompt a list of the entries it finds in your registry. You will then be asked if you wish to delete them.

Once you've deleted the leftovers, close Driver Sweeper, undo safe mode and restart your PC as you normally would. You can then do a clean install of the new drivers. (Make sure you obtain a fresh copy of the correct drivers off the Nvidia website, by the way.)

I'm not 100% sure that uninstalling and re-installing your drivers is the solution to your problem, but it certainly would be a good first step. Good luck and I really hope this helps.
 
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Yeah so whatever was left of my drivers was uninstalled and everything is still the same :( Still, I'd like to thank you Dawn1113 for your amazing support on this one. I quess I'll have to check if the video card is properly seated, since now that I think about it it was mentioned to me that the video card was supposedly really big so maybe that's the issue
 
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Hmm. Well, if you don't mind, can you post your full system specs? What audio drivers does your machine use? Are you using an Asus mobo with VIA HD, by any chance? Have you tried running sfc scannow and maybe testing if you still get the same CPU usage when running in safe mode?

Sorry for the barrage of questions. Your problem has piqued my curiosity.:)
 
This could quite possibly be your antivirus program which one are you running and uninstall it to confirm? Or a third party firewall program.
 
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