In the Task Manager in Windows it’s possible to see what percent of the GPU is being utilized. It fluctuates but tends to hover around a predictable range. In this article, I will explain if 30% GPU usage is good.
Overall, 30% GPU usage when idle is good. But, 30% GPU usage when doing something that puts a significant demand on the graphics card such as gaming or video rendering, 30% GPU usage is not good. It indicates the CPU is too slow for the GPU.
There are a range of components that affect the speed of a computer, and in some cases if one component such as the CPU is slow, it can slow down other components. Below, I will explain:
- If 30% GPU usage is normal
- What your GPU usage should be when idle
- What your GPU usage should be gaming
- What it means if you have high CPU usage and low GPU usage
- How to increase GPU utilization
Let’s get into it!
Is 30% GPU Usage Normal
30% GPU usage is normal when idle. However, if your GPU usage is at 30% when gaming, OR doing something that requires a lot of the GPUs resources, the GPU utilization percentage should be much higher. Ideally, above 90%. I explained this in detail in this article about whether 99% GPU utilization is good.
I asked over 30 computer experts and gamers whether high CPU usage is good. Here’s a table that shows the results:
Here’s a table that shows the results.
| Is high GPU usage (90% to 100%) good? | Number of votes | Percentage |
| Yes | 32 | 93.75% |
| No | 2 | 6.25% |
When a GPU running at close or at 100% utilization it’s operating at capacity. And it’s being fully utilized. Which has the effect of making the graphics performance on your computer as fast as possible.
Whereas, if your GPU runs much lower around 65% or less, there is some issue. At the end of this article I cover the ways to increase the GPU utilization on your computer.
What Should GPU Usage Be When Idle
When idle your GPU usage should be at 50% or lower. Typically, the range is around 30% or less. The reason is the primary role of the GPU is updating each individual pixel on the display device at very tiny fractions of a second.
When your PC is idle, the screen is not changing much at all. And therefore, the GPU hardly needs to do anything. If your GPU usage is very high when idle then either:
- You have a virus or malware that is hogging your GPUs resources
- There are some background programs open that are using all the GPU
Run a virus scanner, and malware remover, and if the GPU utilization percentage is still very high when idle, then open the Task Manager, and look at the list of processes and programs that are running. See if there are any that are using a lot of the GPU.
What Should GPU Usage Be When Gaming
On the other hand, when gaming the screen changes A LOT, and the visual display is very complex. On top of communicating back and forth with the CPU, and display device, such as a monitor, TV, or projector.
For that reason, the GPU utilization percentage when gaming should be as close to 100% as possible. The typical range for a PC is 90% to 100%. The GPU staying at 100% usage the entire time when gaming is normal, perfectly fine, and is ideal.
At the end of this article, I cover how to increase GPU utilization if your GPU usage is low, when gaming or doing GPU intensive tasks such as video rendering.
High CPU Usage Low GPU Usage
If you have high CPU usage but low GPU usage, it means the CPU is too slow for the CPU. Or, the graphics card is too fast for the CPU. If it occurs when gaming, turn the graphics settings to the max in game. Otherwise, the only way to utilize your GPU to the most, you need to get a faster CPU.
It has been proven in various independent tests that the speed of the CPU should roughly match the speed of the GPU. Otherwise, two issues can happen:
- The GPU is too slow for the CPU – the CPU has to wait for the GPU
- The CPU is too slow for the GPU – the GPU has to wait for the CPU
I covered this in more detail in this article about if the CPU is more important than the GPU.
How to Increase GPU Utilization
The truth is:
Increasing GPU utilization typically can only be done by getting a faster CPU. There are a few things you can do that offer a 10% to 20% increase in GPU utilization. In researching how to increase GPU utilization I discovered that some of the tips people give don’t work.
And in fact, can in some cases be a waste. I provided a full analysis of each of the methods for increasing GPU utilization, such as adjusting the power plan settings on your PC, and how well they work in this article.
The three steps that do work are:
- Overclocking your CPU
- Replacing single sticks of RAM with two or more sticks
For example, if you have one 16GB stick of RAM, you should get two 8GB sticks of RAM. It has been shown in independent tests to provide a GPU usage percentage improvement of 5% to 10%.
The article linked above explains how to do each of these steps, as well as, the steps to avoid that have no effect, such as getting faster RAM.
In essence, it’s a good thing because it means your GPU is far better than your CPU. And can easily handle anything you want it to do. In this case, the thing that will improve the GPU utilization the most is getting a faster CPU.