A PC is a combination of components like the CPU and GPU that communicate with each other and work together. It's important to ensure they are working smoothly to help you get things done. But things may go out of tune sometimes, leading to a lot of new problems. If you're noticing issues with graphically-intensive tasks like gaming, the culprit might be a GPU usage problem. Don't panic though - even if your GPU usage is stuck at 0%, it's not necessarily a catastrophic failure. There are several troubleshooting steps you can take to get your graphics card back up and running at full capacity.

Update the graphics driver

The graphics card that's installed on your PC is likely to start acting up if you haven't updated the drivers in a while. The drivers also add optimizations for new games and other software releases to ensure your GPU communicates with the OS and other components smoothly. It's a good habit to periodically check and update the graphics driver on your PC to keep unwanted issues at bay.

How to update Nvidia graphics drivers

Nvidia GPU users can update the graphics driver on their PCs via the Nvidia GeForce Experience software. Here's how to check for new driver updates.

1. Download and install Nvidia GeForce Experience software.
2. Launch it and click on the Drivers tab.
3. You'll see a banner at the top of the page if there's an updated driver available.
4. Click Download to get the driver.

Once downloaded, click Express Installation to install the driver while keeping all your settings, then just wait for the installation to finish.

How to update AMD graphics drivers

To update the AMD graphics driver on your PC, you'll need to download and install AMD Software Adrenalin Edition on your PC.

1. Launch it and click Check for updates near the top right.
2. You'll see a button to download if there's a new driver update available.
3. Once downloaded, click Install to launch the installer.
4. Click Install when prompted.

Now you only have to wait for the installation to complete and then restart your computer.

How to use a specific GPU for programs

If you have more than one GPU on your PC, i.e. an integrated and a discrete graphics card, then you may have to direct some programs to use the right GPU. You want the more GPU-intensive tasks to use the dedicated graphics card that's installed on your PC.

1. Right-click on the desktop and select Display settings.
2. Select the Graphics option under the Related settings tab.
3. Select the desired app from the list and click Options.
4. Select High performance and click Save.

How to disable third-party apps in the background

Another simple fix you can try is disabling third-party apps that are active in the background on your PC. This could potentially kill the app that's causing trouble to your GPU, making it slightly easier to narrow down the root cause of the problem. Here's how to disable third-party apps.

1. Type msconfig in the Windows Search bar and select System Configuration app.
2. Click on the Services tab.
3. Check the Hide all Microsoft services box, and click the Disable all button.

Doing this will disable all the third-party services, and hopefully you may notice your GPU usage getting back to normal.

Always keep an eye on your GPU

One of the methods mentioned above or a combination of them should help you improve the GPU usage on your PC. If updating the drivers and applying other fixes doesn't help, then it is likely that the programs you're trying to run aren't optimized well enough to take advantage of your GPU.

A more radical fix would be reinstalling or repairing the operating system to a stable version. An alarmingly low GPU usage could also be due to CPU bottleneck or more fatal issues, so it's advised that you diagnose the GPU thoroughly for physical issues before making changes on an operating system or software level.