God of War Ragnarök Not Using GPU (Solved)

God of War Ragnarök, the 2022 action-adventure masterpiece developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment, has finally made its way to PC. However, despite the excitement surrounding its release, some players have encountered performance issues, particularly low GPU usage, which leads to stuttering, frame drops, and overall lag.

This issue is not uncommon in PC gaming, often stemming from outdated drivers, in-game settings (V-Sync, Raytracing), or improper GPU configurations. Even high-end gaming rigs may struggle if the game isn’t correctly optimized.

If you’re experiencing these GPU-related problems, don’t worry. We’ve compiled a comprehensive troubleshooting guide for Steam and Epic Games Launcher users to help boost performance and ensure your system fully utilizes your GPU.

1. Check System Requirements

Before troubleshooting, ensure your PC meets the system requirements for God of War Ragnarök.

Minimum Requirements:

✅ OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
✅ Processor: Intel i5-4670K / AMD Ryzen 3 1200
✅ RAM: 8GB
✅ Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 1060 (6GB) / AMD RX 5500 XT (8GB) / Intel Arc A750
✅ DirectX: Version 12
✅ Storage: 190GB SSD recommended

Recommended Requirements:

✅ OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
✅ Processor: Intel i5-8600 / AMD Ryzen 5 3600
✅ RAM: 16GB
✅ Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 2060 Super / AMD RX 5700 / Intel Arc A770
✅ DirectX: Version 12
✅ Storage: 190GB SSD recommended

If your system meets these specs, but performance issues persist, move on to the fixes below.

2. Force God of War Ragnarök to Use Your Dedicated GPU

By default, some games fail to detect or use your dedicated GPU, leading to poor performance. Here’s how to ensure your system prioritizes the correct graphics card.

For NVIDIA Users:

Right-click on the desktop and open NVIDIA Control Panel.
Navigate to 3D Settings > Manage 3D Settings.
Click on Program Settings > Locate God of War Ragnarök.
Select High-performance NVIDIA processor.
Apply changes and restart your PC.

For AMD Users:

Right-click on the desktop and open AMD Radeon Settings.
Go to System > Switchable Graphics.
Locate God of War Ragnarök and set it to High-Performance GPU.
Save changes and reboot your PC.

For Xbox Game Pass (Windows Settings) Users:

Open Windows Settings (Press Win + I).
Go to System > Display > Graphics Settings.
Locate God of War Ragnarök (or manually add it).
Click Options > Select High Performance.
Save changes, then restart the Xbox app and game.

3. Update Your GPU Drivers

Old or corrupted graphics drivers can cause low GPU usage and stability issues. Follow these steps to update your drivers:

Method 1: Using Device Manager

Press Win + X and select Device Manager.
Expand Display adapters.
Right-click on your dedicated GPU.
Select Update Driver > Search automatically for drivers.
If an update is found, install it and restart your PC.

Method 2: Manually Download Drivers

🔹 For NVIDIA: Download the latest drivers from the NVIDIA website.
🔹 For AMD: Get the latest drivers from the AMD website.

4. Verify & Repair Game Files

Corrupt or missing game files can cause performance issues. Verify your files on Steam or Epic Games to fix this.

For Steam Users:

Open Steam and go to Library.
Right-click on God of War Ragnarök > Select Properties.
Go to Local Files > Click Verify Integrity of Game Files.
Wait for the process to complete, then restart your PC.

For Epic Games Users:

Open the Epic Games Launcher.
Navigate to Library > Click the three-dot menu next to God of War Ragnarök.
Select Verify and wait for the process to finish.
Relaunch the game.

5. Disable Overlay Applications

Certain overlay applications interfere with GPU performance, leading to FPS drops or crashes.

Disable Discord Overlay

Open Discord > Click on Settings (gear icon).
Select Overlay > Toggle Enable in-game overlay OFF.
Restart your PC.

Disable Xbox Game Bar

Press Win + I > Go to Gaming.
Click Game Bar > Toggle OFF.

Disable NVIDIA GeForce Experience Overlay

Open GeForce Experience > Go to Settings.
Click on General > Disable In-Game Overlay.
Restart your PC.

6. Disable V-Sync & Raytracing

Both V-Sync and Raytracing can cause performance drops. Disabling them can boost FPS.

For NVIDIA Users

Right-click on your desktop and open NVIDIA Control Panel.
Go to Manage 3D Settings > Scroll to Vertical Sync.
Set it to Off and click Apply.

For AMD Users

Open AMD Radeon Software > Click Global Graphics.
Find Wait for Vertical Refresh and set it to Always Off.

7. Close Background Tasks

Too many background processes can drain GPU power, reducing game performance.

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
Click on the Processes tab.
End Task on unnecessary applications (Chrome, Discord, Windows Updaters).
Restart your game.

Final Thoughts

By following these steps, you should resolve low GPU usage issues in God of War Ragnarök and significantly improve performance.

Quick Recap

✔ Force God of War Ragnarök to use your dedicated GPU
✔ Update graphics drivers
✔ Verify & repair game files
✔ Disable overlay apps (Discord, Xbox Game Bar, GeForce Experience)
✔ Turn off V-Sync & Raytracing
✔ Close background tasks

If you’re still facing issues, check if your PC is overheating or contact God of War Ragnarök Support. Let us know which fix worked for you!

God of War Ragnarök Not Using GPU (Solved)

Why is God of War Ragnarök Not Using My GPU?

Common Causes

1. Check System Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

Recommended Requirements:

2. Force God of War Ragnarök to Use Your Dedicated GPU

For NVIDIA Users:

For AMD Users:

For Xbox Game Pass (Windows Settings) Users:

3. Update Your GPU Drivers

Method 1: Using Device Manager

Method 2: Manually Download Drivers

4. Verify & Repair Game Files

For Steam Users:

For Epic Games Users:

5. Disable Overlay Applications

Disable Discord Overlay

Disable Xbox Game Bar

Disable NVIDIA GeForce Experience Overlay

6. Disable V-Sync & Raytracing

For NVIDIA Users

For AMD Users

7. Close Background Tasks

Final Thoughts

Quick Recap

Discussion

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