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Idle is a state that a computer processor is in when it is not being used by any program. Every program or task that runs on a computer system occupies a certain amount of processing time on the CPU. If the CPU has completed all tasks it is idle. Modern processors use idle time to save power.
However, the idle process does not use up computer resources (even when stated to be running at a high percent). Its CPU time "usage" is a measure of how much CPU time is not being used by other threads. In Windows 2000 and later the threads in the System Idle Process are also used to implement CPU power saving.
In many applications, the CPU and other components are idle much of the time, so idle power contributes significantly to overall system power usage. When the CPU uses power management features to reduce energy use, other components, such as the motherboard and chipset, take up a larger proportion of the computer's energy.
SpeedFan is a system monitor for Microsoft Windows that can read temperatures, voltages and fan speeds of computer components. [3] It can change computer fan speeds depending on the temperature of various components. [1] [4] The program can display system variables as charts and as an indicator in the system tray.
For example, hardware timers send interrupts to the CPU at regular intervals. Most operating systems execute a HLT instruction when there is no immediate work to be done, putting the processor into an idle state. In Windows NT, for example, this instruction is run in the "System Idle Process". On x86 processors, the opcode of HLT is 0xF4.
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CPU-Z is more comprehensive in virtually all areas compared to the tools provided in the Windows to identify various hardware components, and thus assists in identifying certain components without the need of opening the case; particularly the core revision and RAM clock rate. It also provides information on the system's GPU.
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