HAGS or Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling, cause of CPU Spikes

After weeks of troubleshooting (win24h2) why Path of Exile 2 was stuttering and lagging, with CPU usage fluctuating wildly, I finally disabled HAGS (Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling) in the Windows 11 settings for my AMD RX7600.

After a system restart, POE2 suddenly runs smoothly at 60 FPS on my old Xeon 1230v3... Incredible... HAGS (Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling) is a disaster on my system... Anyone experiencing similar CPU spikes should try disabling HAGS.

This experience aligns with reports from other users who have found that disabling HAGS can improve performance in certain games, particularly on older hardware13. The effectiveness of HAGS can vary significantly depending on the specific hardware configuration and game1. For Path of Exile 2, which is known to be CPU-intensive, disabling HAGS seems to have resolved performance issues for some users46.

It's worth noting that while this solution worked for you, it may not be universal. Other users have reported success with different approaches, such as switching to the Vulkan renderer, adjusting in-game settings, or updating drivers45. The game's optimization is still a work in progress, and performance can vary widely across different systems67.

For those with similar setups, especially older CPUs like the Xeon 1230v3, experimenting with HAGS and other system settings could potentially lead to significant performance improvements in Path of Exile 2