F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Notebooks My Acer Nitro 5 is now using 100% of its graphics card and my game is getting way too slow.

My Acer Nitro 5 is now using 100% of its graphics card and my game is getting way too slow.

My Acer Nitro 5 is now using 100% of its graphics card and my game is getting way too slow.

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iNaomiPlays
Senior Member
609
07-18-2026, 07:44 PM
#1
I have an Acer Nitro 5 AN515-57 with a 3050 graphics card. I was playing Genshin Impact at the highest settings and watching smooth gameplay all day. Suddenly, the frames per second (FPS) crashed to about 5 to 10. The fans started spinning really loud. When I opened Nitro Sense, it said my GPU was using 100% while both fans were spinning at 5500 RPM even after I closed the game. After restarting the laptop, the fan speeds went back to normal, but the FPS drop and GPU usage stayed high in the game. When I lowered graphics to the lowest setting, it was still showing 85% GPU usage. I checked for driver updates, reinstalled my graphics card drivers, and the problem kept happening. My GPU is always at 100% usage even though my temps are normal between 60 to 70 degrees Celsius. How can you use all your power without getting too hot? I also play Valorant in the highest settings normally, but now it only gets around 90 to 120 FPS instead of 250+. After cleaning and reinstalling my graphics card driver, Nitro Sense no longer shows any temperature or GPU usage. It says my discrete GPU is idle while Task Manager still says my GPU is at 100% usage. The problem started randomly while I was playing something and nobody changed any settings to cause this. How do I fix this? My laptop has these specs: CPU i5-11400H, GPU RTX 3050, RAM 16GB DDR4 stick.
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iNaomiPlays
07-18-2026, 07:44 PM #1

I have an Acer Nitro 5 AN515-57 with a 3050 graphics card. I was playing Genshin Impact at the highest settings and watching smooth gameplay all day. Suddenly, the frames per second (FPS) crashed to about 5 to 10. The fans started spinning really loud. When I opened Nitro Sense, it said my GPU was using 100% while both fans were spinning at 5500 RPM even after I closed the game. After restarting the laptop, the fan speeds went back to normal, but the FPS drop and GPU usage stayed high in the game. When I lowered graphics to the lowest setting, it was still showing 85% GPU usage. I checked for driver updates, reinstalled my graphics card drivers, and the problem kept happening. My GPU is always at 100% usage even though my temps are normal between 60 to 70 degrees Celsius. How can you use all your power without getting too hot? I also play Valorant in the highest settings normally, but now it only gets around 90 to 120 FPS instead of 250+. After cleaning and reinstalling my graphics card driver, Nitro Sense no longer shows any temperature or GPU usage. It says my discrete GPU is idle while Task Manager still says my GPU is at 100% usage. The problem started randomly while I was playing something and nobody changed any settings to cause this. How do I fix this? My laptop has these specs: CPU i5-11400H, GPU RTX 3050, RAM 16GB DDR4 stick.

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ExtraSpace_
Junior Member
7
07-26-2026, 01:16 AM
#2
Does this computer get checked for bad programs?
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ExtraSpace_
07-26-2026, 01:16 AM #2

Does this computer get checked for bad programs?

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Darkbandit92
Posting Freak
839
07-26-2026, 05:28 AM
#3
I've already run both a Windows Defender check and a MalwareByte test, but no threats came back.
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Darkbandit92
07-26-2026, 05:28 AM #3

I've already run both a Windows Defender check and a MalwareByte test, but no threats came back.

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roses123451780
Junior Member
15
08-14-2026, 10:18 PM
#4
The picture above shows me right after I played Valorant for five minutes. The picture below was taken after I played Genshin Impact for ten minutes.
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roses123451780
08-14-2026, 10:18 PM #4

The picture above shows me right after I played Valorant for five minutes. The picture below was taken after I played Genshin Impact for ten minutes.

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Grggles
Member
163
08-15-2026, 12:31 AM
#5
It really seems like the laptop isn't running its dedicated graphics card (the 3050) at all, but instead just using its built-in screen processor. To figure this out, I should look at the Acer website to see if they have new driver versions up for sale, and maybe also check Intel's site since those are usually compatible.
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Grggles
08-15-2026, 12:31 AM #5

It really seems like the laptop isn't running its dedicated graphics card (the 3050) at all, but instead just using its built-in screen processor. To figure this out, I should look at the Acer website to see if they have new driver versions up for sale, and maybe also check Intel's site since those are usually compatible.

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DeathBeastDB
Senior Member
337
08-21-2026, 06:31 AM
#6
NVIDIA told me my game and screen use the same graphics card, but I'm not sure what else to look for since all my software is current.
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DeathBeastDB
08-21-2026, 06:31 AM #6

NVIDIA told me my game and screen use the same graphics card, but I'm not sure what else to look for since all my software is current.

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rubixgirl
Member
167
08-22-2026, 04:50 PM
#7
I have exactly this problem with my computer too, and I bought it just three weeks back… Have you figured out how to fix it?
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rubixgirl
08-22-2026, 04:50 PM #7

I have exactly this problem with my computer too, and I bought it just three weeks back… Have you figured out how to fix it?

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NastyBastrd
Member
186
08-22-2026, 06:58 PM
#8
Hi, try going to the Acer website, pick your specific model, run a BIOS update if one is available, restart the laptop, then check the BIOS settings. On Windows, uninstall the video driver and reinstall it from the site. Also check for a Windows update at https://www.acer.com/us-en/support/produ...port/Nitro AN515-57/downloads . If the problem stays after these steps, you can do a clean installation of Windows to fix it.
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NastyBastrd
08-22-2026, 06:58 PM #8

Hi, try going to the Acer website, pick your specific model, run a BIOS update if one is available, restart the laptop, then check the BIOS settings. On Windows, uninstall the video driver and reinstall it from the site. Also check for a Windows update at https://www.acer.com/us-en/support/produ...port/Nitro AN515-57/downloads . If the problem stays after these steps, you can do a clean installation of Windows to fix it.