How to Resolve High CPU Usage Issues While Playing New World on Windows

Are you trying to play New World on your Windows PC, but High CPU usage keeps bothering you? The issue is not new, as even Amazon Games, the developers of New World, have tried to resolve it in their latest build. While they have done a good job resolving unnecessary stuttering and frame drops, they were not completely successful in resolving high CPU usage issues while playing New World.

Some believe that the issue appears due to a lack of system resources, while others say that the error lies in the game’s build itself. Either way, it becomes troublesome for a gamer to enjoy the graphics and the thrill that comes with them. If you, too, are suffering from a similar issue and want a solution that not only helps your game run well but also optimizes your CPU usage, let’s look at some of the ways to help you out.

Ways to Lower New World High CPU Usage

There can be many reasons why your PC shows high memory usage every time you launch the game. As we all know, New World is a heavy game to run and requires a lot of resources. Hence, the first and foremost thing you should do before starting with the fixes is to ensure that your system meets the minimum requirements to run the game.

Minimum requirements:

OS Windows 10 (64-bit)

Processor Intel® Core™ i5-2400 / AMD CPU with 4 physical cores @ 3Ghz

Memory 8 GB RAM

Graphics NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 670 2GB / AMD Radeon R9 280 or better

Storage 50 GB available space

DirectX Version 12

Network Broadband Internet connection; Internet connection is required to play

Recommended specifications:

OS Windows 10 (64-bit)

Processor Intel® Core™ i7-2600K / AMD Ryzen 5 1400

Memory 16 GB RAM

Graphics NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 970 / AMD Radeon R9 390X or better

Storage 50 GB available space

DirectX Version 12

Network Broadband Internet connection; An Internet connection is required to play

If your PC has what it takes to run the game but is still causing problems, move on to the fixes we have listed below and try them out to fix the problem.

Fix 1 – Minimize the Background Applications

If you have a lot of programs opened in the background while you are playing the game, high CPU memory usage is a common problem you may face. The issue can become severe if the apps in the background are heavy programs like a multithreaded browser, a video editor, or continuously operational.

Minimizing the background applications is the best thing you can do to reduce the load on your CPU, affecting the performance of your game. Here’s how you do it –

Step 1 – Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager on your PC.
Step 2 – Check the running background applications in the running list of tasks.

Step 3 – Click on the CPU usage column to sort the running applications based on their CPU usage.
Step 4 – Select the application you want to remove and click on the end task.
Step 5 – Repeat the process for all the applications.

Since you will engage in a game longer, you hardly need any other application to run in the background. Hence, you decide to ensure that your CPU has enough room to accommodate the game process and other apps you prefer to run.

Keep in mind that this process is done before launching the game. This means when you are managing the CPU usage, it may appear low in the Task Manager. However, as soon as you launch the game, it may take a hike. This is why you must ensure it is to the minimum before you start the game.

Must Read: A Study on How CPU Stress Affects Windows Computer Performance

Fix 2 – Change the Power Plan your PC Uses

Maintaining and utilizing the power supply to the fullest might help you lower the high CPU usage. There are inbuilt power modes that can help you maintain the power-to-performance ratio. Check out the following steps to learn how to change it accordingly.

Step 1 – Press Win + R to open the Run Search.
Step 2 – In the Run search, use the command Control to open the control panel.

Step 3 – In the Control Panel, you may find the Power Options icon (ensure the view is set to large icons).

Step 4 – Open Power Options to find multiple settings you can tweak related to your PC’s power output and management. Depending on your device type, you may have two or more power plans.

Step 5 – Choose the one that gives you better performance to reduce the load on CPU usage. You may require more power.

You may also find a high-performance mode in the power plan settings. If you do, choose that, as it will always be better. Otherwise, you can choose a curated plan other than the balanced one, as shown in the image above.

Fix 3 – Delegate the Task to Your GPU

Sure, the New World is a resource-hungry game that requires all the attention of your CPU to work smoothly. However, if you can manage the GPU properly and let it take over some of the load, it may help maintain your CPU usage.

Ensure two things about your GPU to reduce CPU usage with New World. These include –

1. Make sure that high graphics performance is allowed for the game.

To do so, all you have to do is –

Step 1 – Go to the start menu and search for graphics settings.

Step 2 – In the Graphics settings, click on Browse and find the New World launcher to add it to the list of priority applications.

Step 3 – Once you have browsed for the application, a prompt will ask you about its status. Choose a High-performance GPU from the list.

Use this method to add New World to the high-performance GPU list. After this, the game will have the option to switch to GPUs in most aspects where high CPU usage is required.

2. Your GPU Drivers are regularly updated

Another crucial thing you need to do is ensure that your GPU drivers stay current. This will help you maximize the performance of your attached GPU. Check out our post on updating graphics card drivers to learn more about the process.

Ensure these two practices and your GPU can take the load off your CPU, returning the CPU usage to normal.

Fix 4 – Play Around With In-Game Settings

Lowering your game settings is another way. Sure, this means you may be unable to make the most of the game graphics and quality. However, reducing the in-game presets to medium might give a push to the performance of the game.

Since every user has a different configuration, no predefined changes can be made to the game settings to make it work. You must play around with them to identify the best working environment.

Some of the things that you must tweak to make the game work properly include –

V-sync
Shadow quality
Anti-aliasing
Video quality
Graphics usage
Video aspect

And much more! You can set the preset environment to medium in-game or low, depending on your resources.

Fix 5 – Use Advanced System Optimizer for Game Optimization

If you have had no luck after trying everything mentioned above, chances are that your PC cannot identify the gaming environment it requires to run the game. One of the crucial steps to maintaining gaming performance is identifying when and how to launch the game.

You can choose Advanced System Optimizer, a one-stop tool for your PC’s performance optimization needs. It has a dedicated Game Optimizer that allows you to launch the game in a perfect environment and maintains that performance, so you no longer have to worry about high CPU usage or other performance issues.

Here’s how you can use it –

Step 1 – Download and install Advanced System Optimizer on your PC.

Step 2 – In the application, navigate to PC Optimizers from the left panel.

Step 3 – In PC optimizers, you have three options, the top being the Game Optimizer. Click on it.
Step 4 – You must add the game to the software in the Game Optimizer. Click on select location now to get started.

Step 5 – Give Your Game a name by typing in the name field and adding its app location to specify the source from where you want to add it.

Step 6 – Once you have successfully added the game, select it and click on Start Optimized to launch the game.

And that’s it. You have successfully launched the game in an optimized environment. This means now your CPU usage issues should be resolved easily!

Fix 6 – Use SFC Scan to Check for System file Issues

One of the primary reasons why New World keeps consuming resources poorly is system files. If the system files that support the gameplay are not functioning properly, you may experience issues such as high CPU usage. The ultimate solution is to use the command prompt and run the SFC command on your PC.

Here’s how you do it –

Step 1 – Run Command Prompt as an administrator via the Start menu.
Step 2 – In the command prompt, use SFC/Scannow and hit enter.
Step 3 – Once you have run the command, let it finish the scan.
Step 4 – As soon as the scan is over, restart your PC.

This way, you will find that all the issues related to system files are resolved on your PC. Launch the game and check if the issue is resolved. If not, you should try the next fix.

Fix 7 – Verify Game File Integrity

As you may be aware, the High CPU usage error on New World has been around for a while now. The developers recently shared the most stable build for the same. However, not all clients have updated the game automatically. Hence, if you are using Steam to run your game, we suggest you check the game file integrity to understand if it flags the file and replaces it with a better one or not.

To do so –

Step 1 – Navigate to Steam and open New World.
Step 2 – Click the gear icon to open options and navigate to properties.
Step 3 – In properties, you may find Local Files in the left pane.
Step 4 – Open the tab and click on Verify Integrity of the game files.
Step 5 – Once complete, relaunch Steam and try running the game.

This would resolve the issue of high CPU usage on your Windows PC. The fact that the problem lies in the game files and not in the PC itself suggests that your PC can handle the game, and running it, even on 100% usage, will not damage the same.

Thanks to these 7 fixes, you can now enjoy your favorite game, New World, without any overheating or high CPU usage issues. However, if you are still unable to fix the issue on your end, you have nothing to worry about; you can simply wait for Amazon Games’ official statement on the same.

Please note that you must check and meet the system requirements for these fixes to work. We hope these fixes allow you to optimize your gaming experience and reasonably reduce the high CPU usage while playing New World on Windows.

Thanks for reading. Good luck, and happy gaming!

Dishank Sharma

A creative tech-writer who loves to explore latest tech-trends & convey them to his readers in the simplest way possible. He loves to blend the crispness of technology with a pinch of creativity while curating best practices for the readers. In his free time, he likes to scribble poetry, listen to rap & travel.