How To Fix Warzone 2 High CPU Usage | Modern Warfare | 2023

Call of Duty Warzone 2 is an exciting battle royale game, but some PC players experience crashes due to high CPU usage. If Warzone 2 is using 95-100% of your CPU, don’t worry – you can fix the issue with some simple tweaks.

In this guide, we’ll cover the top methods to resolve Warzone 2 high CPU usage and prevent crashes, based on fixes recommended by players and experts.

What is high cpu usage and why it’s a problem in gaming?

High CPU usage refers to the situation where a significant portion of a computer’s central processing unit (CPU) resources are being utilized. The CPU is essentially the brain of the computer, responsible for executing instructions from programs and applications.

In gaming, high CPU usage can be problematic for several reasons:

  1. Performance Bottleneck: If a game is using a large portion of the CPU’s processing power, it may leave fewer resources for other essential tasks, potentially leading to a decrease in overall system performance.
  2. Frame Rate Drops: In gaming, a consistent and high frame rate is crucial for smooth gameplay. If the CPU is overloaded, it might struggle to process game instructions in a timely manner, resulting in frame rate drops or stutters.
  3. Input Lag: High CPU usage can lead to delays in processing input commands from the player, causing a noticeable lag between when a player performs an action and when it’s reflected on-screen.
  4. Heat Generation: Intense CPU usage generates more heat, which can lead to higher temperatures within the computer. Prolonged high temperatures can potentially lead to overheating issues and, in extreme cases, hardware damage.
  5. System Instability: If the CPU is consistently operating at high usage levels, it can put additional strain on other components of the system, potentially leading to stability issues or crashes.
  6. Reduced Multitasking Capacity: If a game is using a large portion of the CPU’s resources, it leaves less room for other background processes. This can impact the computer’s ability to multitask effectively.

It’s worth noting that the impact of high CPU usage can vary depending on the specific game, the complexity of the game’s graphics and physics, and the capabilities of the CPU itself. In some cases, modern, high-performance CPUs may handle high usage levels without significant issues, while older or less powerful CPUs may struggle.

Optimizing game settings, ensuring drivers are up to date, and potentially upgrading hardware are some ways to address high CPU usage in gaming.

How To Fix Warzone 2 High CPU Usage

How To Fix Warzone 2 High CPU Usage

Here are some of the known solutions for this problem:

Update Your Graphics Drivers

Outdated graphics drivers often cause problems in games. Keeping your GPU drivers up-to-date is an easy first step that could fix Warzone 2 high CPU usage.

Update NVIDIA Drivers

If you have an NVIDIA GPU, open the GeForce Experience app. Go to the Drivers tab and click “Check for Updates.” If an update is available, click “Download” to get the latest driver.

Update Your Graphics Drivers

Once downloaded, open the file and follow the prompts to install it. Restart your PC after installing new NVIDIA drivers.

Update AMD Drivers

For AMD GPUs, go to the AMD website and find your specific graphics card model. Download the latest driver for your card and Windows version.

Double-click the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions to install the new driver. Restart your computer when complete.

Updating your graphics drivers takes just a few minutes and could significantly improve Warzone 2 performance and fix CPU usage problems.

Lower In-Game Graphic Settings

Warzone 2’s minimum CPU requirement is an Intel Core i5-2500K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X. If your CPU is older, playing on low graphics settings can reduce strain on your processor.

Launch Warzone 2 and open the Settings menu. Go to the Graphics tab and lower all settings to their minimums, like Texture Resolution, Anti-Aliasing, Shadow Maps, etc.

Apply the new low settings and try loading into a match. Lowering the graphics quality reduces GPU usage, which can alleviate high CPU usage problems in Warzone 2.

Set CPU Core Affinity in Task Manager

You can use Windows Task Manager to set a CPU affinity that forces Warzone 2 to only use certain cores. This balances workloads across your CPU and could fix high usage on one core.

Here’s how to set CPU affinity for Warzone 2 in Task Manager:

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
  2. Go to the Details tab.
  3. Right-click “ModernWarfare.exe” and select “Set affinity.”
  4. Uncheck all CPU cores except 0-3.
  5. Click “OK” to apply the affinity.

Launch Warzone 2 and monitor your CPU usage again. Setting the affinity to only use a few cores often resolves 100% usage problems.

Increase Virtual Memory

If your PC has under the 8GB of RAM required for Warzone 2, increasing virtual memory can help. This uses hard drive space as temporary “virtual” memory.

Fix 5 Adjust Virtual Memory Section 1

To boost virtual memory on your Warzone 2 drive:

  1. Search for “performance” and open “Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows.”
  2. Click “Advanced” > “Change” under Virtual Memory.
  3. Uncheck “Automatically manage paging file size.”
  4. Choose your Warzone 2 drive and set both initial and maximum size to at least 2048 MB.
  5. Click “Set,” “OK,” and restart your PC.

Increasing virtual memory gives your PC more memory to work with, reducing CPU strain in games like Warzone 2.

Disable NVIDIA Overlay

The NVIDIA overlay built into GeForce Experience can cause problems in games, including Warzone 2 high CPU usage. Disabling NVIDIA overlay may fix CPU usage problems.

To turn off the overlay:

  1. Open GeForce Experience and go to Settings.
  2. Switch off “In-Game Overlay.”
  3. Click done and relaunch Warzone 2.

With overlay disabled, your GPU won’t be straining to run monitoring apps while rendering Warzone 2. This prevents excess load on your CPU.

Roll Back Your Graphics Driver

If recently updating your NVIDIA graphics driver coincided with Warzone 2 CPU problems, rolling back to an older driver could help.

To revert your driver in GeForce Experience:

  1. Go to Drivers > Previous Drivers.
  2. Choose a driver from 1-2 months ago and click “Download.”
  3. Open the downloaded file to install the older driver.
  4. Restart your PC and relaunch Warzone 2.

Rolling back GPU drivers essentially uninstalls newer ones known to cause issues. Installing an older, more stable driver can potentially fix Warzone 2 CPU usage problems.

Close Background Apps

Too many background apps running during Warzone 2 can consume CPU resources and cause high usage. Closing unnecessary apps gives your CPU more room to run the game properly.

Task Manager Crusader Kings 3

Before launching Warzone 2, close unused processes with Task Manager or tray icons. Examples include:

  • Web browsers like Chrome
  • Game launchers like Steam or Epic Games
  • Media programs like Spotify or iTunes
  • Communications apps like Discord
  • Monitoring tools like MSI Afterburner

Basically, any program you don’t absolutely need should be closed before playing. This prevents them from eating up CPU resources while Warzone 2 is running.

Change Windows Power Plan

Using a Windows “Power Saver” plan reduces computer performance to conserve energy. Switching to a “High Performance” plan enables your CPU to run at full capacity for gaming.

To change power plans:

  1. Search for “power plan” and choose “Power & sleep settings.”
  2. Click “Additional power settings” on the right.
  3. Under “Power plans,” choose “High performance.”
  4. Click “Change plan settings” and set both minimum and maximum CPU states to 100%.
  5. Click “Save changes.”

Now your CPU won’t be throttled while playing Warzone 2, which could fix high usage problems. Just remember to switch back to a balanced plan for general use.

Edit Config File to Use More CPU Cores

Warzone 2 doesn’t automatically utilize all of your CPU’s cores. Manually editing a config file forces the game to leverage more cores, reducing strain on any single core.

Here’s how to edit Warzone 2’s config file to enable additional CPU cores:

  1. Close Warzone 2 and open File Explorer.
  2. Go to Documents > Call of Duty > Players > options.3.cod22.cst
  3. Right-click it and select “Edit with Notepad++”.
  4. Scroll down and find “RendererWorkerCount” under “# Thread count for job queue”.
  5. Change the number to match 50-75% of your CPU’s total cores.
  6. Save the file.

Launching Warzone 2 now spreads workload across more CPU cores you allocated, fixing single-core high usage problems.

Scan and Repair System Files

Corrupted Windows system files can negatively affect CPU performance and cause high usage in games. Scanning and repairing critical operating system files may fix underlying issues causing problems in Warzone 2.

We recommend using a dedicated system repair tool like Restoro to scan for and replace damaged system files that could be causing high CPU usage in Warzone 2.

Restoro uses an extensive online database to safely replace corrupted Windows files with fresh copies certified by Microsoft. Running Restoro regularly keeps your PC optimized and running smoothly for gaming.

Upgrade CPU and RAM

If you have an older CPU or lack sufficient RAM, upgrading your hardware could be necessary to permanently fix Warzone 2 CPU usage problems.

Warzone 2 requires a modern quad-core CPU and at least 8GB of RAM. An older dual-core processor can’t keep up, resulting in high usage as it struggles to run the game.

Upgrading to a modern CPU with 6+ cores, like an Intel Core i5-11600K or Ryzen 5 5600X, will give Warzone 2 ample horsepower. Adding more RAM to reach 16GB gives your system breathing room to run the game smoothly.

While upgrading hardware is an investment, it provides the best long-term solution if your current CPU and RAM are below Warzone 2’s system requirements.

Final Thoughts

Warzone 2 taxing your CPU at 95-100% usage can cause poor performance and crashes. Thankfully, applying fixes like updating drivers, closing background apps, and editing config files can resolve high CPU usage problems.

If simple software tweaks don’t work, upgrading to a modern CPU and more RAM gives your system the power needed to run Warzone 2 smoothly. With the right optimizations, you can enjoy Warzone 2 without high CPU usage hindering your experience.


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