Graphics cards are designed to handle various tasks and maintain a smooth, stable framerate for your computer. However, the demands of modern gaming make a computer’s graphics processing unit (GPU) increasingly bottlenecked, putting additional strain on this precious component.

1. Your graphics card is overheated

As you know, excess heat and computers don’t mix. Unfortunately, overheating is a common problem with electronic devices, and manufacturers have yet to figure out a solution to this problem.

In the meantime, all you can do is try to keep your electronic equipment cool. Overheating can occur when the computer’s GPU works too hard on repetitive tasks. You’ll easily notice this if you run a program that takes up much of your PC’s memory.

The fans will rotate faster and make noise whether you use an internal or external graphics card. If this happens, your game might stutter, and your PC freezes or crashes from the overload.

Apart from large programs, here are a few other reasons your graphics card overheats:

Poor ventilation: Every computer has vents and spinning fans for ventilation. The airflow between the GPU and the external environment is essential for heat management. If you have any objects blocking the vents, remove them. Keep your computer in an open space where other obstructions won’t tamper with the airflow.
Hot and humid environment: If you’re in a hot and humid climate, your PC and graphics card will take the brunt of the heat. An increase in ambient temperature leads to a rise in PC temperature. You can solve this by turning on the AC or moving to a cooler environment.
Dust build-up: Dust builds up and blocks the cooling vents in your PC or external graphics card over time. It also reduces the fan’s efficiency, which leads to potentially dangerous overheating and lower performance.
Old thermal paste: When the thermal paste becomes hard and crusty instead of a moist paste, it cannot transfer heat as effectively.

The good news is you have a couple of options to prevent your graphics card from overheating. For starters, you can adjust your graphics card performance settings from high to low or medium performance.

Refer to my other article explaining how to replace the thermal paste on your GPU to know more.

2. Memory speeds are a problem

If your graphics card is struggling so badly when it shouldn’t, the memory speed may be to blame.

Memory speed is measured in MHz, and the higher the speed, the better. If a graphics card runs slower than it should, it will cause a performance hit. In that case, you can change the RAM speed to match your GPU’s.

If you don’t want to overclock your GPU, try increasing the frequency in 50MHz increments until you find an acceptable level of performance.

Some graphics cards will handle different speeds better than others, so testing each setting before applying it permanently to your system is essential. Remember, PC games, especially those that require high-resolution textures and images, can cause a graphics card to bottleneck.

That’s why many cards have been designed with memory speeds that are significantly lower than needed to maintain a stable framerate to keep up with the demands of games.

However, this often results in degraded visuals. Decide whether you will sacrifice visuals for a better GPU performance or vice versa.

3. GPU is overclocked

Gamers will often overclock their cards, hoping for the best performance. However, overclocking introduces new problems to the system. An excessively overclocked GPU is forced to run at an increased speed that isn’t compatible with the hardware.

With all the new processing expectations, there’s a high chance your GPU will get damaged soon. In addition, you might also experience instability in your game or screen.

4. Insufficient power

An underpowered graphics card can force the computer system to slow down the graphics card performance. Graphics cards have several components that are subject to power restrictions. The power supply is one of the most obvious.

Even if your graphics card is powerful enough for the best games on the market, it can still be limited by the power supply or the configuration used to produce that power. If your computer’s power supply can’t deliver enough power for the graphics card, it will underperform.

The most common cause of this is if you have an old computer that doesn’t have a powerful enough PSU (Power Supply Unit). To fix this problem, you only need to replace your current power supply with a higher-wattage one.

The wattage of a PSU can be found on its label. Most are of sufficient quality to run mid-range or high-end GPUs without any problems. Refer to my other article, how to know if you need a new power supply, to know more.

5. Insufficient VRAM

One of the first things you’ll want to do if your graphics card is struggling is to check its VRAM spending. This parameter measures how much memory your graphics card uses to store virtual reality game data.

The amount of graphics memory available to your GPU directly relates to how much load it can handle. The more VRAM your graphics card has, the better it should perform. If you want to improve your gaming experience, you can always select a better card to increase the amount of VRAM.

Additionally, you’ll want to ensure your graphics card has enough VRAM headroom. You’ll want to reduce the graphics detail settings to suit if it doesn’t.

One more thing: The video memory stores the textures and other assets. Low video memory can result in choppy gameplay and low frame rates, resulting in an underperforming graphics card.

6. Hardware and software problems

A graphical concept design of hardware and software.

Graphic card underperformance can be caused by software problems resulting from driver crashes, viruses, or malware attacks. It may also be an incompatibility problem where an essential program is incompatible with the card.

Failure to update drivers keeps your computer reliant on old (often buggy) programs. In the meantime, more and more video games and software upgrades are introduced into the market with new features.

If you launch these games using an outdated graphic card and old drivers, there’s a high possibility of underperformance. If you’re still using a computer with an operating system that’s no longer being supported (e.g., Windows 7), it may also be why your graphics card is underperforming.

Granted, buying a new desktop to boost your gaming performance is expensive, but that’s how it is.

Last, many errors arise when setting up your computer and graphics card. For instance, an inappropriate graphics card setting can cause its underperformance.

Don’t expect your graphics card to work at its best using low-speed and low-capacity RAM.

What is the problem with your graphics card?

With so many video games being produced daily, some developers are creating high-quality gaming content that occupies so much space on your computer.

These games consume most of the computer’s RAM and the processor’s core. When a computer’s RAM is largely occupied, it performs slowly. This also applies to the graphics card when subjected to a very high graphic quality game it can’t handle.

The problem with your graphics card is it is probably bottlenecked. This means that it can’t keep up with the demands of modern gaming and can even cause performance issues down the line.

If your card is using an outdated processor, it can cause the graphics card to struggle. Some processors are too demanding for GPUs. This means if your graphics card can’t handle the new task, it might be unable to keep up with older tasks.