How to Fix Desktop Window Manager High GPU Usage in Windows 10/11

1. Get the latest Windows updates

The most convenient fix is ​​to perform Windows Update, which ensures you are running the latest version, which includes bug fixes, new features, and compatibility of hardware components driver.

To do this, press the Windows 11 keyboard shortcut " Windows I " to open the Settings app. Then, go to "Windows Update" from the left sidebar and click "Check for updates" in the right pane. Windows will automatically download the update and ask you to restart your PC to complete the installation process.

2. Update your GPU driver

Since Windows Update does not always get the latest driver for your GPU, the next step should be Manually update your GPU driver. Maybe, your graphics card is stuck on an older version and you don’t have the option to automatically update your GPU driver. Follow this guide to learn how to update Windows 11 drivers. We also explain how to enable automatic driver updates in GeForce Experience or AMD Adrenalin software.

3. Update drivers using Intel DSA or a third-party application

To manually update drivers for other hardware components on your PC, you can use Intel Driver & Support Assistant (DSA) to scan and update Intel-based hardware. Additionally, you can manually update your drivers to the latest version using a third-party software called IOBit Driver Booster.

1. First, you need to download Intel DSA from this link.

2. Open the "Intel-Driver-and-Support-Assistant-Installer.exe" file you downloaded in the previous step. Now, check the checkmark to agree to the license terms and conditions. Then, click "Install" to continue.

#3. Once completed, the installer will ask you to restart your PC. Continue doing this and after the system restarts, launch Intel DSA by searching for "Intel Driver & Support Assistant" after pressing the Windows key. When the result appears click on it to launch the software.

#4. Intel DSA will then let you know about the various driver updates available for your PC components. Download and install them all and your Intel-based hardware will be updated.

5. Now, let us manually scan for driver updates using IOBit Driver Booster. Download it from this link and launch the installer once the file download is complete. Initially, it may ask you to install another software, but this is not required, so skip it.

#6. After the installation is complete, launch the program and scan for driver updates. Select all the drivers you want to update and click Update Now in the upper right corner. After installation, just restart your PC and the new driver will appear.

4. Manually set up DWM.exe to use the integrated graphics

Some programs, especially if they are used with the Windows Explorer process, may Causes high GPU usage issues with desktop window managers. These programs themselves can cause spikes in GPU usage, and multiple applications can also consume GPU resources on your PC.

In this fix, we'll show you how to set graphics preferences for each program installed on your PC. Programs that rely heavily on the GPU, such as your games and content creation software, should be set to "High Performance Mode" or manually specify the use of a dedicated graphics card. Everything else on your PC can be set to Power Saving Mode, taking advantage of the integrated GPU instead of consuming the resources of a high-performance discrete graphics card. Here's how it works:

1. First, right-click on your desktop and click "Display Settings" in the context menu.

#2. Then, under Display Settings, click "Graphics" at the bottom.

#3. On the next screen, you can now specify which GPU should be used for various programs on your PC. Click Browse, navigate to C:/Windows/System32, and select DWM.exe. Then, click Options to specify the type of GPU it should use.

4. As you can see, we have designated DWM.EXE as Power Saving. For games, we specify "High Performance" so that they use dedicated graphics cards. To complete this fix and further reduce high GPU usage issues, perform this step for all other programs on your computer.

5. Avoid using the integrated GPU and keep only one GPU active

Wallpaper Engine debunks the issue of having two GPUs in this support article System: Integrated graphics and dedicated graphics may experience high GPU usage. This should work fine for PCs with NVIDIA Optimus or MUX switches, but it doesn't hurt to try this fix. If you are experiencing high GPU usage on your laptop or desktop and the previous fixes didn’t help, let’s try this solution.

1. For desktop users, just look at your PC from the back and make sure your monitor's display cable (HDMI, DisplayPort, etc.) is not connected to the motherboard but to the dedicated graphics card. Essentially, all you need to do to apply this fix is ​​avoid using the display cable in both places. When you do this, both the integrated and dedicated GPUs are enabled, causing some users to experience high GPU usage issues with their desktop window manager.

#2. For laptop users, please go to the Control Center software provided by the manufacturer. In our case, this is the MSI Center. You have to navigate to the settings where you can specify the GPU your laptop uses. Here, make sure select the discrete/dedicated graphics option and not the hybrid option. You can also choose integrated graphics mode if you want to save battery power, but avoid using hybrid settings if it gives you high GPU usage issues.

NOTE: If your laptop does not have a MUX switch or the option to turn off NVIDIA Optimus, you cannot apply this fix. In this case, you can skip to the next solution.

6. Turn off Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS)

This is one of the most popular solutions for people trying to fix the desktop on their PC Users with window manager high GPU usage issues. Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling is a feature used to improve graphics card performance and reduce latency. However, it may not be suitable for everyone. So let's see how to turn this feature off.

1. First, right-click on the desktop and select "Display Settings" from the context menu.

2. Next, under the relevant settings, you have to click on "Graphics" at the bottom.

#3. Now, click on the "Change default graphics settings" option at the top.

##4. Here you will find the hardware accelerated GPU scheduling settings. Turn off the switch for HAGS and restart your PC to apply the changes. This may resolve high GPU usage issues.

7. Changing Power Mode in Nvidia Control Panel

The power management settings in Nvidia Control Panel or the laptop's power plan itself can obviously determine whether Windows How to utilize GPU resources. Therefore, setting it to the correct mode can solve the problem of high GPU usage. Let's see how to do this.

1. Right-click on your desktop and click "Show more options". Then, click on Nvidia Control Panel.

#2. Next, navigate to Manage 3D Settings from the left sidebar. Then, under Global Settings in the right pane, scroll down and find the "Power Management Mode" setting. Use the drop-down menu to set it to "Prefer Highest Performance" and click "Apply" in the lower right corner.

#3. Additionally, we recommend using this guide to change power mode settings in Windows 11. Under Power & Battery, set Power Mode to Best Performance. Other modes may throttle your GPU, causing Windows to report high GPU usage even though it is using very few graphics card resources.

8. Turn off HDR in Windows Display Settings

Some people have been able to fix DWM.exe high GPU usage by disabling HDR in Windows Display Settings rate issue. Here's how you do it.

1. First, right-click on your desktop and click "Display Settings" in the context menu.

2. Here, click the switch next to “Use HDR” and turn it off. Turning off HDR also disables Wide Color Gamut (WCG) (if enabled), thus solving the problem at hand.

9. Use recommended resolution and scaling settings

Windows has an auto-scaling feature that attempts to scale your application based on your display scaling settings Scale to the correct size. It may cause high GPU usage issues for some users. So let's make sure your scaling and resolution settings are correct.

1. Right-click on your desktop and go to "Display Settings".

#2. Next, under Scale and Layout, make sure Scale is set to the Recommended setting. For us, 100% is recommended. Additionally, use the drop-down menu to adjust the Display Resolution and set it to the recommended setting.

10. Turn off Fast Startup in Windows Settings

Fast Startup is a Windows feature that you can only disable from the Power Options menu. Use this guide to get step-by-step instructions on how to enable or disable Fast Startup in Windows 11. It will help you get to the power options through the control panel so that you can disable the fast startup feature.

11. Disable startup applications in Windows 11/10

Unnecessary startup applications and non-Microsoft related services can slow down your PC , and even cause high GPU usage problems in the desktop Windows manager. Here's how you can disable them.

1. Let’s first disable startup applications. To do this, press the Windows button and search for "Start Application". Then, click on the displayed result.

#2. When you start your Windows PC, you will see a list of applications that open automatically and consume resources. Therefore, look for "high impact" startup applications and close them immediately. You can then select which Windows 11 apps or software you want to load in the background when you open your laptop or desktop.

3. To disable non-Microsoft services that are not required for your PC to run, use the " Windows R " keyboard shortcut to open the Run window . Here, type "msconfig" in the text field and click "OK" to launch the system configuration utility.

4. Here, navigate to the “Services” tab. Then, in the lower left corner, make sure "Hide all Microsoft services" is unchecked. Then, click "Disable All" to stop unnecessary services. Click OK Apply and save changes. Then, if asked, restart your PC and the issue should be resolved.

12. Adjust visual effects settings in Windows 11/10

Some low-end PCs may have desktop window managers appear due to their appearance settings High GPU usage issue. So, to reduce the load on your GPU and hopefully resolve the issue, follow these steps:

1. Open the Settings app using the keyboard shortcut " Windows I ". Here, navigate to "System -> About" and click on "Advanced system settings".

2. Now, navigate to the Advanced tab in the pop-up window. Then, under the Performance section, click Settings and select the Adjust for best performance setting under the Visual Effects tab. Click OK to apply the changes.

13. Scan for malware and disable third-party antivirus software

Sometimes, running third-party antivirus software can cause high GPU usage. question. So, use this guide to uninstall apps in Windows 11 and remove third-party antivirus software completely. If you don't want to do this, just turn it off from settings. As for running a virus scan, you can use the option in your antivirus software. But for everyone else, here are the steps on how to do this using native Windows security features:

1. First, click on the arrow to open the system tray (in the lower right corner of the screen). Then, click on the Windows Security Icon that looks like a shield.

#2. This will open the Windows Security application. Here, click on "

Virus & Threat Protection" to access system scan options.

3. Next, click on

Quick Scan to perform a scan of your system. If you wish, we recommend that you also use the scan option to perform a full system scan. Once completed, follow the on-screen instructions to remove any threats found on your system.

14. Run CHKDSK, DISM, and SFC commands

DISM and SFC commands are used to repair the Windows operating system by recovering any missing or damaged files. The CHKDSK command is used to scan HDD or SSD for bad sectors and repair them. Here's how to run them:

1. First, open the command prompt in administrator mode. To do this, press the Windows button, search for "CMD" and click "

Run as administrator" in the right pane.

2. Next, copy and paste the following commands one by one into the CMD window. They are all different and should not be started together. After entering the first command (which is DISM), press Enter and wait for the process to complete. Then, proceed to the next command and repeat the process for the SFC and CHKDSK commands.

DISM/Online/Cleanup-Image/RestoreHealthSFC /scannowchkdsk /f

15. Use a system restore point or "Reset this PC" in Windows 11

If you remember your PC did not experience GPU usage before If the system recovery rate is too high, using a recovery tool to return to the previous system restore point may resolve the issue. If you don't have a system restore point, you can also simply reset your PC. Until then, remember to back up your important data if needed. You can also check out this guide to learn about some great Windows backup software.

1. Press the "

Windows I

" shortcut to open Windows Settings. Then, under System Settings, scroll down to find "Recovery" and click on it.

2. Here you will find the option "

Reset this PC

". Click the Reset PC button to start the process and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process. Once completed, your Windows operating system will be reset.

If you want to use the system restore method, click "

Restart Now

" to enter the "Advanced Startup" options. Is it OK to have 100% GPU usage after PC restart?

It's okay to have 100% GPU usage when running a game or any other GPU-intensive program. Additionally, if you intentionally set your power plan or GPU power management settings to Balanced settings instead of High Performance mode, Windows may report that your GPU usage is very high based on your current settings.

Why is my GPU utilization at 100% idle when I'm not playing games?

Due to a variety of factors, including background applications and services, DWM.exe issues, and even your current power plan, GPU usage can reach 100% even when not playing games.

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