My Acer Nitro has an i7-11800H, RTX 3070 Laptop GPU, Intel integrated graphics and 16 GB of RAM. Elden Ring runs at about 3 FPS even on the lowest settings, and other games that used to run smoothly are struggling too.
I've checked that games are using the RTX 3070, cleared the shader caches, restarted and checked for malware. GPU usage stays around 10 to 11 percent, CPU speed looks normal, and some textures seem slow to load. What should I check next?
I'd double-check the GPU assignment while a game is actually running. Low RTX usage doesn't prove it's using the Intel GPU, but it's worth ruling out before digging deeper.
In Windows graphics settings, find the game's executable and set it to High performance. You can also check the per-program settings in NVIDIA Control Panel. Then use Task Manager's GPU engine column to see which GPU the game is using. Some NVIDIA Control Panel options vary by laptop and driver.
Check power next. Test with the laptop plugged in using the correct charger, and make sure Windows shows it is charging. Compare performance on battery and plugged in, and check that a battery-saving mode isn't active.
A faulty or insufficient charger can cause severe throttling even when the laptop still powers on. If you have access to a known-good compatible charger, that's a useful comparison.
Heat is another possibility, especially since it's affecting more than one game. Watch CPU and GPU temperatures, clock speeds and power draw while a game is struggling. A normal CPU speed on its own doesn't rule out GPU throttling or a power limit.
Check that the vents aren't blocked and use the laptop on a hard surface. If temperatures climb rapidly or clocks collapse under load, the cooling system may need cleaning or servicing.
If the power and temperature checks look normal, try reinstalling the NVIDIA driver. Download the appropriate laptop driver first, uninstall the existing one, restart, and install it again. Then test more than one game before changing a bunch of other settings.
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