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There's a program I run all day that does chess analysis. It's causing my computer to run consistently at 100% CPU Usage (According to Windows Task Manager), but despite this my computer seems to run reasonably for everything else I want to do on it.

I'd nonetheless like it to have a CPU Usage that is slightly less. How can I go about doing this? What would be a sensible/safe amount of CPU usage?

I have Windows 7, i7-2860QM CPU @ 5.50 GHz, 16.0 GB RAM.

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What would be a sensible/safe amount of CPU usage?   Whatever amount is needed. That said, make sure your system has proper cooling (i.e., when running the CPU at a 100% load, it eventually levels out at a safe temperature). – Synetech Dec 26 '12 at 3:43
Generally there's nothing you can do, without changing the code itself. Lowering priority will cause the program to cause less interference with other programs, but will not prevent it from using as much available CPU as it can. – Daniel R Hicks Dec 26 '12 at 4:05
Early computers did batch processing (one job at a time). Multiprocessing operating systems were developed to minimize wasted idle cycles by running concurrent jobs. The OS scheduler is designed to use 100% of the CPU whenever possible. Anything less than 100% CPU utilization is wasted CPU cycles (executing an idle loop). The CPU (when powered on) is always executing instructions, so unless there's a heat problem, there should be no harm in running at 100%. This is not like running your car engine at red-line. – sawdust Dec 26 '12 at 6:58

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You could change the priority or affinity to a lower level for that process. Something lower then normal so if an application with normal or higher requests more CPU, it will get it.

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Thanks for the suggestion. Will that prevent the program from running at 100% CPU when there is no other application requesting additional CPU? I'm mainly concerned about the effects of leaving the computer for an extended period running at 100% CPU (even though I know this is not necessarily a big problem). – SwanWhisperer Dec 26 '12 at 3:21
Basically it will allow the system to be responsive even if it uses 100% CPU. I would not think it is an issue as I have a few servers running MC where the CPU is hit at 100% most of the time. Is your application multithreaded or just a singlethread? – icebox3d Dec 26 '12 at 3:24
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Will that prevent the program from running at 100% CPU when there is no other application requesting additional CPU?   No, the scheduler will simply give more CPU cycles to programs that have higher priority when needed and give lower-priority apps whatever they need. Think of a line at a nightclub: you still retain your place, but someone with a VIP pass will get in ahead of you.     I'm mainly concerned about the effects of leaving the computer for an extended period running at 100% CPU   The only problem would be overheating if your system has poor cooling. Otherwise it’s fine. – Synetech Dec 26 '12 at 3:42
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I've not tried it myself but you might want to try the rather oddly named Battle Encoder Shirase. Another SU answer indicates it works on windows 7. You might also want to lock it to specific cores with task manager, since the core i7 can, IIRC throttle down cores not in use

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