Windows 10 CPU being used up by system process

Question

I just reinstalled a copy of Windows 10, and gotten things set up, but I've had trouble with the "system" process in the task manager taking up large amounts of the CPU. It will be normal (0.1%) for maybe 30 seconds and then spike up to 25 - 50 percent of my total CPU in the task manager for a short period of time. I play games on my computer, so it is a major problem when it sucks up all my processing power.

I downloaded process explorer, and the culprit for driving it up is a thread called "Qcamain10x64". It spikes up periodically, and then returns to a negligible usage shortly after, aligned with the system process fluctuations as a whole. I've done a little bit of searching, and I found it to be associated with my network drivers. I've updated them, but it hasn't made a difference and I'm starting to leave my zone of understanding. I've also noticed that it only seems to be happening when something is downloading in the background.

My computer is an MSI laptop with 4 cores, and I can add more specs if they are needed. Thanks for any help you can give me.

Solution

Rather than just updating your drivers, fully remove and reinstall them.

Open you Device Manager, find the Atheros network device(s), right click on them and Remove/Delete. Choose the option to uninstall the drivers as you do this.

Restart the computer.

If Windows autodetects and installs the drivers, try those first. The drivers MS serves may not be the latest, but are usually better-tested. If the problem continues, then install the updated drivers you've downloaded.

Comments

[Mokubai]

Is it "system" or "system idle process"? A screenshot would be good for clarity.

[Samuel]

It is "system", I added a screenshot.

[Samuel]

This solved it for me.

[Ravindra Bawane]

Good. Use the checkmark icon to the left of the answer to indicate it is the correct one.