Path of Exile 2 (PoE 2) is an action-packed game that provides a rich and immersive experience for players. However, like many complex video games, players can sometimes experience frustrating performance issues such as lag spikes, CPU freezes, or low FPS. If you’ve been encountering these problems, you’re not alone. The good news is that there are several effective solutions to fix these issues and improve your gaming experience. In this guide, we’ll walk you through a step-by-step process to address these common performance problems in PoE 2, particularly focusing on NVIDIA GPU users.

Table of Contents
Understanding the Root Cause of Performance Issues in PoE 2
The primary issue that leads to lag spikes, CPU freezes, and high CPU usage in Path of Exile 2 is how the game handles shaders. Shaders are responsible for rendering in-game visuals, and when these shaders are not processed efficiently, it leads to performance problems. You may notice that the performance graph in the game shows a green line representing the shader load. When this shader line maxes out, it often results in a high CPU load, causing FPS drops, freezes, and other lag-related issues.
The solution lies in tweaking the game’s shader handling and optimizing how small packets of shader updates are transferred between your GPU and CPU, a process controlled by the Resizable BAR (rBAR). By adjusting these settings, you can significantly improve game performance.
Step-by-Step Guide to Fix Lag, CPU Freeze, and FPS Issues in PoE 2
Here’s a simple guide to help you fix these issues and enhance the game’s performance.
1. Close Path of Exile 2
Before making any changes, make sure that PoE 2 is completely closed.
2. Delete Shader Cache Files
One of the first things you need to do is delete the game’s shader cache. These files are responsible for storing previously compiled shaders, but sometimes they can cause performance bottlenecks. Follow these steps:
- Open a folder window on your PC.
- Type
%AppData%
in the search bar and press Enter. - Navigate to the following directory:
AppData\Roaming\Path of Exile 2
. - Delete all folders named “ShaderCache”.
This clears out old shader cache files that may be causing issues.
3. Adjust NVIDIA Control Panel Settings
Next, we’ll make some adjustments in the NVIDIA Control Panel to optimize your GPU settings. Follow these steps:
- Right-click on your desktop and open the NVIDIA Control Panel.
- Go to Manage 3D Settings.
- Adjust the following settings:
- Shader Cache Size: Set this to 100GB. Don’t worry; it won’t use all that space; this setting just helps improve shader handling.
- Power Management Mode: Set this to Maximum Performance. This ensures that your GPU runs at full capacity while playing PoE 2.
- Texture Filter Quality: Set this to High Performance.
These changes will help ensure that your GPU is optimized for maximum performance in PoE 2.

4. Configure Windows Graphics Settings
Next, we’ll adjust your system’s graphics settings for PoE 2 to prioritize performance. Follow these steps:
- Go to System > Display > Graphics in your Windows settings.
- Click Add an App, then browse to your PoE 2 installation folder.
- Add PathOfExile.exe and PathOfExile_x64.exe to the list.
- Once added, click on each file in the list, select Options, and set the settings to High Performance.
This ensures that your system always uses the dedicated GPU for PoE 2, preventing performance drops.
5. Adjust DirectX Settings in PoE 2
To further optimize performance, you can adjust the DirectX version used by PoE 2. Depending on your GPU model, here are the best settings:
- For NVIDIA RTX 30 series or higher: Set DXLevel to DX12 in the in-game graphics settings.
- For NVIDIA RTX 20 series or lower: Set DXLevel to DX11.
DirectX 12 generally provides better performance for newer GPUs, while DX11 is more stable for older ones.
6. Advanced Fixes with NvidiaProfileInspector (Optional)
If you’re still experiencing performance issues after the above changes, you can take the process a step further by modifying certain settings in your NVIDIA driver using a tool called NvidiaProfileInspector. This tool allows you to fine-tune GPU settings specifically for PoE 2.
Before proceeding, ensure that your GPU supports the rBAR feature. If you’re unsure, check if your graphics card is compatible.
Steps to Use NvidiaProfileInspector:
- Download NvidiaProfileInspector:
- Download the tool from NvidiaProfileInspector on GitHub.
- Extract the files to a folder and run the program as Administrator by right-clicking nvidiaProfileInspector.exe.
- Select Path of Exile 2 Profile:
- In the NvidiaProfileInspector window, change the profile at the top to Path Of Exiles 2. Start typing “Path” and select it from the dropdown list.
- Enable and Adjust rBAR Settings:
- Enable the rBAR feature.
- Set the rBAR options to
0x00000001
. - Set the rBAR size limit to
0x0000000100000000
.
Click Apply Changes twice to save the settings.
These changes ensure that shader data is transferred more efficiently between your CPU and GPU, significantly improving performance.
7. Final Checks and Testing
Once you’ve made these changes, launch Path of Exile 2 and check your in-game performance. You may notice a slight delay in the first load time for your hideout and maps as the game rebuilds the shader cache. However, once the shaders are loaded, the game should run smoothly without the lag, FPS drops, or freezing you were experiencing.

Additional Tips for Optimizing CPU Performance
If you’re still facing performance issues during intense moments, such as large mob packs or breaches, the issue may be related to CPU processing. While this guide focuses on GPU optimizations, future guides will delve deeper into CPU tweaks to further improve performance. Keep an eye out for those if you continue to experience problems.
Conclusion
By following these steps, you should be able to significantly improve the performance of Path of Exile 2 on your system. From clearing shader caches to adjusting NVIDIA and Windows settings, these simple yet effective optimizations can reduce lag, fix CPU freezes, and boost FPS. Additionally, using NvidiaProfileInspector allows for deeper GPU tweaks to further enhance your gameplay experience.
If you continue to experience performance issues, remember that this is a CPU-centric problem, and more advanced tweaks may be necessary in the future. In the meantime, enjoy smoother gameplay and better performance in PoE 2!
Last Updated on January 23, 2025