How to optimize POE 2 to stop crashes, pc lockups and 100% cpu usage

[Geriatric Old Man]

So I've been (trying) to play POE 2 as of the release, and have had nothing but consistent problems with the game.

Even with the new patch, the game still constantly locks up my computer or kills my sound until I restart it. I am on Windows 11 24H2 but I do not have the option to revert back to the older version anymore, and having to reinstall an older operating system just to play this game is obscene. The only way I've been able to play it is by turning off multi threading, which is silly.

Outside of the above, when the game is behaving, having my CPU shoot to 100% usage and feeling my computer lag when there's more than four mobs on the screen is also ridiculous.

I've been trying for over three months to make this game playable but I cannot figure it out. Playing with no multi threading isn't feasible, POE Uncrasher does nothing, setting core affinity just drops my FPS to less than 30 and switching from DX12 to Vulkan just instantly bricks my PC. Steam have also denied giving me a refund, but there you go.

So I'm looking for some advice on how to get this game playable without it feeling like my PC is having to fight for it's life while trying to play it. For context this has never happened with any other game I have played on any computer.

Thank you for any suggestions!

PC Specs:

Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700KF CPU @ 3.80GHz 3.79 GHz
RAM: 32.0 GB (31.9 GB usable) Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHZ
GPU: Asus Tuf RTX 3070
PSU: Corsair RX 750W
HDD: Samsung 980 Pro 1TB x2

[Bear]

23H2 here.
7800X3D, 7900XTX.
60 hours in, no issues, then started getting a crash to desktop when warping to others for trade or entering some zones.
PoEUncrasher fixed my issues.
My last computer (7700k RX5700) had the same issue you're having with PoE1, would crash to desktop with no error log entirely randomly and so frequently that I never played the game, despite wanting to.

My honest opinion is that it's a CPU issue in how the game runs instructions and the way the client catches up to the server in some ways. You'll notice a few hundred MS peaks to the CPU if you're having these issues, and it's quite common on intel (girlfriend has the same issue), but her game doesn't crash, simply stutters.
What I would do if you're adamant to get the game working is to rule out everything, as you already have been. Unfortunately, it's the only way other than what you've been doing already albeit trying to avoid the poor experience.

This is the order I would try:
- Turn shaders to lowest (most common cause of CPU spikes)
- Check CPU temperature (K chips get pretty hot). Uncommon with modern motherboards but also make sure your motherboard has good MOSFET's, as this can cause huge CPU issues when hot - was a huge issue with old AMD FX chips and many of the motherboards that supported them.
- Check your PSU temperatures and make sure it's stable (Corsair RM750x should have no issues, but worth testing anyway. A lot of undiagnosable problems come from PSU issues.)
- Try ticking compatibility mode for the game and change the dropdown to Windows 8 or something such as that.
- Try the Override high DPI scaling.
- DDU your GPU drivers and install them fresh, do not install GeForce experience, only the driver.
- Reinstall the game.
- Try turning off XMP on RAM (and turn back on after confirming no problem).
- Reinstall Windows (to 23H2)

Sorry to hear you're having issues, I know how annoying it can be. My last system had the same kind of issues with some games specifically, with no explainable reason.
Best of luck to you!

[Geriatric Old Man]

Hey Bear thank you for the response and for the suggestions, I really appreciate it!

Yeah I found POE uncrasher worked for a while but I started experiencing the same issue, although when my POE crashes it completely crashes my entire computer.

These are the things I've tried from your list of suggestions:

- Turned shaders to lowest but it had no effect on my CPU usage, POE 1 I could run del maps at 200% mob density and my PC was completely fine, anything more than 8 mobs on the screen with POE 2 and it's at 100%
- Temperature never peaks about 65 degrees, using a Noctua NH12 with push pull config and liquid diamond thermal compound
- PSU from what I've tested is fine, using a heat gun it never spikes into anything that's considered hot
- Tried changing the compatibility mode and it had no effect
- Tried overiding high DPI and had no effect
- Tried doing both a clean install of windows and DDU'ing the GPU drivers, but same issue
- Tried reinstalling the game around 40 times now, on different harddrives, same issue
- Tried turning off XMP and same issue
- Sadly windows isn't allowing me to downgrade to a lower version

Honestly while it definitely is a CPU issue, it's purely localized to whatever jank ass code they're running for POE2, but it's a definite bummer. Never had this issue with any other video game in my life on any system I've used.

If anyone as any other suggestions I'd really appreciate it.