Brave browser keeps using dedicated GPU all the time (issue still not fixed)

Brave Browser Desktop Support
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**Description of the issue: Brave browser keeps using dedicated GPU all the time (issue still not fixed). This issue occurs on Windows 11 but I know that Brave browser on MacOS also has the same issue.

Please do not close this topic until the issue is fixed.**

How can this issue be reproduced?

  1. Make sure in Windows Graphics settings, Brave browser (.exe) is set to ‘Let Windows decide’ (same settings as Chrome)

  2. Open Brave browser and observe the issue.

Expected result: Like Chrome, Brave browser should intelligently switch between iGPU and dedicated GPU as required. Heavy tasks like 4k HDR videos, or complex moving elements may require dedicated GPU. But simple tasks like browsing, navigating web pages, or even watching 720p, 1080p does not required dedicated GPU in modern computers / laptops as integrated iGPU are pretty powerful.

The “workaround” of switching to iGPU from Windows setting is not practical because it makes the browser very slow and laggy. Same with disabling hardware acceleration. No use.

I have Nvidia RTX 4080 laptop GPU but behavior would be same for all GPUs. Especially on laptops this issue is very annoying because on battery power, Brave browser drains battery like crazy (as it keeps using dedicated Nvidia GPU).

Brave Version( check About Brave): 1.97.59

Additional Information: The previous issues related to this were closed after the timeout window because a “workaround” was mistaken for a "solution…but we need a permanent fix (solution) for this. If Chrome can do it correctly, why not Brave?

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@leo007

According to Brave Search (Answer with AI):

Short answer: it’s a long-standing bug, not a design choice. Brave shares the same Chromium GPU process model as Chrome, but its build doesn’t fully implement the dynamic GPU switching that Chrome does. Here’s why:

(1) Driver vendor recognition

NVIDIA (and Intel) drivers maintain internal whitelists of known browser binaries. As one user noted on GitHub issue #23254: “nvidia drivers automatically recognise both chrome and firefox, but not other browsers.” Brave’s brave.exe isn’t treated the same as chrome.exe by the driver stack, so the OS-level GPU scheduler doesn’t apply the same dynamic routing rules.

(2) GPU process behavior differences

Chrome’s GPU process properly releases the dGPU after a heavy task (e.g., a WebGL page or 4K video) and falls back to the iGPU. Brave’s GPU process, as documented in issue #4858 (open since 2019), does not switch back once the dGPU is engaged — it holds the dedicated GPU indefinitely. Chrome reverts; Brave doesn’t.

(3) OS settings are overridden

Per issue #14120, Brave’s hardware acceleration path overrides both NVIDIA Control Panel settings and Windows power plan preferences, forcing the dGPU active even on battery. Chrome and Firefox respect these settings; Brave doesn’t.

(4) No fix in sight

The underlying issues have been open for 7+ years. Brave’s development priority has been on privacy features (Shields, Rewards, AI) rather than GPU scheduling refinements. The Chromium upstream code supports dynamic switching, but Brave’s build simply hasn’t implemented or patched the missing behavior.

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Well, this AI answer explains a lot and exposes some incompetency on the concerning team’s end.
Is there really not a single talented developer / expert person who can fix this issue?

This is like an ‘annoying’ issue for us laptop users…otherwise Brave browser is pretty much the best out there right now somewhere in the top 3 list.