Starfield is finally here, and Bethesda fans can finally set their sights on The Elder Scrolls VI. However, the game is currently only available in early access for players who bought the premium edition. Its official release is slated for September 6. Player reception around the game has been great so far in terms of gameplay-related things, but as always, Bethesda has fumbled with the PC version of the game. There are technical problems like failed to create save files and the gray play button issue that many have encountered. Well, these issues are surely plaguing the game, and among them is also the low GPU utilization issue that many have reported facing.
As the name suggests, due to some unknown reasons, players have found that Starfield’s utilization of the system’s GPU is on the lower side. They stated that they had noticed the game using little to no VRAM. For an AAA game of this caliber, this isn’t good at all. To provide the optimal experience, the game needs to use both the GPU and CPU of a system efficiently. Well, if the game is also not utilizing the GPU of your system, consider reading this guide until the end for workarounds on the same.
Starfield Low GPU Utilization Issue: Is there any fix yet
Since there is no official fix right now, players will need to satisfy themselves with the following potential workarounds. So, try them out and see if any of them provide any meaningful results.
Update Windows –
It seems like for some players, all it took to fix the issue was to simply update their Windows OS. That’s why we first suggest that you check if a system update is available or not. Just open Windows Settings and go to the Update & Security menu. If an update is indeed ready for download, make sure to initiate the process and install it. Once it’s installed, launch Starfield and check if the issue persists.
Update your GPU drivers –
Like you did with Windows, you should do the same with your GPU drivers too. Go to the official website of your GPU manufacturer and download the latest available drivers from there. Moreover, you can also do the same via the GPU software. Intel Arc users will need to wait a while longer to play the game, due to incompatibility issues. Additionally, you can also try removing the currently installed GPU drivers from your system and then installing the latest ones manually.
Run Steam in admin mode –
Whenever you encounter issues such as these, check if the affected game is running in admin mode or not. If you are launching the game from Steam, then provide admin privileges to Steam. You can do so by:
- Right-click on Steam and select Properties.
- In the next window, click on the Compatibility tab.
- It is here in this tab that you will see the “Run this program as an administrator” option.
- Checkmark the option, click on Apply, and click OK to finish the process.
Follow the same method to give admin privileges to the game as well. Just right-click on the game’s .exe file, which can be found in the installation directory, and follow the steps mentioned above.
Enable High-Performance Mode –
Enabling High Performance Mode will result in an increase in power consumption, but at the same time, the device will prioritize better performance for the game. To do this, open Windows Settings and go to Display. From there, select Graphics and find Starfield. Select the game and then under Graphics Preference, opt for High Performance. Click on Save to finish the process. You can also go to Power > Power Mode and select the Best Performance option. Restart your PC after all this, and then launch the game.
Restart Steam –
A simple fix that worked for many was to restart Steam. We suggest you give this workaround a try and see if the game starts utilizing your GPU after this.
Close all other apps –
One of the main reasons why Starfield is utilizing less GPU could be due to the fact that you have other applications running beside it that are utilizing the required resources. Players who want the best possible performance and want to make the game use the GPU more should go ahead and close any unnecessary applications running in the background besides the game itself. You can do so via the Task Manager.
That said, we hope you find this guide informative. For more guides and information on the latest gaming trends, follow DigiStatement. Also, read: Starfield Save File Location: Where is it
