Desktop Window Manager using high GPU % (35% - 40%)

[Djinni]

Trying to work out, why since SL launch I am getting low FPS on a new laptop.
Before the launch of SL I was getting 50-60 FPS in-game, now if I get more than 27, it's doing really well.
Opening task manager shows me the following:

Which I am having some trouble understanding. Can anyone tell me why DWM (Desktop Window Manager) is using so much GPU power?

System specs:
Dell XPS 15
CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-9750H CPU @ 2.60GHz 2.59 GHz
RAM:32.0 GB (31.7 GB usable)
GPU 0: UHD 630
GPU 1: NVIDIA GTX 1650
Laptop is sat on a cooled laptop stand with the fans running. (Although I haven't really noticed it getting hot at all)

Display layout:

Display 1 is the built in 4k laptop display (set to 1920x1080 because I have no use for a 15" 4k display)
Display 2 is 1920x1080 connected via USB C hub
Display 3 is 3440x1440 connected via HDMI (used as main / primary display)
Display 4 is 1920x1080 connected via USC C hub
Display 5 is disabled (Not sure what display 5 is... but it's not a real display)

Utilisation graphs:


1 very confused person here since nothing appears to be really getting taxed.... yet some things are reporting insanely high usage % and the game is running at a low FPS.
WoW is set to use the "High performance NVIDIA processor in the NVIDIA control panel and is set to use GTX 1650 in the WoW Advanced settings. However as you can see, the task manager reports it running on GPU 0 (UHD 630) Although I'm sure I believe that, since if I set WoW to run on the 630 I get 7 to 8 FPS... instead. (Same as if I set it to "Auto Detect")

[Pann]

That's a lot of displays for a 1650 to drive, what are your temps like?

[Djinni]

[Pann]

I thought you might be running into thermal throttling issues but with those temps I'm not so sure. Hopefully someone who can be more help will be along soon.


Just to add - I don't know much about mobile chips but shouldn't an i7-9750H be able to use quite a bit more power than 31W? I thought they could go up to about 75W or am I getting mixed up?

[Djinni]

The values in that app, are the max that it's seen. so the max power draw (according to the software) during the time I had it running would have been 31W, not that 31W is the max for the CPU.

I'm no where near maxing out the CPU.
I did actually manage to 5 box WoW before the SL launch, on reasonably good settings without any issues.

[lloose]

Even if those displays aren't showing anything other than the desktop, its still extra resolution that your GPU/CPU needs to render. I'm not entirely sure that this is the problem but definitely something that sticks out. Its also really easy to test too, just turn off the extra displays and see if desktop manager is still using an abnormal amount of resources.

[Twoddle]

Question is why is so much usage directed towards the integrated graphics and not the dedicated GPU? Are the desktops static background? What happens in other WoW display modes like windowed, full screen and windowed full screen?

What happens if you switch to dedicated graphics only in the UEFI/BIOS? *Disclaimer: Actually there seems to be some conflicting advice, do a little research before you bugger up your computer.

[Djinni]

Even if those displays aren't showing anything other than the desktop, its still extra resolution that your GPU/CPU needs to render. I'm not entirely sure that this is the problem but definitely something that sticks out. Its also really easy to test too, just turn off the extra displays and see if desktop manager is still using an abnormal amount of resources.

Reducing the number of connected displays, does not reduce the amount of resources that Desktop Window Manager seems to use. (With only 2 displays(Built in + 1 external, instead of 4, its down to still at 52% GPU usage. What is it even doing with all that processing???

Question is why is so much usage directed towards the integrated graphics and not the dedicated GPU? Are the desktops static background? What happens in other WoW display modes like windowed, full screen and windowed full screen?

What happens if you switch to dedicated graphics only in the UEFI/BIOS? *Disclaimer: Actually there seems to be some conflicting advice, do a little research before you bugger up your computer.

Desktop background is indeed static

Running WoW in Windowed vs Fullscreen(Windowed) doesn't appear to have any effect. If anything, switching to just 1 instance of WoW and running it in Fullscreen (Windowed) pushes the % up to 64%!?
Closing WoW entirely drops it down to 15%. So it does seem to be related to if WoW is running or not.

Looking through the UEFI/BIOS did not yield any results as far as being able to disable the Intel UHD graphics or force usage of the GTX 1650.