BUG: dwm.exe and high GPU usage

[Lobotomy96]

I have a laptop with Windows 10 running and since 2 months ago I have a problem with the GPU usage. It goes from 0% to 100%, resulting in peaks with no reason. That makes my pc crash for 5 seconds. It happens very frecuently and when I'm simply moving between different windows like Microsoft Edge, Windows Explorer, etc. It is getting worse through time, now I can't even play games that I used to play before. 

I tried everything that it's on the internet: updating all the drivers, reinstaling the OS (twice), changing different configuration options... 

I read on the internet that I'm not the only one with this problem, some people say it must be an issue with the new Window's patch 20h2 and the Intel drivers.

I really appreciate a response.

Thank you in advance

Specifications:

ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. X556UQK 

Intel® Core™ i7-7500U CPU @ 2.70GHz

NVIDIA GeForce 940MX

Intel® HD Graphics 620

8 GB RAM

 

[Alberto_Sykes]

Lobotomy96, Thank you very much for providing those updates.

In reference to this scenario, just to let you know, the T-junction of the Intel® Core™ i7-7500U Processor is 100°C, which means that any temperature value below that degree is considered normal and expected for this unit.

In order to rule out a possible problem with the Intel® Processor, we recommend to install the Intel® Processor Diagnostic Tool, it does an overall test on the unit and if it passes the test it means it is working properly:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/19792/Intel-Processor-Diagnostic-Tool

Also, we suggest to install the Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility, in order to monitor the temperatures us real-time:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/29183/Intel-Extreme-Tuning-Utility-Intel-XTU-

Just to confirm, did you reset the BIOS to default values?

Is the laptop throttling, freezing, or going off by itself?

You mentioned that you change the disk, was it ASUS the one who changed it?

Did you check directly with them if the disk was fully compatible with their system?

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Lobotomy96]

Alberto, 

I did what you told me, I send you the report of the test and some pictures of the Monitoring tool during the test. Of course, I saw the issue during the test, but it doesn't seems to be detected by the tool. Power Limit Throthling showed 'Yes' the entire test.

I don't know which are the default settings of the BIOS.

The laptop is not completely freezing, but when the problem happens it becomes very very slow and graphics don't work properly. It acts like that the entire time the CPU's clock is in the minimum frequency. I don't know what do you mean with throttling, but, as I just told you, I can read 'Yes' on 'Power Limit Throttling' in the monitoring tool. 

ASUS didn't change my disk, their oficial technical office is far from my city and it's hard for me to access to them in the actual global context, since I work with my pc everyday,

I think the problem can be some setting in the BIOS or some Intel feature that is enable/disable by default during the Windows installation. 

I hope this information will help, thank you very much for your quick responses, I really appreciate them.

[Alberto_Sykes]

Lobotomy96, Thank you very much for sharing those updates.

We will continue with our research on this scenario, as soon as I get any updates I will post all the details on this thread.

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Alberto_Sykes]

Hello Lobotomy96, I just received an update on this matter.

After reviewing the case, we determine that if the issue persists while using the OEM Graphics driver and/or with an older driver, then there is a possibility of a hardware issue, either the CPU/GPU combo, the discrete graphics card since this is a hybrid graphics configuration, or perhaps the SSD that is the new variable that was introduced and triggered the issue.

At this point, for this scenario, the best thing to do will be to get in contact directly with the laptop manufacturer for a potential hardware issue:

https://www.asus.com/support/

Regards,

Albert R.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[Lobotomy96]

Hello Alberto. Thank you for your help.

ASUS support didn't offer me much options but to take my pc to their technician, which in impossible for me now. 

Maybe you can help me tobetter understand some of the Intel CPU normal parameters:

Is the 'Power Limit Throttling' acting normal in this case ?

Is there any Intel default option that could be active now the OS is reinstalled that could be affecting my pc performance ?  Or is it normal that my CPU clock is at max for no reason ?

Thank you again.