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Browsers and desktop applications lagging and freezing while GPU is close to 100%

Anonymous
2024-05-04T23:45:01+00:00

For a little while I have the problem that while in an application (mostly games) that brings my GPU to around 100% usage (normally 97+) the rest of the applications and even Windows itself starts to lag.

This mostly applies to the browser, especially videos (but not the sound). But also applications like Discord become unresponsive (again apart from the sound and voice chat itself) and I have noticed even things like the Windows clock in the taskbar start to lag and freeze up.
The application that cause this keeps on running fine. In games for instance I reach 90 to 144 fps without a problem, but as soon as it reaches 100% GPU usage everything else starts to lag. Even the windows clock in the system tray freezes!!

This happens ONLY when the game is in focus. If I tab out of the game then everything is fine. GPU usage is still at 100% and the game still runs at the same FPS as when I am tabbed in.
Even before this problem came up my GPU would reach 100% in certain games but never did that cause any similar side-effects. It almost feels like my PC is throttling the rest while prioritizing the game.

I originally suspected this to be a problem with my GPU, but the problem persisted with 2 other GPUs. I ran memtests and Intels tests for my RAM and CPU both reporting no errors. Since the motherboard was the only thing I could not really "test" I decided to swap out and get new parts. Nothing besides my power supply was older than 1 year at this point. All the problems persist with the new parts as well.

The fact that tabbing out of the game gets rid of the lag and freezes despite the game still running at the same fps and resource utilization being the same makes me assume that it might be some kind of software problem. It almost seems as if Windows priorizitzes the game process over everything else while tabbed in and keeps other applications from drawing resources...

Does anyone know what could be causing this or what else I could test to find out what causes the problem?

My setup old:

  • Intel Core i7 13700K
  • Nvidia Geforce RTX 4070 Ti
  • MSI PRO WIFI Intel Z790 So.1700 DDR4 ATX
  • 48GB (2x 16GB + 2x 8GB) G.Skill RipJaws V DDR4-3200 DIMM CL16-18-18-38
  • Corsair CX750 750W power supply

My setup new:

  • AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
  • Nvidia Geforce RTX 4070 Ti
  • MSI Tomahawk WIFI AMD X670E
  • 32GB (2x16GB) G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO EXPO RGB DDR5 6000
  • be quiet! Straight Power 11 1000W

Both setups ran at factory speeds!

Things I have tried without success:

  • changing Windows versions (10 and 11)
  • reinstalling Windows
  • updating Windows
  • disabling Windows Game Mode
  • disabling GPU Acceleration
  • completely removing and reinstalling GPU drivers
  • updating BIOS and Chipset drivers
  • changing XMP profile on BIOS
  • swapping out GPU, CPU, motherboard and RAM

Things I have checked:

  • fan speeds and component temperatures (both nothing out of the ordinary)
  • memtest
  • Intel burn in tests
Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-05-08T01:50:13+00:00

    Hi,ShioIna

    Hello, I am sorry to reply you now, you can refer to the following steps to view the Event Manager.

    Using Event Viewer can help you to view various events, errors and warnings that occur in your system, which can help you to locate the problem. The following are the general steps to use the Event Viewer:

    1. Open Event Viewer:

    Type "Event Viewer" in the Windows search box or press the Win + R key combination, then type "eventvwr.msc" and press Enter to open Event Viewer.

    1. View Windows logs:

    In the left panel of the Event Viewer, you will see different types of logs. The most common logs include "Windows Logs", "Application and Service Logs" and so on. You can select the appropriate log according to the problem you are experiencing.

    1. Filter events:

    In the right panel, you will see a list of one or more events with date and time stamps. You can use filters to filter events to make it easier to find specific types of events, such as errors or warnings.

    Click Filter Current Log in the upper right corner and select the desired event level (error, warning, etc.) and other filtering options.

    1. Find key information:

    Browse the list of events to find key information related to the problem you are experiencing. You may see tags like "Error", "Warning", "Critical", etc. as well as a detailed description and ID of the event.

    1. View event properties:

    Click on a specific event to view its details. In the Event Properties window, you will see more information about the event, including the event ID, source, level, description, and more. This information helps determine the root cause of the problem.

    1. View event details:

    In the Event Properties window, view a detailed description of the event and related information. Sometimes the event description contains more details about the problem or hints for a solution.

    You can do a clean boot once at the same time, run a game alone and leave all other software open and see if it still appears, you can refer to the link below：How to perform a clean boot in Windows - Microsoft Support

    Disclaimer: A “clean boot” starts Windows with a minimal set of drivers and startup programs. It helps to determine whether a background service is interfering with your game or program and to isolate the cause of a problem.

    These steps of "clean boot" might look complicated at first glance. However, to avoid any trouble for you, please follow them in order and step-by step so that it will help you get back on track. 

    Best regards

    Bobhe | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-05-06T20:10:37+00:00

    Hello Bob

    Thank you very much for the reply!

    Regarding the points you brought up:

    1. I have run HWInfo and the task manager performance monitor while playing. The problem surfaces as soon as the GPU reaches close to 100% load (normally around 95 to 97%). CPU usage peakes at about 40% maximum. RAM usage is at roughly 23GB our of 32. Disk usage is high during load times but fine aside from that. Games that have triggered the problem so far are: Final Fantasy XIV, Helldivers 2 and Battlefield 2042. Basically anything that manages to get the GPU close to 100%. Everything that prevents the GPU from reaching that usage (like lowering graphicsal settings) also gets rid of the lagging. But just to reiterate: even at settings that max out the GPU the problem vanishes as soon as I tag out of the game even when it is still running at the same fps.
    2. I have set it to prioritize persormance over appearance which sadly did nothing to fix the problem.
    3. Power option have already been set to "High Performance". Problems occure on every power setting.
    4. I am a bit overwhelmed from the Event viewer. But as far as I can tell there is nothing being triggered while playing. How can I best provide you with the information from the log?

    Graphics drivers: The graphics drivers have been reinstalled several times. With and without a clean uninstall before. All without success :(

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  3. Anonymous
    2024-05-06T05:30:47+00:00

    Hello, ShioIna

    Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

    Hello, I'm sorry to hear about your situation, it seems that your computer is experiencing high gpu usage while playing games.

    It sounds like you've already done a lot of troubleshooting, so let's take it a step further and determine what the problem is.

    Since the problem only occurs when the game is in focus, it's most likely related to the way Windows allocates resources. Here are some things you can try:

    1. Monitor Resource Usage: While the game is running and causing the problem, monitor system resource usage, including CPU, GPU, RAM, and disk usage. This can help determine if any particular resource was heavily utilized at the time of the delay. 2. Can you ask which games you are playing that are causing this issue?
    2. Windows Performance Options: Go to Control Panel > System and Security > System > Advanced System Settings. Under the Advanced tab, click Settings in the Performance section. In the Visual Effects tab, you can try adjusting the settings to prioritize performance over appearance.
    3. Power Options: Make sure the Power Plan is set to High Performance in the Power Options settings. Sometimes power saving features can kill performance when resource usage is high.
    4. System Event Viewer: Check the Windows Event Viewer for error messages or warnings that coincide with latency spikes. This can provide clues as to what is causing the problem. You can share both here.

    Also, in my experience, you can reinstall the latest graphics driver after completely uninstalling your graphics driver first and see if that does the trick.

    You can give some feedback after this and I will continue to provide you with some suggestions.

    Best regards

    Bobhe | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

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