Game causes dwm.exe (Desktop Window Manager) to run slow and slows entire Windows system

:arrow_forward: GAME INFORMATION

  • GAME BUILD #: 9025584
  • GAME PLATFORM: Steam
  • OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 10
  • NOTE: I am on AMD graphics, 22.5.1

:arrow_forward: ISSUE EXPERIENCED

Game causes dwm.exe (Desktop Window Manager) to run slow.
The entire Windows system is affected, any ‘window’ will not drag smoothly, if a Window is dragged, framerate in the game will go down and the game runs choppy.

It’s most visible if tabbing out and trying to drag a window like the file explorer.
It becomes worse the longer the game runs, and the more other programs are used by tabbing out inbetween matches.
For the first few minutes everything is normal, but after 1h of playing the issue shows up clearly.

Going to task manager and shutting down dwm.exe (will cause it to restart automatically) fixes the problem for a few minuts. Closing dwm.exe won’t stop the game also.

Once dwm.exe runs slow, closing the game does not help to make it run normal again.
A reboot or shutting down dwm.exe is requiered.

Other programs like Firefox playing videos are also affected, not only by dragging the it’s window.

I don’t exactly know since which patch this occurred first.
@Lepigozzus found out that dwm.exe is linked to the problem.

:arrow_forward: FREQUENCY OF ISSUE

  • 100% of the time / matches I play (ALWAYS)

:arrow_forward: REPRODUCTION STEPS

Here’s the steps to reproduce the issue:

  1. Reboot system
  2. Open file explorer, drag it, remember how smooth it is
  3. Play the game for a while
  4. Tab out, drag file explorer again, it will drag with only few fps. Some apps may run slow.

:arrow_forward: EXPECTED RESULT

  • Game doesnt effect dwm.exe to that extend
  • If the game is closed, state of Windows is like before starting the game

:arrow_forward: IMAGE

none

:arrow_forward: GAME FILES (SAVE / RECORDING)

none

Ok, it’s something volatine again.
I played 10 games without restarting the game, the issue didn’t show up for some reason.

It’s still a thing for me, did someone else noticed it as well?
…Huge fps drop in the game, dwm.exe slows down the system even after closing the game…
Need to restart machine every few games.
By experience it happens every ~ 10th game.

@Lepigozzus you still have it?

Hey, I don’t, but I changed GPU in the mean time.
Still AMD due to freesync monitor, but now a much newer RX 6800 (I had Vega56 before).

1 Like