Fix: Stalker 2 Not Using GPU and Crashing at 100% CPU Usage

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is a 2024 first-person shooter survival horror game developed by GSC Game World. As the fourth main installment in the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. series, it marks the franchise’s long-awaited return after 15 years since Call of Pripyat in 2009. However, despite its stunning visuals and immersive gameplay, some players have reported performance issues, particularly low GPU usage and crashes when GPU usage hits 100%.

These problems can be frustrating, especially for high-end gaming PC users who expect smooth performance. Whether playing via Steam or the Xbox Game Pass app for PC, this guide will help you troubleshoot and fix Stalker 2 not using GPU and crashing due to CPU overload.

Stalker 2 Not Using GPU and Crashing at 100% CPU Usage

Stalker 2 Not Using GPU

If you have bought a high-end graphics card for playing games and your game is not using it for your gameplay, this will be frustrating. Stalker 2 is having the same issue for some players. The game does not care about your dedicated GPU for the gameplay, and the worst part is that the developers have not focused enough on this issue.

Now, in the program settings tab, choose Stalker 2.
Select a high-performance NVIDIA processor and save the changes.
Reboot your PC and see if this helps.

For the AMD GPU

Right-click on the Desktop and Click on the AMD Radon settings control panel.

Now, click on the system tab and choose switchable graphics.
Save changes and Reboot your PC

Method 2: Update GPU drivers

Sometimes, an outdated graphics driver can create issues like this. You can fix it by updating your GPU drivers to the latest version. Here’s how:

Press Win + X on your keyboard to open the Quick Link Menu.
Now, click on the device manager from the list of options.
Double-click on the display drivers tab, and right-click on the dedicated Graphic Card you have.

Choose Update Drivers and click the Search button to search for drivers automatically.
If there is an available update, it will get downloaded automatically.
Once the update is done, Restart your PC.

Method 2: Close BackGround Tasks

If you have too many unnecessary tasks opened up in the background, you can face problems running high-end games like Stalker 2. Background Task eats up lots of memory, including your GPU memory, and can make your game slow and low FPS. You can fix this by clearing the background task by following these steps.

Go to your Desktop and press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the task manager directly.
You will see tabs at the top of the task manager; click on the processes tab.
You will see all the tasks running on your pc. Choose the unnecessary task and click on End task.
Do this for all the tasks you think are not required.
Restart your Game and see if this helps.

Method 3: Change Game Graphics settings

If all the above-given methods fail, you can try changing the in-game graphics settings to see if the problem gets fixed. Follow these steps carefully.

Go to your system and launch the Steam client.
Go to the library and click on Stalker 2.
Go to the settings of the Stalker 2 game and Turn off the “V Sync” option.
Now go to the Advanced settings and set every setting to low or medium.
Restart your game and see if this helps.

Method 4: Reinstall Stalker 2

This should be your last step as it is time-consuming, but it can surely fix your game lagging or low FPS issues due to GPU misconfiguration. Here is how you can reinstall the Stalker 2 game:

Go to your system and open Steam Client on your PC.
Now, in the Library tab, right-click on the Stalker 2 game.
Select Uninstall and then Delete to confirm it.
Wait for the uninstallation to be completed.
Exit the Steam application.
Now open your file explorer and paste this C:\Program Files(x86)\steamapps\common on the search bar for the game set-up location.
Go to the Stalker 2 folder, press Shift + Del, and hit enter to remove it.
Reboot your PC and, open the Steam store, & download Stalker 2 again. It will fix all the GPU issues you are facing.

Stalker 2 Crashing at 100% CPU Usage

One more issue faced by Stalker 2 users globally is when you are using 100% CPU, the game crashes instantly. This issue may arise due to the limited CPU memory or not using the recommended CPU for the Stalker 2. If you are using the recommended CPU and still facing the same issue, you can fix this by doing some workaround. Before you go through these steps, ensure you have the updated GPU drivers on your PC.

Go to your Desktop and press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the task manager.
Look at the GPU and CPU uses and look for the application that is consuming a high amount of GPU power.
Click on that particular application and then click on End Task individually.
Right Click on the Desktop and Click on the NVIDIA control panel.
Go to the 3D settings and click the manage 3D settings in the left pane.
Now, in the program settings tab, choose Stalker 2.
Select a high-performance NVIDIA processor and save the changes.
Reboot your PC and see if the issue is resolved.

Conclusion

This brings us to the end of this guide for fixing Stalker 2, which does not use GPU and Crashes at 100% GPU Usage. Please note that it is a frustrating issue that can impact your gaming experience. Remember your game lags and low FPS issues can occur even when you have slow internet connections; please confirm before concluding.

Fix: Stalker 2 Not Using GPU and Crashing at 100% CPU Usage

Stalker 2 Not Using GPU

Method 1: Use a Dedicated GPU

For the NVIDIA GPU