Since the patch came out, I have been getting spikes bad enough to make the sounds start to stutter like the computer was crashing. I was running on the assumption it was just my old computer. However, last night in Kara, a guildmate was having the same issue, but with a much more recent computer.
Today, I decided to go digging some.
I ran with 8 fps max set and all graphics settings to lowest possible settings. I entered an instance and then did nothing. CPU usage was between 0 and 7 percent. Memory was at a stable 2GB.
I waited to see if a spike would happen. When it did, CPU usage jumped up to 35% usage as well as a spike in network usage. A memory hard fault also triggered which increased HD usage. The CPU spike matches what was happening during the stuttering in Kara the night before. Using my normal graphics settings, it would go from 15% to 35% usage.
I then max’ed out graphics and let it go again. CPU usage was at 20%, everything else the same. I got another spike and it went up to 35% again with all the same secondary effects.
While I was writing this, I got a different type of spike. Battle.net.exe suddenly jumped up to 25% usage and WoW jumped to 45% usage. Closing Battle.net did not significantly change previously reported numbers.
The spike in usage is enough to get the CPU fan spinning faster.