The Last of Us is one of the most popular video games of all time, known for its gripping storyline, engaging characters, and immersive gameplay. However, some players have reported low GPU usage while playing the game on their PCs, which can lead to performance issues and a less-than-optimal gaming experience.
One of the most common causes of low GPU usage in The Last of Us is outdated graphics card drivers. Moreover, this problem can also arise due to improper settings, problematic game files & components, and CPU bottlenecks.
Fortunately, there are several other steps you can take to optimize your system and fix the low GPU usage problem in The Last of Us. From tweaking your game settings to overclocking your hardware, we’ll cover all the possible solutions in this article. So if you’re ready to take your gaming experience to the next level and fix the low GPU usage problem in The Last of Us, keep reading.
How To Fix The Last Of Us Low GPU Usage Problem on PC
To resolve your Last Of Us low GPU usage problem on your PC, first, you have to make sure that you’ve installed the DirectX Runtime and Visual C++ Redistributables & restart Windows, disable any unnecessary background processes, disable your antivirus & firewall, your PC meets the minimum requirements of the game, and ensure that you are not overclocking anything.
If the problem still persists, then try the following potential fixes;
1. Update the Display Driver
An outdated display driver is a common culprit for The Last of Us being stuck on the loading screen on your PC. This can cause an infinite loading screen and prevent the game from launching. Updating your display driver is an effective solution to this problem. To update the GPU drivers, follow the below steps;
- Press Win + X on the keyboard and then click on Device Manager and expand Display adapters.
- Right-click on the graphics card, and click on Update driver.
- Choose Search automatically for drivers and update the driver.
In order to update the GPU driver, NVIDIA and AMD do release game-specific updates that you can download and install on your PC. But it takes time and if you are a newbie who doesn’t have skills then you might end up downloading the wrong drivers.
So, we suggest downloading Driver Easy software to update your graphics card driver quickly and efficiently. Unlike the device manager, it can update all drivers with a single click and has a broader database for detecting the latest drivers.
2. Force a Dedicated GPU
In case your PC has two GPUs, then switch to the dedicated GPU on which you want to play the game. This can help you to resolve your issue. To do so, just follow the below steps.
Nvidia:
- Right-click on the desktop screen.
- Open Nvidia Control Panel.
- Go to 3D Settings.
- Click on Manage 3D Settings.
- Open Program Settings.
- Select The Last of Us from the list.
- Select High-Performance Nvidia Processor as the preferred graphics processor for this program.
- Make sure to save changes and reboot the PC.
AMD:
- Right-click on the blank desktop screen.
- Open Radeon Settings.
- Head over to Additional Settings.
- Go to Preferences.
- Click on Power.
- Click on Switchable Graphics Application Settings.
- Select The Last of US from the list (If the game is not visible, select Add Application to include the game)
- Select High Performance from Graphics Settings.
- Finally, reboot the PC to apply changes.
3. Enable Game Mode on the PC
- Press Win + I on the keyboard to open Windows Settings.
- Click on Gaming and go to Game Mode.
- Now, toggle the switch to turn on the Game mode.
After applying all these steps, just restart the Windows.
4. Enable High-Performance Mode
Insufficient power supply to the computer can also cause The Last of Us to fail to load. To solve this issue, enabling high-performance mode for both graphics and power settings is recommended. The following steps can be followed to enable high-performance mode:
- Press Win + I on the keyboard to open Windows Settings.
- Go to System and then click on Display.
- Navigate to Graphics.
- Locate The Last of Us in the list. If you don’t see it, manually add it by clicking on the Browse button.
- Click on it and then click on Options.
- Tick on High performance and then click on Save.
- Again, go to System and click on Power.
- Change the Power Mode to the Best performance.
After trying all these steps, just restart your PC.
5. Disable V-Sync
To do so, just follow the below steps;
- Open the Nvidia Control Panel by selecting it in the Start menu. Visit the Microsoft Store and install it if it isn’t already there.
- In the Nvidia Control Panel interface, select 3D Settings and then Manage 3D settings.
- Choose Program Settings > Add and choose The Last of Us from the list of applications.
- Now, scroll down to Vertical sync and click it > Off. This will require The Last of Us to always disable V-Sync.
After applying all these steps, restart your computer to apply changes and play the game to check for the issue again.
6. Roll back the GPU Driver
- Press Win + X on the keyboard and then click on Device Manager.
- Expand Display adapters and double-click on the GPU driver to open its properties.
- Go to the Driver tab.
- Click on Roll Back Driver.
7. Re-install the GPU Driver
To do so, just follow the below steps;
- In the Device Manager, right-click on the GPU driver and click on Uninstall.
- Tick Attempt to remove the driver for this device and then click on Uninstall.
After applying all these steps; restart Windows.
Install again:
- Depending on your graphics card chipset, go to AMD, Intel, or NVIDIA driver download page.
- Select the GPU model you are using and click on Search.
- Download and install the driver on your PC.
- Restart Windows.
This method works well if the GPU driver on your PC has become corrupted. After re-installing, launch The Last of Us and start playing and then see if the frame-dropping issue still exists or not.
8. Verify the Game’s File’s Integrity
You need to verify the game file integrity because if your game files are missing, corrupt, or damaged, The Last Of Us crashing becomes an unavoidable problem. This method has been proven effective by many players and hopes it works for you too. To do so, just follow the below steps;
- Open Steam > Click on Library > Go to Home.
- Right-click on The Last Of Us > Click on Properties.
- Go to the Local files tab > Click on Verify integrity of game files.
9. Play with High Settings
To fix low GPU utilization in The Last of Us, try playing on higher graphics settings such as native resolution, removing the FPS limit, enabling ray-tracing, and increasing texture quality. Play the game again to see if the problem has been resolved. Keep in mind to maintain the system stability and avoid overheating.
In case the problem still persists, then update & re-install the game, update Windows to the latest version, and consider upgrading to a better CPU if it has a bottleneck issue with your current GPU. If GPU usage is low but CPU usage is high, it may indicate a CPU bottleneck problem.
