DWM.exe high GPU usage.

Kol12 · Jun 13, 2023

I seem to have a problem with DWM.exe constantly using a high amount of GPU resources. I've tried all the suggestions in my Google searches to no avail. Does anybody have any experience fixing this issue?

glasskuter · Jun 13, 2023

Make sure you've tried everything in this article. Do not miss the steps regarding testing in clean boot.
Minitool always provides good troubleshooting steps.
If DWM is still high CPU, perform a repair install.

Fix Desktop Window Manager High CPU Or Memory Issue

There are actually many ways available to fix the Desktop Window Manager high CPU issue on Windows 10 or other systems.

www.minitool.com

Kol12 · Jun 13, 2023

@glasskuter Do you have a link to repair install instructions?

And does that help article apply to high GPU usage from DWM.exe? I'm getting high GPU usage but not high CPU usage.

ShamrockRig · Jun 13, 2023

Kol12 said:
@glasskuter Do you have a link to repair install instructions?

And does that help article apply to high GPU usage from DWM.exe? I'm getting high GPU usage but not high CPU usage.

Hey,, try this and lemme know if it helps
In the NVIDIA Control Panel → 3D Settings → Manage 3D settings → Global Settings → Click "Restore"

Bare in mind it will get rid of any pre-made settings you done yourself.

glasskuter · Jun 13, 2023

I would make the same suggestions for high gpu as well. It's a matter of using the process of elimination to find the culprit. Here are the tutorials for clean boot and a repair install as well as a few other suggestions you can try if you haven't already.

Additional suggestions

1. If you are using any 3rd party app that alters the GUI, uninstall it, restart and test.

2. I can see it's a gaming rig which is probably overclocked. FYI when troubleshooting an issue, it's ALWAYS best to test with overclocking disabled. Then you have a better reference point of which direction a problem might be. If all is well with no OC, adjust OC gradually rather than all at once. If all is NOT well with OC off, continue troubleshooting with it off.

3. Latest GPU driver on Asus site is 531.29 dated 3/23/23 ROG-STRIX-RTX3080-O10G-GAMING - Support
Latest on Nvidia site is 535.98 dated 5/30/23 Latest NVIDIA GeForce Graphics Drivers for Windows 11

4. Make sure you have no corrupt system files that is causing this problem. Open a command prompt as administrator and type sfc /scannow
Pay attention to the scan results to see if SFC found anything it could not repair. If it found corruption it could not fix followup with this command (note the spaces)
dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
Restart computer

Perform a clean boot to eliminate software conflict causing the issue. If it doesn't happen in a clean boot, you have some software conflicting with Windows. Brink's procedure will help you weed out which one. Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 11 to Troubleshoot Software Conflicts Tutorial

Repair Install Windows 11 Repair Install Windows 11 with an In-place Upgrade Tutorial

Let us know how it goes.

Kol12 · Jun 14, 2023

ShamrockRig said:
Hey,, try this and lemme know if it helps
In the NVIDIA Control Panel → 3D Settings → Manage 3D settings → Global Settings → Click "Restore"

Bare in mind it will get rid of any pre-made settings you done yourself.

Already tried this.

Kol12 · Jun 14, 2023

@glasskuter Will do thanks.

TairikuOkami · Jun 14, 2023

Disable transparency, shadows, animations to see, if it makes any difference.

Kol12 · Jun 14, 2023

TairikuOkami said:
Disable transparency, shadows, animations to see, if it makes any difference.

View attachment 62345

No difference... Gonna go with the repair install I think.

Ghot · Jun 14, 2023

Kol12 said:
No difference... Gonna go with the repair install I think.

That will work if it's a Windows issue.
I googled a bit... saw some reference to the Intel vid driver for the CPU.

Latest Intel Graphics Driver for Windows 11

Intel Graphics Download Center Link Intel Driver Update Utility Intel Graphics Command Center app | Microsoft Store Intel 7th-10th Gen Processor Graphics Driver Version 31.0.101.2141 (April 06, 2026) Intel 11th-14th Gen Processor Graphics Driver Version 32.0.101.7085 (March 18, 2026) Intel...

www.elevenforum.com

Keep in mind that I don't know anything about an Intel IGP, or how or if it works in conjunction with a discreet vid card. I was googling DWM.exe high GPU usage

ShamrockRig · Jun 14, 2023

Ghot said:
That will work if it's a Windows issue.
I googled a bit... saw some reference to the Intel vid driver for the CPU.

Latest Intel Graphics Driver for Windows 11

Intel Graphics Download Center Link Intel Driver Update Utility Intel Graphics Command Center app | Microsoft Store Intel 7th-10th Gen Processor Graphics Driver Version 31.0.101.2141 (April 06, 2026) Intel 11th-14th Gen Processor Graphics Driver Version 32.0.101.7085 (March 18, 2026) Intel...

www.elevenforum.com

Keep in mind that I don't know anything about an Intel IGP, or how or if it works in conjunction with a discreet vid card. I was googling DWM.exe high GPU usage

I dont think it should work in conjunction with it,, Mines is disabled at the moment anyway, If it does then you can choose the preferred gpu in windows. But i'd just turn it off in the bios. I dont think his 3080 is spiking because of the onboard graphics, Unusual if it is.

Ghot · Jun 14, 2023

ShamrockRig said:
I dont think it should work in conjunction with it,, Mines is disabled at the moment anyway, If it does then you can choose the preferred gpu in windows. But i'd just turn it off in the bios. I dont think his 3080 is spiking because of the onboard graphics, Unusual if it is.

It doesn't say the 3080 is spiking... it says the GPU usage is high.
It may be referring to the Intel IGP.

But as I said... IGPs are not my cup of tea.

ShamrockRig · Jun 14, 2023

Ghot said:
It doesn't say the 3080 is spiking... it says the GPU usage is high.
It may be referring to the Intel IGP.

But as I said... IGPs are not my cup of tea.

oh just when the use said his gpu was spiking, i think he would be talking more about the 3080 than the igpu, for example i go to task manager even, the most basic of info programs for gpu's and its the dedicated one that shows there. Or if you have two i'd imagine it'd show two.

Ghot · Jun 14, 2023

ShamrockRig said:
oh just when the use said his gpu was spiking, i think he would be talking more about the 3080 than the igpu, for example i go to task manager even, the most basic of info programs for gpu's and its the dedicated one that shows there. Or if you have two i'd imagine it'd show two.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII don't have a problem with GPU usage spiking.
How is that not obvious?
The OP has no idea you are trying to help him, as you are not quoting or mentioning him.

Marcus Vinicus · Jun 14, 2023

Hi Kol12,
Have you seen the thread below from the MS forums? The OP of this thread had a very similar issue and lists what he did to solve the problem.

Desktop Window Manager (dwm.exe) High GPU usage on Windows 10/11 - Microsoft Q&A

I followed some of the instruction outlined in this post: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/high-gpu-usage-of-desktop-window-manager-dwmexe/f4453ddb-31f7-4765-8510-fc4d9cd9807d My dwm.exe (Desktop Window Manager) was using a lot of…

answers.microsoft.com

Also have you tried using DDU in safe mode to remove the Nvidia drivers\software then reinstall them?

ShamrockRig · Jun 15, 2023

Ghot said:
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII don't have a problem with GPU usage spiking.
How is that not obvious?
The OP has no idea you are trying to help him, as you are not quoting or mentioning him.

I thought i'd be pretty obvious that i wasn't implying or saying you had gpu issues, did you make the thread and ask about it? Nope didn't think so.
The op should read all responses in a thread, i certainly do, many people have helped me for years and years and never once had to quote me or tag me for me to notice, Thats just being silly now.

Kol12 · Jun 16, 2023

Well a repair install did not fix the issue... Keep in mind a repair install doesn't reset user changed Windows settings. So it could be some configuration I've made in Windows...

I also noticed DWM.exe continued spiking in GPU usage without the Nvidia driver installed.

What is the behavior of DWM.exe on your guys machine? Maybe this is normal?? When I open pictures from File Explorer my GPU boosts to max clock speeds to open the pictures. Is that normal??

Kol12 · Jun 16, 2023

Marcus Vinicus said:
Hi Kol12,
Have you seen the thread below from the MS forums? The OP of this thread had a very similar issue and lists what he did to solve the problem.

Desktop Window Manager (dwm.exe) High GPU usage on Windows 10/11 - Microsoft Q&A

I followed some of the instruction outlined in this post: https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/high-gpu-usage-of-desktop-window-manager-dwmexe/f4453ddb-31f7-4765-8510-fc4d9cd9807d My dwm.exe (Desktop Window Manager) was using a lot of…

answers.microsoft.com

Also have you tried using DDU in safe mode to remove the Nvidia drivers\software then reinstall them?

This issue has been persisting through several Nvidia driver installs and I always use DDU to install the new drivers. I also noticed that DWM.exe keeps spiking when there is no Nvidia driver installed.

ShamrockRig · Jun 16, 2023

Kol12 said:
Well a repair install did not fix the issue... Keep in mind a repair install doesn't reset user changed Windows settings. So it could be some configuration I've made in Windows...

I also noticed DWM.exe continued spiking in GPU usage without the Nvidia driver installed.

What is the behavior of DWM.exe on your guys machine? Maybe this is normal?? When I open pictures from File Explorer my GPU boosts to max clock speeds to open the pictures. Is that normal??

My gpu is sitting at 0% usage at the moment and also when i went to check that, When opening photos my gpu usage increases from 0 to 2% and then back to 0 immediately once opened, Running the latest nvidia drivers after a fresh windows install here so im probably in the most ideal position for stuff like that to not happen at the moment so im not entirely helpful here.

found this online, Didnt really trust the quality of the video but alot of the comments said it solved the gpu issue, Worth a look atleast.

Kol12 · Jun 17, 2023

I took some desktop footage from my machine. Notice in HWiNFO the GPU boosting clock the speed and briefly consuming up to 100W when I open picture images from File Explorer?

DWM.exe high GPU usage.

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