93-100% cpu usage during encoding bad for computer?

[Georgeo57]

I've been encoding 640X480 captures with TMPGEnc and was recently told that very high cpu usage was normal for this. The encoding takes about 3 1/4 hours since I have a 500 mHz processor. Will that kind of cpu usage burn out my processor more quickly than usual, or otherwise harm my computer?

Thanks

[BJ_M]

no - not really as long as everything is cool ..

we render stuff for weeks at a time at 100% cpu usage ..

[next]

no - not really as long as everything is cool ..

we render stuff for weeks at a time at 100% cpu usage ..

I agree. I also believe that the program the original poster mentioned will attempt to take advantage of as many CPU cycles that are available.

This is normal. Speed is king.

[ktnwin]

Unless it goes to sleep (via power management), the CPU always does something. If you are not encoding then your CPU run the idle task which means it still processing instructions to look for something else to do.

[Alan69]

Very unlikely to make any difference. Your processor will likely last long past the time you upgrade to a newer one, and if it DOES fail before then, then it likely would have failed around the same time no matter what you did with it. Has far more to do with how perfectly your processor was constructed etc than anything else unless you overheat or otherwise abuse it.

That said the extra heat in a modern CPU from running vs idle should technically shorten it's life a little bit, but it should still last so long it isn't worth worrying about the slight difference. And if it does fail it'll likely be due to an unrelated fault not the extra use..

[thayne]

the only time it would be a problem is if your CPU fan went out. I have felt my P4 heat sink while running at 100% and it barely gets warm. My P3 systems run much hotter, but they have much smaller heat sinks.

I ran a P3 PC at 100% for a year once while participating in DNET project.