iCUE CPU spikes?

Hi there,

I recently got the VOID PRO RGB SE with my new set of peripherals (went full RGB first time) and I love them, no issues there really.

 

My problem however seems to be, note seems, with iCUE.

I'm using a Samsung G700A laptop connected to a HP USB hub to be able to connect all the devices to the laptop. (i7-2670QM + AMD Radeon HD 6900M on 7 Home Premium -64bit)

I've had these peripherals for about a month now and I only had minor issues with keyboard (HyperX Alloy Elite RGB) during install.

Now I am aware I am using a laptop which runs hot by itself and it's a few years old so the thermalpaste might be due efficiency date, I am well aware of these facts, but I am using a powerful cooling-pad for it.

 

However, after 3 full days of troubleshooting high CPU and Mobo temps even when idle or simple browsing tasks, I've come to a few conclusions which has improved my performance but still hasn't returned to normal.

 

1.) Power supply in the laptop was probably too weak to run all these peripherals lights etc so the USB hub which is powered externally from the wall socket removes that strain on the laptop and reduced temps a fair bit.

 

2.) Reinstalling drivers, updating latest firm and software for the VOID PRO and iCUE aswell as keeping windows updated improved temperatures so this has been done (with several reboots and reinstalls of software and drivers aswell).

 

Today I came to a third and final conclusion as the temps were at normal as they were before installing any peripherals yet with all of them connected through the hub (except charger for VOID PRO which goes into laptop), as they were last night when I was still experiencing issues.

I noticed this; everything was fine and normal, until I turned on the headset.

Immediately after doing this my CPU went from 46-52*C up to 60-65*C in idle mode, doing nothing, about same temps for the motherboard aswell (laptop so what can ya do).

 

Now, I am about to open this sucker up and exchange the thermal paste tomorrow or so but I did want to get some feedback on this before I do anything as there is a small risk of damaging components.

 

In the time of writing this I turned off the headset and experienced a rough 5*C drop on CPU and a reboot would return me to the 45-50ish*C area again.

 

I've read alot of posts about previous versions of iCUE causing CPU spikes or just high usage but that was in older versions and seemed to had been solved in a 3.5.111 patch iirc that number correctly.

However, I believe I am still having these issues as the corsair.service combined with iCUE seems to at points spike my CPU which in turn causes high temperatures in comparison to before.

 

Be aware that I am in no way trying to blame Corsair or this software for my personal issues, I have no concrete idea of how all this works and what is exactly causing these behaviors but as I have been able to reproduce a stable previous state with all peripherals connected and turned on except for the VOID PRO it has me believing there might be some communication block or error somewhere which causes these spikes and unusual heavy loads on my system.

 

I have also made sure to check the "Show only connected devices" box and unchecking it but to no difference.

 

Any help or advise in solving these issues would be well appreciated as I intend to use this system for a few more months until I get my stationary rig up and running.

 

(As a reminder I am not certain this would be the right place to post this but seeing as there have been posts on high CPU usage caused by this software before I took a swing, please forgive me if I was at wrong.)

 

Thanks in advance for taking your time reading this.

Have a nice day.

 

Regards

Daggz

(Using iCUE 3.9.93 and Firmware 0.15)

JUP i have the same issuee... i have a i7 8700 and sometime it goes up to 50percent of cpu usage just because of icue... didnt had this before...

If you open the task manager, how much CPU% is devoted to iCUE and the CorsairService32 process?

 

If you only have the VOID, you might consider running the prior CUE 2 (v 2.24.50) for a while until this gets ironed out. There are a few peripherals and devices that eat a little too much CPU power. CUE 2 was a pretty light application and may be more beneficial for your situation.

If you open the task manager, how much CPU% is devoted to iCUE and the CorsairService32 process?

 

If you only have the VOID, you might consider running the prior CUE 2 (v 2.24.50) for a while until this gets ironed out. There are a few peripherals and devices that eat a little too much CPU power. CUE 2 was a pretty light application and may be more beneficial for your situation.

 

Using the resource manager Corsair.Service.exe is using averagely 0.64% of the CPU and iCUE 0.5% whilst HyperX NGenuity is on an average 1.3%, however I haven't had any heat issues on the CPU from NGenuity nor ROG Armory for my Gladius Origin II.

iCUE does take an abnormal time to bring to the foreground despite having the program running on startup, rebooting it or starting it manually aswell whilst the other peripheral software is quick and has yet to failed in responding on demand.

 

 

From Corsair yes, I only have the VOID.

After posting this I went to check a Youtube video and temperatures on CPU and Mobo went up to 70-72*C, starting Skyrim has me running at 75-85*C which is what has me posting here, I am worried my hardware might be damaged by doing the simple things I was able to do when installing and using this the first few weeks.

 

As of now I limit my usage to pure browsing to not put unnecessary strain on my components which feels kinda... Anticlimactic lol.

 

I'll try using CUE2 and report back my findings.

 

Thanks for a very quick and informative response!

Hmm.. that's not a lot of CPU power from iCUE. However, you seem to have a problem of some sort and can probably rule out iCUE by killing the application and the service in the task manager. You can certainly go ahead and try CUE 2 regardless. iCUE is a bit graphic heavy in its interface and that may account for the slow rise out of the tray. If it's any consolation, my 8700K@5.0GHz and Titan X(P) don't exactly yank it by the tail either, with normal first view taking 1.5-2 seconds. That seems to be a program thing rather than your hardware. Some are like that and Precision XOC takes 6-7 seconds to load for me.

 

If you laptop does have a cooling problem, it should be present at the desktop as well with higher CPU temps despite low CPU load levels. On the other hand, keep an eye on the task manager for usage across the board. There may be something that is using more CPU power than expected.

Sadly I'm seeing the same temperature spikes on CUE2 which acts even less responsive.

 

I really don't feel like returning these headphones but I'm not interested in getting throttled by these softwares either so I'm guessing I'm stuck with these issues until resolved, unless I switch to another brand which would be a shame as I've always highly respected Corsair.

 

Praying for a quick and lasting solution to this as I have confidence in a major and well established brand.

 

From a consumer perspective I would like to note that these issues shouldn't really be included in 100+$ priced products.

 

Thanks for the help!

 

Edit: Jumped the gun a little there, CUE2 is slightly more stable on temps but not by much and still spikes a little. I was hoping on going back to the 45-52*C idle but I'm somewhere around 57-62*C idle on CPU still.. Keep in mind I was at my normal temps of 45-52*C just a few hours ago (not newly booted been running all day)..

 

I feel like the problem with temps arising happens when the headset is turned on and the communcation starts going between the devices. I had iCUE running before on normal temps but when I turned on the headset they quickly arose to abnormal levels. This is something that hasn't happened until I updated to 3.9.93.

 

All of this is well out of my league and I wouldn't expect these issues when paying for a premium product tbh.

I hear there's work being done on the software actively and I hope it is, I really hope this can be optimized for all of us asap, it looks and feels good but resource management needs to be optimized and stabilized.

As far as I can see the competitors also have issues but not with throttling system performance or using a heavy amount of resources.

 

I wish the developers and Corsair all the best and good luck in perfecting this software as I do like it besides this issue.

 

Thanks for your help c-attack, I truly appreciate it!

Have a great day!

I am not sure the cause and effect lines up here. If the application and service are only using just over 1% of the CPU, it can't be what's ramping up CPU temps. Keep an eye out for anything abnormal from any program, but my hunch leans toward basic thermal properties of a passively cooled laptop. Once things get warm, they stay warm until everything has conducted the heat elsewhere. It's a bit hard to theorize without knowing exactly how the board is laid out.

I am not sure the cause and effect lines up here. If the application and service are only using just over 1% of the CPU, it can't be what's ramping up CPU temps. Keep an eye out for anything abnormal from any program, but my hunch leans toward basic thermal properties of a passively cooled laptop. Once things get warm, they stay warm until everything has conducted the heat elsewhere. It's a bit hard to theorize without knowing exactly how the board is laid out.

 

That's what they're displaying if I'm reading it right.

However they do spike at times to a higher % but I can't provide a solid number on how much as I rarely catch it.

 

However it is what's causing it as when I uninstalled iCUE completely from the system, temperatures dropped. I do believe there is still optimization required when it comes to resource management despite the fact it seems to have gotten alot better.

 

I know it's not normal behavior as it started after I updated iCUE to latest version 3.9.93 and didn't have these temperatures when I first installed it and had an update I can't remember.

 

I could attach pictures of my desk layout for a better understanding of how it's all connected and disassembly videos of the laptop model on youtube.

Videos show pretty much complete layout and design of the laptop.

 

Thanks,

Regards

Daggz

UPDATE:

My temps were rising due to two factors;

iCUE and HyperX Ngenuity.

 

Ngenuity demands more resources than iCUE however there seems to be some communication issues in the Corsair.Service I think which causes spikes at times.

 

The combination of the two had my system trying to do stuff in the background which caused the spikes I was seeing.

 

Apologies for judging a little too fast, however I do stand firm there could and/or should be room for a little more optimization.

I really like iCUE though, it looks and feels great so far.

 

Thanks for the help everyone involved.

Take care, til' the next time!