High GPU usage in Codex Desktop on Windows while agent is running

Start by reproducing the issue in Codex Desktop on Windows and monitor ChatGPT.exe, dwm.exe, msedgewebview2.exe, and the child processes in Windows Task Manager during streaming and command execution. Compare GPU usage while the request runs and after it finishes; done means ordinary text and coding tasks no longer sustain unusually high UI GPU usage and return near idle after updates stop.

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

26.803.41515

What subscription do you have?

Pro

What platform is your computer?

Microsoft Windows NT 10.0.26100.0 x64

What issue are you seeing?

Description

Codex Desktop on Windows causes unexpectedly high GPU usage while an agent is executing a request.

While Codex is working on a normal coding task, ChatGPT.exe uses around 40% GPU on my NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU.

The workload itself does not appear to be using the GPU. Processes launched by Codex such as node.exe, python.exe, esbuild.exe, and the Codex command runner all show 0% GPU usage.

The GPU usage appears to come primarily from the ChatGPT/Codex UI itself.

Environment

• OS: Windows 11
• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU, 12 GB VRAM
• Integrated GPU: AMD Radeon integrated graphics
• RAM: 32 GB
• Codex: Windows Desktop App
• Model used when observed: GPT-5.6 Terra
• GPU driver: NVIDIA 32.0.16.1062
• Driver date: 2026-06-11

Steps to reproduce

1. Open Codex Desktop on Windows.
2. Open a coding project.
3. Ask Codex to perform a normal coding task.
4. Let Codex execute commands such as:
   • npm list
   • npm run build
   • git diff
5. Open Windows Task Manager.
6. Go to Details or Performance → GPU.
7. Observe GPU utilization while Codex is actively generating output and executing commands.

Actual behavior

While the Codex agent is working:

• ChatGPT.exe: ~40% GPU
• dwm.exe: ~11% GPU
• msedgewebview2.exe: ~5%
• node.exe: 0%
• python.exe: 0%
• esbuild.exe: 0%
• Codex command runner: 0%

The NVIDIA GPU showed approximately:

• Overall utilization: ~40%
• Dedicated VRAM usage: only ~0.6 / 12 GB
• Video Encode: 0%
• Video Decode: 0%

After the Codex task finished:

• ChatGPT.exe dropped from ~40% to ~14% GPU
• dwm.exe was around ~25%
• node.exe, python.exe, and esbuild.exe remained at 0% GPU

This suggests that the GPU load is associated with the Codex/ChatGPT desktop UI or window rendering rather than the code being executed.

Expected behavior

For ordinary text/code generation and command execution, the Codex Desktop UI should not require 30–40% of a high-end discrete GPU for an extended period.

Some GPU usage for UI rendering/hardware acceleration is expected, but this level seems unusually high for displaying text, code blocks, command status, and diffs.

GPU usage should ideally return close to idle after UI updates stop.

Additional observations

The behavior is especially noticeable while Codex is:

• Streaming generated text
• Updating command execution status
• Showing terminal output
• Updating syntax-highlighted code
• Rendering diffs
• Automatically scrolling/updating the conversation

The AI model is not running locally, and the child processes performing the actual build/code operations show no GPU utilization.

This makes me suspect a possible excessive rendering/compositor loop or inefficient GPU-accelerated UI update path in the Windows Codex Desktop app.

Screenshots

I can provide screenshots showing:

1. ~40% GPU utilization while Codex is executing a request.
2. ChatGPT.exe accounting for ~40% GPU while Node/Python/build processes show 0%.
3. GPU usage decreasing after the request completes.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Simply sending a command in Codex triggers this issue.

What is the expected behavior?

No response

Additional information

When I submit a command in Codex, ChatGPT.exe causes my NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti GPU utilization to increase to approximately 40% while the request is being processed.