CPU Usage for Tech Dummies

CPU usage monitor

Every day, our research staffers stumble over content written by freelancers more interested in cash than in accuracy. We're all pretty certain that the mother lode of such misinformation is the conglomeration of niche sites into which Leaf Group has moved (most of) the old eHow.com content. We still find an "old friend" in one of the niches from time to time; someone like freelancing English major Andrea Stein. Andrea lent her considerable ignorance on the topic of "What Is CPU Usage on a Computer," which Leaf has moved to ItStillWorks.com. We aren't certain why it's not at Techwalla, to be frank.

Andrea booted up her laptop and dashed off a couple hundred words (187, by our count) in which she carefully reworded PCMag's definition of a central processing unit (CPU) and how it works. First, though, she introduced the topic with some typical technoboob babble:

"Computers perform a myriad of complex operations. In order to run these operations, PCs must process enormous amounts of information. This is accomplished by a crucial piece of hardware: the CPU."

Stein's hyperbolic prose notwithstanding, that's essentially true. Where the post goes pear-shaped (as our Brit intern would say) is her ensuing paragraph, in which she carefully transcribed (i.e., copied, reworded, and pasted) a description of how a CPU performs this "magic." Rarely have we seen any prose so clearly posted by someone who lacks the slightest clue of what it means...

Speaking of lacking clues, however, it's pretty clear that Stein did not understand the question; nor, for that matter, did the J-school grad "content editor" who supposedly fact-checked the post. Those of us who have at least some understanding of our computers (beyond "This button turns it on," anyway) are pretty sure the OQ wanted to know why his or her computer was running so slowly and why the CPU usage was pegged at 100%. The answer may have been either a runaway process caused by a bug in a running program or a virus. The solution in the first case was probably the old three-finger salute, in the second case, run an antivirus scan (do that in both cases, actually).

Stein didn't mention either of those. She didn't mention the CPU usage graph PC users can find in the Task Manager (she was probably using a mac laptop, anyway: don't you just think your questions at those?). In other words, because of her ignorance, Andrea didn't answer the question. That's all we needed to give her another Dumbass of the Day award (her ninth).

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