Want to know how you can fix high CPU usage on Cyberpunk 2077?
There’s no denying that Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most demanding games ever developed in the past years. In fact, even the flagship RTX series card struggle to run the game above 100 FPS when ray tracing is on.
However, this doesn’t mean that gamers will have to invest in flagship hardware to enjoy the game.
With the right settings, Cyberpunk 2077 can be run on a mid-range PC.
Unfortunately, there have been several reports from users who encounter high CPU usage while playing Cyberpunk 2077.
Most of the time, this issue is caused by unnecessary applications running in the background and in-game overlays. On the other hand, it can also be due to outdated versions of the game, third-party apps, or improper configurations.
Today, we’ve decided to make a guide for fixing high CPU usage on Cyberpunk 2077.
Let’s get right into it!
1. Restart Your PC.
Whenever you encounter problems with Cyberpunk 2077 or any other game, the first thing you should do is restart your computer. While this might look very simple, it flushes your system cache and eliminates temporary bugs and glitches that may have occurred during use.
Check out the steps below to restart your PC:
- On your keyboard, press the Windows key to open the Start Menu.
- After that, access the Power Options tab.
- Finally, choose Restart to reboot your system.
Go back to the game afterward and check if the problem is solved.
2. Close Background Applications.
If there are a lot of applications running on your computer, it might struggle to run Cyberpunk 2077 due to the game’s demanding load. To give the best running environment for the game, we suggest closing background applications on your computer.
Head to the Task Manager and identify the applications you don’t need while playing. Close them and see if your system performance has improved.
3. Disable Overlays.
System manufacturers and even Steam implement some kind of overlay while playing games, which allows players to access other features without leaving the game. However, these tools put an unnecessary load on your system, which could lead to high CPU usage.
To avoid issues, we recommend turning off any in-game overlays from your GPU, Steam, and other third-party applications.
4. Update Your Graphics Drivers.
Outdated or faulty graphics drivers could negatively affect your system’s performance, explaining why you experience high CPU usage on Cyberpunk 2077. To fix this, update your display drivers to the latest version.
Here’s what you need to do:
- First, open the Device Manager on your computer.
- After that, expand the Display Adapters tab.
- Lastly, right-click on your graphics card and choose Update Driver.
Restart your system to apply the changes and check if the problem is solved.
5. Lower Graphics Settings.
High CPU usage could indicate that your computer is struggling to run Cyberpunk 2077. In this case, the best thing you could do besides upgrading is to lower the graphics settings of the game.
Try disabling advanced features in the game, such as ray tracing, and lower the rendering distance of the world.
You can also lower the display resolution to maximize performance.
Start with the lowest possible settings in the game and gradually increase your configuration to find the balance between performance and looks.
6. Verify Game Files.
Corrupted or faulty game files could also be the reason for high CPU usage on Cyberpunk 2077. Fortunately, Steam has a built-in tool that lets you scan your game resources for issues and automatically repairs them.
See the steps below to verify your game files:
- First, launch Steam on your computer.
- Access your account and go to the Library tab.
- Right-click on Cyberpunk 2077 and choose Properties.
- Go to the Local Files tab.
- Lastly, click on Verify Integrity of Game Files and follow the prompts.
Relaunch the game and observe if you’ll still experience high CPU usage.
That ends our guide for fixing high CPU usage on Cyberpunk 2077. If you have questions, please leave a comment below, and we’ll do our best to answer them.
If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂
