TL;DR: There isn’t a built-in GPU health score on Windows or macOS, but you can check your GPU’s condition by monitoring its usage, checking its temperature with available monitoring tools, looking for errors in Device Manager on Windows, and watching for warning signs like visual glitches, crashes, or unusually high GPU usage during basic tasks.
In this article:
- What is a GPU and why should you care?
- How to check your GPU health on Windows
- How to check your GPU health on Mac
- How to check your GPU temperature
- Free tools to check GPU health in more detail
- How to run a GPU stress test
- What do GPU usage numbers mean?
- How to keep your GPU running smoothly
- Signs your GPU may need attention
- Quick GPU health checklist
- Wrapping up
- FAQs
Just as a note, there isn’t a built-in “GPU health” score on Windows or macOS. Instead, checking your GPU usage, watching for unusual behavior, and paying attention to warning signs are the best ways to tell whether your graphics card is working properly.
Maybe videos don’t play as smoothly as they used to. Games start stuttering, the screen flickers every now and then, or your computer just feels slower than normal. Most people immediately blame the CPU when that happens. In reality, your graphics card, or graphics processing unit, can be just as responsible for those kinds of problems.
A quick GPU health check can often help you spot small issues before they turn into bigger (and more expensive) problems. In this guide, we’ll explain what a GPU does, how to check GPU health on Windows and Mac, which free tools give you more detail, how to run a stress test, and how to make sense of those GPU usage numbers.
What is a GPU and why should you care?
A GPU, short for Graphics Processing Unit, is the part of your computer that handles most of what you see on the screen.
Your CPU manages general computing tasks, while the GPU is built for graphics. It’s responsible for rendering videos, games, animations, creative software, and many of the visual effects you interact with every day.
Many laptops use integrated graphics built into the processor, while desktop computers made for gaming or creative work often have a dedicated graphics card with its own cooling hardware. Dedicated modern GPUs typically have their own video memory (VRAM), separate from your computer’s RAM, so they can handle graphics-intensive workloads more efficiently.
Even if you’ve never opened a game or edited a video, your GPU is still working behind the scenes. Streaming movies, joining video calls, scrolling through websites, and even moving windows around your desktop all rely on it.
When everything is working properly, your GPU helps your computer:
- Play high-definition videos without stuttering.
- Run apps like Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Blender, and other creative software more smoothly.
- Minimize screen flickering and other display issues.
- Handle multiple monitors and high-resolution displays more efficiently.
How to check your GPU health on Windows
Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager, then select the Performance tab and click GPU. You’ll see your GPU usage displayed as a percentage, making it easy to see how hard your graphics card is working.
If you’re doing everyday things like visiting websites, answering emails, or working in Google Docs, GPU usage will usually stay fairly low. Don’t be surprised if it jumps much higher while gaming, editing videos, or using other graphics-heavy programs. That’s completely expected.
The same Performance tab also shows GPU utilization over time, your dedicated GPU memory usage, the display driver version you have installed and, on most dedicated graphics cards, the current GPU temperature. It’s a quick snapshot of your GPU health right now, which makes Task Manager a good place to start before you open any other tools.
Check Device Manager for driver errors
If Task Manager looks normal but something still feels off, Device Manager lists all the components Windows detects and can tell you if it has found a problem with your graphics card.
Right-click the Start button, select Device Manager, and expand Display adapters. Your graphics card should be listed there. A yellow warning icon next to it means Windows found an issue with the device or its drivers.
To confirm, right-click your graphics card, choose Properties, and look at the Device status box. If it says “This device is working properly,” Windows doesn’t see a problem. From the Driver tab, you can also update drivers or roll back to a previous version if the trouble started right after an update.
Run the DirectX Diagnostic Tool
Windows also includes a few built-in diagnostic tools. The DirectX Diagnostic Tool (also known as dxdiag) is one of the most useful, giving you a more detailed snapshot of your graphics hardware.
Press Windows + R, type dxdiag, and press Enter. Once the DirectX Diagnostic Tool opens, click the Display tab. Under Device, you’ll find your GPU’s name, how much video memory it has, and which driver version it’s using.
Take a look at the DirectX Features list, too. DirectDraw, Direct3D, and AGP Texture Acceleration should all say Enabled. If any of them show as disabled or not available, it may point to a driver or graphics configuration issue. Checking for updated drivers or reinstalling the current graphics driver is a good place to start.
The Notes box at the bottom is just as helpful. If it says “No problems found,” your system isn’t reporting any display errors. If it lists something, click Save All Information to save a full report you can share with a technician.
How to check your GPU health on Mac
Open Activity Monitor by pressing Command + Space, typing Activity Monitor, and opening the app.
Depending on your Mac model and macOS version, Activity Monitor may show a % GPU or GPU Time column for each app. Use it to see which apps are using the most graphics resources.
For everyday tasks, most apps should use very little GPU power. If one application constantly stands out from the rest and your Mac feels unusually slow or the fans won’t stop spinning, it’s probably worth looking into.
Macs have fewer built-in tools for this, but for a closer look at the graphics hardware itself, click the Apple menu, hold the Option key, and select System Information. Under Graphics/Displays, you’ll see which GPU your Mac uses and how it connects to your display. Keep in mind that macOS doesn’t show your GPU temperature on its own, so you’ll need third-party tools if you want to monitor temperatures on a Mac.
How to check your GPU temperature
Excessive heat can affect both your GPU’s performance and long-term health. A GPU that runs too hot for too long can start stuttering, lose performance, crash, or wear out faster than it should.
On a Windows PC, the easiest way to check is right in Task Manager. Open the GPU section and look for GPU Temperature near the bottom of the window. If you don’t see it, your PC may be using integrated graphics or an older driver, and free tools like GPU-Z can show the reading instead.
Here’s a rough idea of what the numbers mean for most modern GPUs:
- Idle (30°C to 50°C): Normal when you’re on the desktop, browsing, or checking email.
- Under load (65°C to 85°C): Expected during gaming, video editing, or a stress test.
- Above 90°C for long periods: A sign your GPU is struggling to stay cool.
Exact limits vary by model, and modern GPUs slow themselves down automatically when they get too hot (this is called thermal throttling). That protects the hardware, but it also causes sudden performance drops. If your temperature readings regularly climb into the 90s, dust buildup, a clogged heatsink, or poor airflow around your components is usually the reason.
Laptops tend to run warmer than desktop computers because everything is packed into a much smaller space. Running a few degrees above the ranges above isn’t unusual, but if your device feels too hot to touch during light tasks, it’s time to take a closer look.
Free tools to check GPU health in more detail
Windows gives you the basics, but free third-party tools show much more about what’s happening inside your graphics card, including clock speeds, fan speeds, and live temperature readings that say a lot about your card’s health. These are two of the most popular tools for the job.
TechPowerUp GPU-Z
This lightweight app helps you identify exactly which graphics card you have, along with its driver version and memory type. Its Sensors tab shows GPU load, memory usage, fan speed, and temperature in real time.
It can run without a full installation on your system, which makes it one of the quickest tools to check things like clock speeds and temperature when something feels off.
MSI Afterburner
Despite the name, MSI Afterburner works with most NVIDIA and AMD graphics cards, not just MSI models. After enabling the on-screen display in its settings, you can see GPU usage, temperature, and frame rates on top of a game while you play.
MSI Afterburner also lets you set a custom fan curve, which can help if your card runs hot. It includes overclocking controls as well, but you don’t need them to check GPU health, so it’s best to leave those settings alone. If someone else has tweaked your card and it now seems unstable, the reset button returns everything to its default settings.
How to run a GPU stress test
Everyday use doesn’t always reveal a problem. A GPU stress test puts your graphics card under a heavy workload to test its stability, making it easier to spot crashes, artifacts, or overheating that may only appear under pressure.
If you just bought a used graphics card, installed new components in your PC, or keep seeing crashes during games, it’s worth checking with a stress test before you rely on your system for demanding work. Here’s how to do it:
- Close other apps and open MSI Afterburner or one of the other monitoring tools above so you can monitor your GPU temperature during the test.
- Download one of the free stress test tools, such as FurMark, OCCT, or Unigine Superposition.
- Start with a short test while closely monitoring your GPU temperature. Stop immediately if temperatures rise unusually fast, the system becomes unstable, or you see visual artifacts.
- Watch for artifacts, black screens, driver crashes, or temperatures that keep climbing past 90°C.
If your GPU gets through the test with steady temperatures and no visual glitches, that’s a strong sign of good stability and overall GPU health. If your system freezes, restarts, or shows artifacts, the problem could be heat, drivers, other components like the power supply, or the graphics card itself.
One word of caution: if your GPU already runs hot during normal use, skip the stress test and deal with the cooling first. Laptops can get very warm under full load, so keep the test short and stop right away if the device gets too hot or anything seems wrong. On a Mac, benchmark apps like Cinebench or Geekbench can put your GPU through a shorter performance test instead.
What do GPU usage numbers mean?
One thing that often confuses people is that Windows and macOS don’t measure GPU activity the same way.
On Windows
Windows shows your graphics card’s overall usage as a percentage between 0% and 100%, giving you a quick picture of how hard it’s working. In Task Manager, this appears as Utilization on the GPU screen.
On Mac
Activity Monitor shows GPU usage on an app-by-app basis rather than as one overall percentage for the entire system. Instead of focusing on the exact numbers, look for apps that consistently use much more GPU than expected, especially if your Mac is running hot or the fans stay on for long periods.
As a general rule, here’s what those usage levels usually tell you.
🟢 0% to 15%: Everyday use
Checking email, browsing the web, listening to music, or writing documents usually keeps GPU usage in this range.
That’s exactly what you want to see. During light tasks, your graphics card doesn’t have much work to do.
🟡 15% to 40%: Light to moderate workloads
Watching high-definition videos, using design apps, or visiting websites with lots of animations can easily push GPU usage into this range.
Your graphics card is doing more work, but these numbers are still considered normal.
🟠 40% to 80%: Heavy graphics work
Gaming, editing videos, exporting large projects, or working with 3D software can all drive GPU usage much higher.
You might also notice your computer getting warmer or hear the fans spinning faster. That’s simply your system keeping the graphics card cool while it’s under a heavier workload.
If you see this kind of usage while you’re only browsing online, or working in simple apps, though, something running in the background could be using your GPU without you realizing it. The Processes tab in Task Manager has a GPU column that can help you identify which app is responsible.
🔴 80% to 100%: High GPU usage
Seeing your GPU hit 100% doesn’t automatically mean something is wrong. In fact, that’s exactly what you’d expect during demanding games or professional editing work.
The time to be concerned is when your GPU stays close to full usage while you’re doing basic tasks, or your computer starts freezing, lagging, or becoming unresponsive for no obvious reason.
If that happens, start with the simple fixes. Close any apps you aren’t using and restart your computer. Sometimes that’s all it takes to clear a background process that’s putting unnecessary strain on your GPU and hurting your system performance.
How to keep your GPU running smoothly
🚀 Keep your graphics drivers up to date
If you have a Windows PC, keeping your graphics drivers updated is one of the easiest ways to prevent display problems and keep everything running smoothly.
New driver releases often include bug fixes, better support for newer software, and performance improvements for games, creative apps, and other graphics-intensive programs. You can download the latest drivers from NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, or your computer manufacturer. You can also check for driver updates through Device Manager. On laptops, the manufacturer’s support page sometimes offers drivers made specifically for your model.
If you’ve recently noticed screen flickering, visual glitches, or apps that suddenly feel slower than usual, checking for a driver update is a good first step. If the slowdown affects your entire system rather than just graphics-heavy apps, explore the most common causes of a slow computer to see what else may be affecting performance.
💻 Lower the resolution if your computer is struggling
Older computers can have a hard time keeping up with 4K videos or graphics-heavy software. If that’s the case, lowering your display resolution to 1080p can take some of the pressure off your GPU.
On most laptops and mid-sized monitors, the difference in picture quality is barely noticeable, but the lighter workload can make your system feel much more responsive.
⚡ Check your hardware acceleration settings
Many apps, including Google Chrome, Slack, Microsoft Edge, Discord, and video conferencing software, use hardware acceleration automatically.
Most of the time, enabling hardware acceleration is a good thing because it lets your GPU handle certain visual tasks more efficiently. But if you’ve started seeing screen flickering, display glitches, or unusually high GPU usage, try turning hardware acceleration off in the affected app. It’s a quick change that sometimes fixes the problem. If it does, you can try enabling it again after updating your graphics drivers.
🧹 Clean out the dust with compressed air
Dust is one of the most common reasons a GPU starts running hot. Over time, it builds up on the fans and the heatsink, trapping heat instead of letting it escape.
Shut down and unplug the PC, then use short bursts of compressed air to clear dust from accessible fans, vents, and case openings. Keep fan blades from spinning freely while cleaning, and avoid touching internal components unnecessarily.
If you’re not comfortable opening your PC, or the temperature stays high after cleaning, a technician can check the thermal paste and other cooling components for you.
🤓 If your computer is also running unusually hot, it may help to check your CPU temperature as well.
Signs your GPU may need attention
It’s completely normal to see your GPU usage spike from time to time, especially while gaming or editing videos. What you don’t want is for those issues to become an everyday occurrence.
If you’ve been noticing any of the symptoms below more often, your graphics card or the graphics driver could be trying to tell you something.
🤖 Visual glitches or strange shapes on the screen
Random colored lines, flashing pixels, black squares, or other unusual images appearing on your screen can all point to a GPU problem.
These visual errors are commonly known as artifacts, and they shouldn’t appear during normal use. Overheating, driver problems, or failing hardware are some of the most common causes.
🥶 The screen freezes, goes black and then comes back
Does your screen suddenly freeze, turn black for a few seconds, and then recover with a message like “Display driver stopped responding and has recovered”? That’s usually a sign that the graphics driver has crashed. It can happen because of outdated drivers, overheating, or software conflicts. If it keeps happening, check Device Manager for warning icons and reinstall your graphics drivers.
⚠️ GPU usage stays near 100% when you’re hardly using your computer
If you aren’t gaming, editing videos, or running other graphics-heavy software, your GPU shouldn’t stay close to full usage for long.
When it does, something else is usually going on. A background process, an outdated driver, conflicting software, or even malware could be putting unnecessary strain on your graphics card.
🌡️ Your GPU runs hot even when it’s idle
If your graphics card stays hot while your PC is sitting idle, or the fans are loud even when you aren’t running anything demanding, the cooling system probably isn’t doing its job. Dust buildup, a failing fan, poor airflow, or aging thermal paste are some possible causes. Left alone, constant heat can shorten the life of your GPU and hurt the long-term health of the components around it.
Quick GPU health checklist
If you’re wondering whether your graphics card is healthy, ask yourself these quick questions:
- GPU usage matches what you’re doing (low during everyday tasks, higher during games or video editing)
- You aren’t seeing screen flickering, colored lines, or strange visual glitches
- Your display isn’t freezing or recovering with driver error messages
- Your computer isn’t constantly running hot or spinning the fans at full speed
- Your GPU temperature stays in a normal range, even under heavy use
- Device Manager doesn’t show any warning icons next to your graphics card
- Your GPU gets through a short stress test without crashing
- Games, videos, and everyday apps are running smoothly.
If you answered “yes” to all of these, your GPU is probably working properly. If not, it’s worth taking a closer look before the problem gets worse.
Wrapping up
Your GPU does a lot more than run games. It’s constantly working in the background to play videos, render graphics, handle animations, and keep everything on your screen looking smooth.
Because of that, taking a few minutes to check GPU health every now and then can help you catch small issues before they lead to bigger problems. Between built-in tools like Task Manager and the DirectX Diagnostic Tool and monitoring apps like MSI Afterburner, you have several ways to check temperatures, driver status, usage, and overall stability.
If you’ve been dealing with constant lag, screen flickering, display crashes, or GPU usage that stays unusually high, it may be time to have your computer looked at by a professional. If your computer has also been getting stuck during restarts, the problem may not be limited to the GPU.
At Geeks on Site, our technicians can diagnose graphics-related issues, update drivers, identify failing hardware, and help get your computer back to running the way it should, all from the comfort of your home or office.
FAQs
How do I know if my GPU is going bad?
Your computer will usually give you a few warning signs. You might notice screen flickering, colored lines or strange shapes on the display, or your screen freezing before recovering with a display driver error. Another red flag is GPU usage staying unusually high when you’re only doing basic tasks. If these issues keep coming back, it’s worth having your computer checked before the problem gets worse.
Is 90% GPU usage bad?
Not necessarily. During gaming, video editing, or other graphics-heavy tasks, it’s completely normal for your GPU to run at around 90% or even higher.
The bigger concern is seeing those numbers while you’re only using your browser, checking email, or working on documents. That usually means something in the background is using more graphics power than it should.
Why is my GPU at 100% but my CPU is only at 20%?
There’s a good chance everything is working exactly as it should. Games, video editors, and other graphics-heavy apps depend much more on the GPU than the CPU, so it’s common to see one working much harder than the other.
If you notice the same thing while you’re only doing light tasks, though, it’s worth opening Task Manager and looking for a background process, an outdated graphics driver, or even malware.
How do I lower my GPU usage?
A good place to start is by closing any apps or browser tabs you no longer need. If you’re gaming or streaming in high resolution, lowering the graphics settings or display resolution can also reduce the workload on your GPU.
If you’re still seeing unusually high usage, open Task Manager to see which apps are using the most GPU, then check whether apps like Chrome or Discord have hardware acceleration enabled. Updating your graphics drivers is another simple step that’s worth trying.
Last Updated on September 25, 2026
