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hodatwai's avatar
hodatwai
Seasoned Newcomer
2 months ago

Apex Legends does not utilize GPU after Windows 11 24H2 / 25H2 update

Description: After updating my system from Windows 11 23H2 to 24H2, and later to 25H2, I noticed that Apex Legends stopped using my GPU completely. In Task Manager, the GPU usage for Apex Legends stays at 0 %, while the Desktop Window Manager (DWM.exe) shows around 30 % GPU usage whenever the game is running.

Before the Windows update (on 23H2), Apex Legends utilized my GPU correctly and performed normally. After the update, CPU usage became very high, FPS dropped significantly, and the GPU stayed idle.

I have already tried the following steps, but none of them worked:

  1. Disabled and re-enabled Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS).
  2. Used DDU to completely uninstall and reinstall NVIDIA drivers.
  3. Tried both the latest driver (581.57) and older versions (551.86) — neither fixed the issue.
  4. Verified game files through both Steam and EA App platforms.
  5. Reinstalled EasyAntiCheat (EAC) — however, the EasyAntiCheat_EOS_Setup.exe window immediately closes after opening.
  6. Updated BIOS, chipset, and Windows drivers.

This issue only affects Apex Legends. Other GPU-intensive games and applications work perfectly fine and utilize the GPU normally. It also occurs on both the Steam and EA App platforms, which means the problem is not platform-specific but likely related to how Apex interacts with Windows 11 24H2 / 25H2.

System Information:

  • Platforms: Steam and EA App (PC)
  • OS: Windows 11 25H2 (x64)
  • GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4060 Ti
  • GPU Driver: 551.86 (latest) / older versions tested
  • CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 5 245KF
  • RAM: 32 GB

Attachments:

  • dxdiag.txt report
  • Task Manager screenshot showing GPU usage = 0 % for Apex Legends and high GPU usage by DWM.exe

Expected result: Apex Legends should utilize the GPU normally for rendering, as it did on Windows 11 23H2.

Actual result: After upgrading to Windows 11 24H2 or 25H2, Apex Legends no longer utilizes GPU resources. GPU usage stays at 0 %, while DWM.exe consumes around 30 % GPU and CPU usage spikes. The issue occurs on both Steam and EA platforms.

lag
launching
pc

3 Replies

  • savefilecorrupt's avatar
    savefilecorrupt
    Rising Newcomer
    2 months ago

    Same issue here. Fresh installed the game twice, tried the max fps launch option in steam, reinstalled Nvidia drivers and attempted all variety of high and low graphics settings to no avail.

    Running a 13900/4080 with 32GB DDR5, so certainly not a hardware issue. It almost appears like I'm strictly capped at 40 FPS according to the in-game performance overlay and the Nvidia overlay. Only showing 15-20% GPU Utilization when loaded into training/gun range.

    Edit to add: The only other time I had this issue was during the COD BO7 beta, but only on the 2nd day I tried to play. No other games appear to have this issue (Ghostrunner, Borderlands 4, Hell is Us and MGSV tested to confirm and all run as expected)