[2022] 1.34 unplayable

Right click on eu4.exe , properties, compatibility. Tick "disable fullScreen optimisations" untick every other box in that dialog, Apply and exit.
Then in the launcher Game Settings menu, select fullScreen display mode.

Edit settings.txt as follows:

refreshRate=60
fullScreen=yes
borderless=no

vsync=no

THEN unload GeForce Experience if running, and try the game from the Steam PLAY button.

Is that any better?  

eddyr said: experienced no thermal throttling

What actual CPU and GPU temperatures are you seeing as the problem is evident in the game?  

Is this all on Speed 5 ? because it is very different to the others; does speed 4 work any better in this respect?

You did unload GeForce Experience before starting the game, yes?

Run msconfig in the Windows Search box. Go into boot-advanced. If Number of Processors is ticked there, untick it and apply and reboot.

And finally, undo any over-clocking you might have enabled.


If those don't help, I don't really have anything else to look at I'm afraid! Can you test an affected save game on any other machine you might have available to you?