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FPS Drops, Microstutter, Frametime Issues

involiK

New Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2021
Messages
5 (0.01/day)
Hello everyone, so after a month of trying literally almost everything I can think of, I am slowly starting to give up on fixing this issue. I am having random microstutters, where every game I play drops 1-5 fps and causes a noticeable stutter, almost freezing for a half a second. Sometimes my FPS does not drop and it still stutters so it makes me think it is a frametime issue. It mainly seems to happen right when I load into a game or walk around for a bit. Here is what it looks like in Dead by Daylight, if needed I can upload more footage (I had to record this off my phone because NVIDIA Overlay or OBS can’t pick it up):


This started happening around a month ago and I have been trying many possibilities to see what is the cause of this issue even replacing components. Here is the build I was using:

  • I7-9700k (not OC) -> Changed later with a Ryzen 5900x
  • Asus ROG Strix 2080 Super (not OC)
  • Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 32GB DDR4 3200mhz (2x16)
  • Asus ROG Strix B365-F -> Changed with MSI X570 Tomahawk
  • Corsair RM 850x watts
  • Samsung 970 Evo 1TB M.2 (Windows is installed here)
  • Samsung 860 Evo 1TB SATA
  • BeQuiet Pure Base 600 case
  • Main Monitor: Alienware AW2518Hf (1080p, 240hz, freesync)
  • Secondary: Samsung CJ791 (1440p, 100hz, freesync)

Here is what I tried so far:

- Installed Latest Drivers for audio/graphics/usb/ssd/display/peripheral including those for Wacom and tablets
- Downgraded NVIDIA Drivers
- Uninstalled Armoury Crate and Lighting Drivers. This means also iCUE, GHUB, and HyperX
- Disabled Geforce Overlay and Recording
- Disabled VR Ready drivers including supersampling and decreasing pre-rendered frames for VR Games
- Power Management for Windows and NVIDIA are set to maximum performance.
- Game Bar and Game Mode disabled
- Fully Uninstalled and Reinstalled Windows via USB
- Flashed BIOS.
- Enabled/Disabled XMP
- Fully disabled audio drivers
- Tried booting using UEFI instead of booting with Legacy + UEFI
- Changed Monitors using HDMI instead of DP.
- Changed Monitors using a different DP cord.
- Unplugged and tried using 1 monitor.
- Disabling / Re-enabling Gsync along with Vsync turned "on" and on "fast"
- Unplugged all peripherals and changed the power strip (where my microphone, headset, and monitors are plugged into, not my PC) in case of being faulty.
- Unplugged USB 3.0 on motherboard in case if it was a Case Issue
- Unplugged HD Audio on motherboard
- Took out my extra SSD to be sure.
- Manually turned down and unplugged Case Fans that are attached directly to the PSU.
- Tried running games on absolute low/ very low in many games.
- Tried running games on absolute high/ultra to test lack of multithreading on the i7-9700k

At this point I figured it was something with my hardware. I first tried replacing my RAM sticks with the exact same ones (Corsair Vengeance), it still stuttered. Then I started to move games to my other SSD (860 EVO) and it still stuttered. Then I was convinced it was my CPU or MOBO so I tried running my games using Intel UHD graphics and not my GPU. I found that the stuttering was still present, however, it wasn’t a very strong stutter and it didn’t ‘lock’ my game for as long as when I had it plugged in my GPU. So even though it still stuttered, I replaced my CPU and Motherboard with a Ryzen 5900x and an MSI X570 Tomahawk, flashed BIOS and reinstalled windows again on my M.2 and it still stuttered on simple games like CSGO.

I also tried to cap my frames at 50 FPS in CSGO, then of course I stuttered heavily when it dropped to ~47 FPS, then went back to 50 FPS. My userbenchmark, 3DMark (TimeSpy), and cinebench scores seem normal so it looks like they did not pick it up (Below is my 3D Mark TimeSpy Score using new components. I can also include others if needed). Another interesting thing I noticed is that my CPU drops from 1.4V to around 1.25V when the stuttering occurs (on the Ryzen 5900x not the i7-9700k).
Capture2.PNG

So now I know that I am confident it isn’t my CPU, Motherboard, or RAM since I fully replaced them. From previous testing I doubt it is my SSD but I am going to try to install Windows on my other SATA SSD just to confirm it isn’t my M.2.

This just leaves me with my GPU and PSU, but I wanted to make sure if anyone else is experiencing this issue, or if anyone has any possible solutions to this before I replace the GPU or PSU. Thanks again.
 
Joined
Nov 27, 2009
Messages
138 (0.03/day)
Here is what I did with PC games giving me problems, especially with older games(Crysis 3,Fary Cry 3). I have had success with stutter and FPS drops.(Not Intel/AMD problem)
Also I can only tell my part of what I tested and PC games.

Some PC games will always have a loading/stutter here and there and worst offending engine for loading/stutter for me is Unreal 4

I am convince it is Nvidia driver FPS problems with the stutter and FPS drops.
Here is what I changed in the Nvidia Control Panel and it makes no sense but works for me-

Max Framerate - Set to 1000
Low Latency -Set to Ultra
V-sync On - For G-sync/Freesync/VRR


EG:
Crysis 3 in Window 10 and Windows 11 would max out at 63FPS and stutter with FPS drops into the 30FPS-40FPS range
Fary Cry 3 in Window 10 and Windows 11 would play fine and then stutter with FPS drops into the 30FPS-40FPS range

I switched to Windows 11 now and here is a list of 48 PC games I have tested now and are good.

PC used Windows 11
♦ CPU - Intel 10850X With MasterLiquid Lite ML240L RGB AIO (5000Mhz)
♦ GPU - Nvidia RTX 3080
♦ RAM - G.Skill 32 GB DDR4 (CL17 4400Mhz)
♦ Mobo - Asus Tuf Gaming Wifi (BIOS 2401)
♦ SSD - NVME SSD 1TB
♦ DSP - LG B9 65" 4K UHD HDR OLED G-Sync Over HDMI
♦ PSU - Antec High Current Pro 1200W

Alien Isolation
Battlefield 1
Battlefield 4
Biomutant
Bioshock Infinite
Bioshock Remastered
Chernobylite
Code vein
Control
Crysis
Crysis 2
Crysis 3
Crysis Remastered
Cyberpunk 2077
Days gone
Destroy All Humans
Dues Ex-Mankind Divided
Dungeons and Dragons Dark Alliance
Eastshade
Far Cry 3
Grounded
Halo 4
HellSeed Demo
Horizon Zero Dawn
Kane & Lynch 2 Dog Days
Kingdome Come Deliverance
LA Noire
Layer of Fear 2
Medieval Dynasty
Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition
Middle Earth Shadow of War
Observer System Redux
Outriders
Prey
Quantum Break
Rayman Legends
Red Dead Redemption 2
Remnant From The Ashes
Resident Evil Village - FPS drops when I played but is now fixed with new patch
Sekiro Shadows Die Twice
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
Sleeping Dogs
Tell Me Why- Chapters 1/2/3
The Forgotten City
The Signifier Director's Cut
Thief
Tom Clancy The Division 2
Tomb Raider 2013
Xuan Tuan Sword VII
 

involiK

New Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2021
Messages
5 (0.01/day)
Here is what I did with PC games giving me problems, especially with older games(Crysis 3,Fary Cry 3). I have had success with stutter and FPS drops.(Not Intel/AMD problem)
Also I can only tell my part of what I tested and PC games.

Some PC games will always have a loading/stutter here and there and worst offending engine for loading/stutter for me is Unreal 4

I am convince it is Nvidia driver FPS problems with the stutter and FPS drops.
Here is what I changed in the Nvidia Control Panel and it makes no sense but works for me-

Max Framerate - Set to 1000
Low Latency -Set to Ultra
V-sync On - For G-sync/Freesync/VRR


EG:
Crysis 3 in Window 10 and Windows 11 would max out at 63FPS and stutter with FPS drops into the 30FPS-40FPS range
Fary Cry 3 in Window 10 and Windows 11 would play fine and then stutter with FPS drops into the 30FPS-40FPS range

I switched to Windows 11 now and here is a list of 48 PC games I have tested now and are good.

PC used Windows 11
♦ CPU - Intel 10850X With MasterLiquid Lite ML240L RGB AIO (5000Mhz)
♦ GPU - Nvidia RTX 3080
♦ RAM - G.Skill 32 GB DDR4 (CL17 4400Mhz)
♦ Mobo - Asus Tuf Gaming Wifi (BIOS 2401)
♦ SSD - NVME SSD 1TB
♦ DSP - LG B9 65" 4K UHD HDR OLED G-Sync Over HDMI
♦ PSU - Antec High Current Pro 1200W

Alien Isolation
Battlefield 1
Battlefield 4
Biomutant
Bioshock Infinite
Bioshock Remastered
Chernobylite
Code vein
Control
Crysis
Crysis 2
Crysis 3
Crysis Remastered
Cyberpunk 2077
Days gone
Destroy All Humans
Dues Ex-Mankind Divided
Dungeons and Dragons Dark Alliance
Eastshade
Far Cry 3
Grounded
Halo 4
HellSeed Demo
Horizon Zero Dawn
Kane & Lynch 2 Dog Days
Kingdome Come Deliverance
LA Noire
Layer of Fear 2
Medieval Dynasty
Metro Exodus Enhanced Edition
Middle Earth Shadow of War
Observer System Redux
Outriders
Prey
Quantum Break
Rayman Legends
Red Dead Redemption 2
Remnant From The Ashes
Resident Evil Village - FPS drops when I played but is now fixed with new patch
Sekiro Shadows Die Twice
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
Sleeping Dogs
Tell Me Why- Chapters 1/2/3
The Forgotten City
The Signifier Director's Cut
Thief
Tom Clancy The Division 2
Tomb Raider 2013
Xuan Tuan Sword VII
Thanks for the reply, I'm glad it worked for you. I turned on Vsync again and set my low latency to "ultra" and tried it on a few games, but unfortunately it still stutters. I also tried to rollback on my drivers and keep vsync on and it still stutters badly. Also with vsync on, I noticed that Brave Browser also screen tears which is really strange. I am also wondering if this can be a possible Unreal issue because on some of those games I notice I microstutter a lot more than lets say source games. I'll keep messing with the settings and let you know if I find anything that can possibly help.
 
Joined
Nov 27, 2009
Messages
138 (0.03/day)
Well good luck, it is a common problem some people have. Some people never see stutter.
 
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
20,692 (5.96/day)
Location
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Processor i7 8700k 4.6Ghz @ 1.24V
Motherboard AsRock Fatal1ty K6 Z370
Cooling beQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 3
Memory 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200/C16
Video Card(s) ASRock RX7900XT Phantom Gaming
Storage Samsung 850 EVO 1TB + Samsung 830 256GB + Crucial BX100 250GB + Toshiba 1TB HDD
Display(s) Gigabyte G34QWC (3440x1440)
Case Fractal Design Define R5
Audio Device(s) Harman Kardon AVR137 + 2.1
Power Supply EVGA Supernova G2 750W
Mouse XTRFY M42
Keyboard Lenovo Thinkpad Trackpoint II
Software W10 x64
Usually keeping it stupid simple is the best approach. Vsync and frame cap together is not always a good mix and the monitor used has an impact too.

Go back to basics. Stock settings, clean driver install and game settings on default. Then test. Then move towards your intended setup one step at a time.
 
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