How to Reduce VRAM Usage

Windows

1. Check VRAM Usage

  1. Open Task Manager and go to the Details tab.
  2. Right-click on the columns panel (e.g., on "Name" or "CPU") and click "Select columns".
  3. Enable "Dedicated GPU memory" and "Shared GPU memory".

After enabling the columns, you can sort by "Dedicated GPU memory" to see which applications are using the most VRAM, as shown in the image below. Now you can proceed to the final step:

Task Manager showing GPU memory usage
  1. Analyze which apps are using VRAM and close any that are not needed.

2. System Optimizations

  1. Disable startup programs: Use a tool like Microsoft's Autoruns to prevent unnecessary programs from launching at boot.
  2. Optimize Visual Effects: Right-click This PC > Properties > Advanced system settings > Settings under Performance > Select "Adjust for best performance".
  3. Update Graphics Drivers: Ensure you have the latest available version from NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel.
  4. Lower Display Resolution & Refresh Rate: Temporarily lowering these in Windows Display settings can free up VRAM.
  5. Disable Windows Transparency Effects: Go to Settings > Personalization > Colors and turn Transparency effects off.
  6. Turn off graphics acceleration for Windows Terminal: In Terminal settings, under "Rendering", disable "Use hardware graphics acceleration".
  7. Use a 2nd GPU for Display: This is a powerful technique. Use your integrated GPU (iGPU) for your monitors and leave your powerful discrete GPU (e.g., RTX 4090) exclusively for AI tasks. This can free up to 2GB of VRAM on your primary card. You can find more information in our GPU Performance Distribution guide.
  8. Restart PC: A simple restart can clear out VRAM that hasn't been released correctly by closed applications.

Browser

  1. Turn off hardware acceleration in your browser's settings.
  2. Use chrome://gpuclean/ in your Chromium-based browser (like Chrome or Edge) to force a VRAM cleanup.
  3. Turn on Memory Saver function in your browser's performance settings.
  4. Close unnecessary tabs, as each can consume a small amount of VRAM.

Advanced / Not Recommended

These methods can be effective but may lead to system instability or a reduced feature set. Proceed with caution.

  1. Use a "debloated" Windows version: Custom versions like AtlasOS, ReviOS, or a manually debloated Windows can reduce background resource usage.
  2. Use NVCleanstall: This tool allows you to install NVIDIA drivers with only the essential components, skipping services like GeForce Experience which use background resources.