igfxtray.exe is a task bar process that points to the Intel® Common User Interface, known also as the Intel Graphics Accelerator. The process allows the user to modify settings tied to the monitor and graphics, including screen rotation, hot keys and extended desktop settings. Being a legitimate process of Intel, it is recommended not to close off igfxtray manually through the Task Manager. If the application is hidden in the task bar, you can access the options and settings under the Control Panel, generally under the name 'Intel® Graphics and Media'. If trying to open the application generates the message 'GfxUI has stopped working', the solution to this problem would be to re-install the graphics driver through the vendor's motherboard media (CD or DVD).
Non-system processes like igfxtray.exe originate from software you installed on your system. Since most applications store data on your hard disk and in your system's registry, it is likely that your computer has suffered fragmentation and accumulated invalid entries which can affect your PC's performance.

In Windows Task Manager, you can see what CPU, memory, disk and network utilization is causing the Intel(R) Graphics Accelerator Helper process. To access the Task Manager, hold down the Ctrl + Shift + Esc keys at the same time. These three buttons are located on the far left of your keyboard.

This process is considered safe. It is unlikely to pose any harm to your system. The igfxtray.exe file should be located in the folder C:\Windows\System32. Otherwise it could be a Trojan.

This process is not considered CPU intensive. However, running too many processes on your system may affect your PC’s performance. To reduce system overload, you can use the Microsoft System Configuration Utility (MSConfig) or the Windows Task Manager to manually find and disable processes that launch upon start-up.

Use the Windows Resource Monitor to find out which processes and applications write/read the most on the hard drive, send the most data to the Internet, or use the most memory. To access the Resource Monitor, press the key combination Windows key + R and then enter 'resmon'.