Dead Space Not Using GPU, How to Fix?

Dead Space is a critically acclaimed scientific horror game that was developed by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts. Since its release, the game has experienced remarkable growth and has garnered a strong following. Players have praised the game for its innovative horror gameplay and the immersive experience crafted by the developers. The recent launch of the Dead Space Remake has further contributed to the game’s success, attracting a wide audience. However, some players are encountering technical issues, such as the game not utilizing the GPU effectively. This discussion will delve into this specific challenge, offering insights and potential solutions.

Dead Space Not Using GPU, How to Fix?

Whenever the game doesn’t use the dedicated or external graphics card on your PC and starts using the integrated GPU, the chances are high that it starts experiencing some issues during launching or gameplay. Not only does the game stutter, but it also triggers graphical glitches, frame drops, crashes, etc. Now, if you’re also facing the same issue or somehow the game lags so much and keeps stuttering here & there, you should manually try fixing it.

Here we’ve shared a couple of possible workarounds for you that should help a lot. So, without wasting any more time, let’s jump into it.

Watch Our Video Tutorial

We have created a new video tutorial that addresses a common problem faced by gamers who play ‘Dead Space’ on their PC. The issue is that the game does not use the GPU, which can be frustrating when you’re ready to play. To help you overcome this problem, we have compiled a series of troubleshooting steps and fixes that you can follow.

Watch Video Tutorial

1. Use a Dedicated Graphics Card

Ensure that your computer system uses the dedicated or external graphics card to run the Dead Space game. It’ll eventually reduce game stutters, lags, and frame drops. If you don’t know which settings you need to adjust, then follow the steps below.

For Nvidia:

You can do the following if you’re using the Nvidia graphics card.

• Right-click on the desktop blank screen > Click on NVIDIA Control Panel.
• Click on 3D settings > Select Manage 3D settings in the left pane.
• Select the Program Settings tab > Choose Dead Space from the drop-down list.
• Now, select a High-performance NVIDIA processor.
• Save changes and reboot the PC to apply changes.

For AMD:

AMD graphics card users can do the following.

• Right-click on the Desktop blank screen > Select AMD Radeon Settings from the context menu.
• Now, click on System > Select Switchable Graphics.
• Make sure to save changes and reboot the PC to apply changes.

2. Update GPU Drivers

An outdated or corrupted graphics card driver can trigger multiple game or system performance issues. It’s highly recommended to check the graphics driver update. To do so:

• Press the Windows + X keys to open the Quick Link Menu.
• Click on Device Manager from the list > Double-click on Display adapters.
• Right-click on the dedicated graphics card that you’re currently using.

• Click on Update driver > Choose Search automatically for drivers.
• If the latest update is available, it’ll automatically download & install the latest version.
• Once done, restart the computer to apply changes immediately.

Alternatively, you can manually download the latest graphics driver version and install it on the PC via the official website. Make sure to download the graphics driver file respective to your graphics card model and manufacturer. Nvidia graphics card users can update the GeForce Experience app via the Nvidia official site, and AMD graphics card users can visit the AMD website for the same.

3. Close Background Running Tasks

Unnecessary background running tasks or programs can eat up a lot of system resources like CPU or Memory usage, reducing system performance. Hence, the startup crashing, lagging, and not loading issues often appear. Simply close all the unnecessary background running tasks completely. To do this:

• Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys to open up the Task Manager.
• Now, click on the Processes tab > to select tasks unnecessarily running in the background and consuming enough system resources.
• Click on End Task to close it one by one.
• Once done, restart your system.

4. Change Power Plan

It’s also highly recommended to change the power plan on the computer because the Windows system uses the Balanced power plan by default. But it reduces performance which can be improved by changing the power plan. Keep in mind that the performance plan can consume higher power. To do so:

• Press the Windows + R keys to open the Run dialog box.
• Type Control Panel in the field and click on OK from the search result to open it.
• Now, search for Power Options (Power & battery) and open it.

• Click on Best Performance > Reboot your PC to save changes immediately.

5. Tweak In-Game Graphics Settings

You can also change the in-game graphics settings to check if the problem is still appearing or not.

• Launch the Steam client and then open Dead Space from Library.
• Click on the gear icon inside the Dead Space game to enter the Settings menu.
• Now, make sure to select ‘Turn off VSync.’
• Then set each option under Advanced Settings to the low or medium.

6. Disable Overclocking of the GPU

If, in case, you’re using MSI Afterburner or any other GPU overclocking software on your PC, then we recommend you to disable the overclocking option and uninstall the software to avoid GPU-related issues. Though the GPU overclocking function can help your system and hardware to run graphics-intensive games or programs much smoother, sometimes it may trigger multiple issues with the performance. So, you should try it out.

7. Delete ‘SGA’ Prefix Game Files

Sometimes some game files on the PC can also cause issues with the game launching or using any specific feature. Some reports suggest that Dead Space game files having the SGA extension are troubling the game files to run properly. Deleting all the SGA prefix files from the installed game folder is recommended to eliminate the GPU not working or not detecting issues. To do so:

• Press the Windows + E key to open File Explorer.
• Go to the Documents folder from the left pane > Open the Rockstar Games folder.
• Open the Dead Space folder > Go to the Settings folder.
• Here you can see three files with the SGA prefix. Just delete the SGA files.
• Once done, close File Explorer > Reboot the PC and try launching the Dead Space game again.

8. Tweak Launch Options or Arguments

Well, command-line arguments are additional (forceful) command prompts to the specific game client/launcher to run a specific game using a specified feature. That means if the game or the client cannot run any specific feature/option, you can run that forcefully by commanding arguments. So, you can follow the steps if the Dead Space game cannot detect or use the dedicated GPU or throws out the ERR_GFX_STATE error.

For Steam:

• Open your Steam client > Click on LIBRARY.
• Right-click on Dead Space from the left pane > Select Properties.
• Now, click on SET LAUNCH OPTIONS.
• Type -ignorepipelinecache in the field and select OK.
• Once done, make sure to launch Dead Space to check if the error is still bothering you or not.

For Epic Games Launcher:

• Open your Epic Games Launcher > Click on Settings from the bottom-left side.
• Scroll down to Dead Space > Tick mark the Additional Command Line Arguments checkbox.
• Type -ignorepipelinecache in the field and go back to the main menu.
• Run the Dead Space game to check for the issue again.

9. Verify and Repair Game Files

If in case, your installed game files have some issues with corruption or missing files, then the chances are high that you’ll encounter crashes, lags, stutters, GPU errors, graphical glitches, etc., on the PC. It’s always better to automatically verify and repair the game files from the game launcher, whatever you use. You can verify the files using the following steps for your specific game launcher/client. To do so:

For Steam:

• Open the Steam client on the PC and log into the account > Head over to Library.
• Right-click on the Dead Space game from the left pane.
• Click on Properties > Click on the Local Files tab.
• Then click on Verify Integrity of game files…
• Now, wait for the process to complete and close the Steam client.
• Finally, restart the PC to apply changes.

For Epic Games Launcher:

• Open the Epic Games Launcher > Click on Library.
• Click on the three-dots icon of Dead Space.
• Click on Verify, and it’ll start verifying the game files.
• Wait for the process to complete and restart the launcher.

10. Reinstall Dead Space

If none of the methods worked for you, try reinstalling the Dead Space game on the PC to check if that helps you fix the lagging or FPS drop issue due to not using a dedicated GPU (graphics card).

• Open the Steam client on your PC.
• Go to Library > Right-click on Dead Space.
• Select Uninstall > Click on Delete to confirm.
• Wait for the uninstallation process to complete > Exit the Steam client.
• Now, open the File Explorer application > Copy-paste C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common on the address bar and hit Enter to search for the location.
• Go to the Dead Space folder and Delete the folder completely.
• Reboot the PC to apply changes > Open Steam Store and Reinstall the Dead Space game again. [Obviously, this may take enough time, but you should try it out]
• It should fix the lag or FPS drop issue completely.

That’s it, guys. We assume this guide was helpful to you. For additional queries, you can comment below.