Fix High CPU Usage by audiodg.exe in Windows 10 / 11

High CPU usage is one of the causes behind the slowing down of Windows systems. The cause behind high CPU usage could either be insufficient RAM or a process utilizing too much of system resources. One such process which causes high CPU usage is audiodg.exe.

High CPU Usage by audiodg.exe

The process audiodg.exe is for Windows Audio Device Graph Isolation. This process allows the sound driver to run independently of the user profile and thus we cannot kill the process directly.

High Cpu Usage Due To Windows Audio Device Graph Isolation Min Min



The audiodg.exe process doesn’t shoot the disk utilization to 100% alone but could do so when combined with other system processes, yet it utilizes a lot of system resources.

Causes

The causes for high CPU Usage by audiodg.exe are as follows:

  1.  Certain audio effects when enabled push this process.
  2.  The sound driver might not be updated.
  3.  Drivers needed by gaming devices might not be updated.

When the drivers are not up to date, the concerned utilities push the audiodg.exe process harder to make up for the same.We could try the following steps sequentially to resolve the problem:



  1. Update the driver for the sound card and other hardware responsible for sound effects
  2. Update your game or concerned software
  3. Disable Audio effects
  4. Disable volume adjustment
  5. Change the audio sample rate

Solution 1] Lower the audio sample rate

1] Open the Sound properties window.

Sounds

2] In the Playback tab, right-click on your audio device and select Properties.

Speaker Properties

 

3] In the Advanced tab, change the frequency of the device and click on Apply. Change it to a lower value and see if it works or not.

Change Frequency

4] Check if it helps lower the disk utilization.

Solution 2] Disable Audio effects

1] Right-click on the Speaker-like symbol on the right-bottom corner of the screen (in the taskbar).

2] Select Sounds to open the Sound properties window.

Sounds

 

3] In the Playback tab, right-click on your audio device and select Properties.

Speaker Properties

 

4] Now, in the Enhancement tab, check the box to Disable all enhancements.

Disable All Sound Effects

 

5] Click on Apply and them on OK to save the settings.

Check if it helped lower disk utilization by the Windows Audio Device Graph Isolation process in the Task Manager.

Solution 3] Update driver of sound card

1. Search Device manager in Windows 10 search box. Click on device manager.

 

Device Manager Windows Search Min

 

2. Double click and Expand Sound, video and game controllers.

3. Now, right click and uninstall your sound card.

 

Uninstall Sound Driver Min

 

4. Restart your computer.

5. For an integrated sound card download from the vendor’s website. This is the same vendor who built your PC motherboard.

If you are using an external sound card, just download from the manufacturer’s website of that external sound card.

6. After downloading , install the audio driver, install it on your PC.

Solution 4] Disable volume adjustment

1] Right-click on the Speaker-like symbol on the right-bottom corner of the screen (in the taskbar).

2] Select Sounds to open the Sound properties window.

Sounds

 

3] In the Playback tab, right-click on your audio device and select Properties.

Speaker Properties

4] In the Communications tab, select Do nothing.

Do Nothing

 

5] Click on Apply and then on OK to save the settings.

 

Solution 5] Update your game or concerned software

Software associated with games (eg. Logitech gaming software) if not updated could be one of the cause for the issue.

1] Go to Control Panel >> Programs and Features.

2] Right-click on your gaming software from the list and select Change.

Change Game Software



3] Click on the option to Update or Repair the software.

You might also consider reinstalling the game itself.

Solution 6] Update the driver for the sound card and other hardware responsible for sound effects

1] Press Win + R to open the Run window and type the command devmgmt.msc. Press Enter to open the Device manager.

Type Devmgmt

 

2] Expand the list for Sound, video and game controllers.

3] Right-click on each of the device and select Update driver.

Update Sound Drivers

4] You might also consider uninstalling the drivers (right-click >> uninstall device) and restarting the system. The drivers would get reinstalled automatically.

5] In case you installed a specific game on your device which needs specialized drivers, the same could be downloaded from Intel’s download center.

Another set of drivers that need to be updated are the ones under the Audio inputs and outputs section.

This would be more of a hit and trial method. Check which frequency would be best to lower down the disk utilization.

Hope it helps!