November 11, 2026

Windows 10 Task Manager Not Showing GPU: Bringing Back Graphics Usage in the Performance Tab

You open Task Manager to see how hard your graphics card is working during a game or video export, but the Performance tab only lists CPU, Memory, Disk, and network. There is no GPU graph and no GPU column on the Processes tab. When Windows 10 Task Manager not showing GPU leaves you guessing, the cause is usually the Windows version or the graphics driver model.

GPU monitoring arrived in Windows 10 with the Fall Creators Update, version 1709. It relies on a modern graphics driver that supports WDDM 2.0 or newer, the Windows Display Driver Model. Older drivers, basic display drivers, and some very old graphics cards do not provide the information Task Manager needs.

The GPU column on the Processes tab can also simply be hidden.

Updating Windows and the graphics driver normally brings slot the graph back.

What Usually Triggers It

GPU information is missing for these reasons:

• Windows 10 is older than version 1709.
• The graphics driver uses WDDM 1.x or is the Microsoft Basic Display Adapter.
• The GPU column is hidden on the Processes tab.
• The graphics card is disabled in Device Manager or the BIOS.

Remote Desktop sessions and some virtual machines also hide GPU data, because they do not use the physical graphics card directly.

First Steps to Try

Check the version and display options.

1. Press Windows + R, type winver, and press Enter to check your Windows 10 version.
2. In Task Manager, select More details if you only see the simple view.
3. On the Processes tab, right-click any column heading and tick GPU and GPU engine.
4. Restart Task Manager and check the Performance tab again.
5. Install pending Windows updates if your version is older than 1709.

If the Problem Continues

Check the driver model.

1. Press Windows + R, type dxdiag, and press Enter.
2. Open the Display tab and look at “Driver Model” on the right.
3. If it shows WDDM 1.x, download the newest driver from NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel, or from the PC maker.
4. In Device Manager, make sure the graphics card is listed under Display adapters without a warning.
5. If only “Microsoft Basic Display Adapter” appears, install the correct driver.

Some very old graphics cards never received WDDM 2.0 drivers. In that case, the GPU graph cannot appear, and tools like GPU-Z can show usage instead.

Protect Your Data First

Download graphics drivers only from the chip maker or PC manufacturer. Create a restore point before installing a new driver in case the display misbehaves.

The Bottom Line

Task Manager needs Windows 10 version 1709 or newer and a WDDM 2.0 driver to show GPU usage. Update Windows, install the current graphics driver, and enable the GPU column.