Why Are Games Running Extremely Slowly on My Windows Laptop?
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MellowCactus47
I recently switched my Sword 16 HX B14VFK laptop from Linux back to Windows, and nearly every game now runs with severe lag unless it is extremely lightweight. The same hardware handled these games well under Linux, so I suspect Windows may be using the wrong graphics processor or missing a driver or power setting. The laptop has 16 GB of RAM, an NVIDIA RTX 4060 Mobile GPU, and an Intel i7-14650HX processor. What should I check to find the cause?
Answers
Since this is a gaming laptop, Windows may be running the games on the integrated graphics instead of the NVIDIA RTX 4060. Open Task Manager while a game is running and check which GPU shows activity. You can also go to Settings > System > Display > Graphics, add the game’s executable, choose Options, and set it to High performance. In the NVIDIA app or NVIDIA Control Panel, make sure the preferred graphics processor is the high-performance NVIDIA GPU. Also check that the laptop is plugged in and not restricted by a battery-saving mode.
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The hardware sounds more than capable, but reinstalling Windows often leaves out important laptop drivers. Install the latest NVIDIA graphics driver and the chipset, graphics-switching, and system-control drivers from the laptop manufacturer’s support page. Windows Update alone may not install everything needed for the RTX 4060 or the laptop’s hybrid graphics mode. You can verify GPU activity in Task Manager under the Processes and Performance tabs while the game is running.
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MellowCactus47: How can I tell which GPU the game is actually using?