Stuttering in all games in desperate need of help

[Ortamis]

Hi, I don't know if this is the right place to post this but here I go. I have an issue that has been plaguing me for about 3 months now and that is stuttering. I have it in all games doesn't matter if its new (Dishonored 2, Apex, League) or old (Witcher 1, Skyrim) and the weird thing is the stuttering still happens even though my FPS is pretty solid. VSync seems to help with the issue a little bit but its still unplayabale in most of the games.

PC SPECS:

• NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB
• I5 4690K QUAD CORE
• MSI Z97 GAMING 5
• 2X8 GB HYPERX FURY
• CORSAIR 600CX
• SAMSUNG 860 EVO 500GB SSD

The only thing I have plugged into my mobo is an old PS/2 Keyboard and an old Genius mouse + my Sennheiser headset.

I found that my DPC latency seems to be quite high which some people think it could lead to stuttering. Such high latency appears eve after a fresh install of Windows so I have no idea on how to lower it. Here is the screenshot from LatencyMon (left it running for about 4 min)

http://imgur.com/a/JaLOSWr

Here is the video of the exact same issue I have (not my video though)

TRIED
- Cleaning the drivers with DDU and reinstalling them
- Multiple fresh installs of Windows 10
- Tried different displayports and swapping my monitor cable
- Rolling back drivers
- Other stuff that I've tried through out past 3 months that I can't really remember

 

[Agent_D]

Have you taken logs to see if CPU/GPU clocks fluctuate a lot when you experience the stuttering? For the GPU check the GPU and Mem clocks. I've had issues like this in the past where the video memory was clocking down and causing the issue (usually ended up being a heat issue). Likewise (I know you say you changed it already) a bad or cheap video cable; if you're using displayport, get one that is VESA certified for testing. Have you tested in full screen and windowed to see if it changes anything?

 

[phanbuey]

did you try a new keyboard/mouse?

 

[mbeeston]

might be time to redo the thermal paste on the gpu and cpu.

 

[flmatter]

First what monitor are you using? Make and model... what resolution are you running, low rez high frames or ?
Second Are you using a display port cable or hdmi? Is it the cable that came with the monitor or cheap aftermarket one?
Third What are temps of both cpu and gpu? cpu-z and gpu-z screenshots?

 

[Ortamis]

Have you taken logs to see if CPU/GPU clocks fluctuate a lot when you experience the stuttering? For the GPU check the GPU and Mem clocks. I've had issues like this in the past where the video memory was clocking down and causing the issue (usually ended up being a heat issue). Likewise (I know you say you changed it already) a bad or cheap video cable; if you're using displayport, get one that is VESA certified for testing. Have you tested in full screen and windowed to see if it changes anything?

Used MSI Afterburner + rivatuner to check what you said and the clock fluctuations of CPU/GPU barely change when I'm gaming. Will also post the graph so you can see it yourself.
I tried a different Display Port cable and a new HDMI cable but I still have the same issue.
Yeah tried all the options that games have: borderless, windowed, fullscreen etc...

did you try a new keyboard/mouse?

Yes I swapped both with a different but still kinda old USB Keyboard and mouse.

might be time to redo the thermal paste on the gpu and cpu.

Thermal paste was reapplied this morning because I went and bought a new cooler since people were suggesting I should get one.

First what monitor are you using? Make and model... what resolution are you running, low rez high frames or ?
Second Are you using a display port cable or hdmi? Is it the cable that came with the monitor or cheap aftermarket one?
Third What are temps of both cpu and gpu? cpu-z and gpu-z screenshots?

I'm using Samsung's C24FG73FQU 1080p monitor with 144Hz refresh rate.
Using a display port cable that came with my monitor.
With Firefox and a couple of other programs opened my CPU temps are 48 degrees and GPU temps are 44 degrees. If its needed I can test multiple games and provide you with the average temps that I get in those games. And here are the CPU-Z and GPU-Z screenshots (hopefully I screenshotted the correct tab in both programs)

http://imgur.com/a/5Wz1JbP

 

[Agent_D]

I know it seems over cautious, but were the extra cables you tried VESA certified cables? Silly as it may seem, I've seen even "quality" cables that aren't certified cause strange issues, not often mind you, but I have seen it happen. While this is likely NOT the issue, it's always worth a shot since it's fairly cheap.

Have you/can you turn off the onboard audio in your BIOS and do some testing, see if the DPC latency issue goes away and see if the stutters subside? Have you tried a different PCI-E port on the motherboard for the video to see if it changes? Even if the 1060 drops to an x8 or even x4 port, there shouldn't be any FPS loss (assuming x4 or x8 at PCI-E Gen3). Can you/have you tried to disable the nvidia audio (if you installed it with drivers)? More simple things, have you tried running the dxwebsteup to make sure DirectX is fully updated? Probably not an issue, but never hurts to check/try. Have you changed SATA ports/m2 slots on the SSD? Tried memory in different slots?

Just trying to name off things I've encountered personally that could be related to/causing the issue. I'd personally start off disabling the onboard audio in BIOS as it's a simple step that requires little effort, then move to swapping slots/memory slots.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

You tried a lot, have you tried killing every and any unneccesary processes especially looking at peripheral software, hardware monitoring and antivirus for the cause.

 

[Solid State Soul ( SSS )]

If you overclocked your processor in bios then try reverting back to default clock speeds and test again. Sometimes a bad OC can cause problems like that

 

[Lionheart]

Is Xbox Game DVR Disabled?

 

[Ortamis]

I know it seems over cautious, but were the extra cables you tried VESA certified cables? Silly as it may seem, I've seen even "quality" cables that aren't certified cause strange issues, not often mind you, but I have seen it happen. While this is likely NOT the issue, it's always worth a shot since it's fairly cheap.

Have you/can you turn off the onboard audio in your BIOS and do some testing, see if the DPC latency issue goes away and see if the stutters subside? Have you tried a different PCI-E port on the motherboard for the video to see if it changes? Even if the 1060 drops to an x8 or even x4 port, there shouldn't be any FPS loss (assuming x4 or x8 at PCI-E Gen3). Can you/have you tried to disable the nvidia audio (if you installed it with drivers)? More simple things, have you tried running the dxwebsteup to make sure DirectX is fully updated? Probably not an issue, but never hurts to check/try. Have you changed SATA ports/m2 slots on the SSD? Tried memory in different slots?

Just trying to name off things I've encountered personally that could be related to/causing the issue. I'd personally start off disabling the onboard audio in BIOS as it's a simple step that requires little effort, then move to swapping slots/memory slots.

- No the cable is not VESA certified but I have spoken with my friend that can lend me one over the coming weekend
- I went into BIOS and under audio configuration I disabled HD Audio Controller. Ran LatencyMon but the DPC latency is still there caused by ntoskrnl.exe and nvlddmkm.sys + the stuttering is the same as it was before.
- After the previous step i also disabled pretty much all the audio input and output devices that I had left in device manager (C24FG7X high definition audio device under Audio inputs and outputs and high definition audio device under sound, video and game controllers which prompted me to restart my PC so I did)
- Tried different RAM slots and PCIE GPU slots but no luck
- dxwebsetup that I got from Microsoft actually did install something new when I ran it but it didn't manage to fix the issue sadly.
- Sorry for making you type more but what do you mean exactly with "changed SATA ports/m2 slots on the SSD"? Is this something I have to do in BIOS or physically on MOBO/SSD?

I've read that people have sttutering issues with EIST and C states enabled, should I try disabling them in BIOS just to run a test or two in some of the games? Thanks for taking the time out of your life and providing me with these possible solutions!!

You tried a lot, have you tried killing every and any unneccesary processes especially looking at peripheral software, hardware monitoring and antivirus for the cause.

Its pretty much a fresh install of Windows with a few games and software installed so there isn't much to disable other than microsoft processes like Cortana, runtime broker, your phone etc...

If you overclocked your processor in bios then try reverting back to default clock speeds and test again. Sometimes a bad OC can cause problems like that

Good idea but I never touched overclocking since I'm afraid I will mess something up

Is Xbox Game DVR Disabled?

Yep it is disabled.

 

[phanbuey]

try intelligent standby list cleaner and enable the HPET custom timer resolution

also try purging the standby list when you launch your game, sometimes that helps

 

[Ortamis]

try intelligent standby list cleaner and enable the HPET custom timer resolution
View attachment 127687

also try purging the standby list when you launch your game, sometimes that helps

I can't get the Current timer resolution set to 0.496 like yours. Am I doing something wrong or are these settings fine? Sorry for the stupid questions, never used this tool.

EDIT: Nevermind I had to relaunch the program now it works. Should I just leave it running when I game?

 

[Agent_D]

No problem at all! It's nice to get input from others who have dealt with similar issues.

Yes, physically change the sata ports that the SSD is plugged into on the motherboard, or change the m2 slot it's installed in (if you are using one and there happens to be another m2 slot).

You may need to try a combination of all the input you've gotten to sort this issue out. The most important thing is to do things 1 step at a time, if you happen to be troubleshooting and change more than 1 thing at a time, you can't be sure which item was the culprit once you are able to solve the issue.

I did see there was a very large topic on the nvidia forums for this same issue; I would suggest looking there as well.

 

[phanbuey]

nothing

I can't get the Current timer resolution set to 0.496 like yours. Am I doing something wrong or are these settings fine? Sorry for the stupid questions, never used this tool.

EDIT: Nevermind I had to relaunch the program now it works. Should I just leave it running when I game?

yeah leave it running - did it help with the stutter at all?

 

[Vayra86]

- No the cable is not VESA certified but I have spoken with my friend that can lend me one over the coming weekend
- I went into BIOS and under audio configuration I disabled HD Audio Controller. Ran LatencyMon but the DPC latency is still there caused by ntoskrnl.exe and nvlddmkm.sys + the stuttering is the same as it was before.
- After the previous step i also disabled pretty much all the audio input and output devices that I had left in device manager (C24FG7X high definition audio device under Audio inputs and outputs and high definition audio device under sound, video and game controllers which prompted me to restart my PC so I did)
- Tried different RAM slots and PCIE GPU slots but no luck
- dxwebsetup that I got from Microsoft actually did install something new when I ran it but it didn't manage to fix the issue sadly.
- Sorry for making you type more but what do you mean exactly with "changed SATA ports/m2 slots on the SSD"? Is this something I have to do in BIOS or physically on MOBO/SSD?

I've read that people have sttutering issues with EIST and C states enabled, should I try disabling them in BIOS just to run a test or two in some of the games? Thanks for taking the time out of your life and providing me with these possible solutions!!



Its pretty much a fresh install of Windows with a few games and software installed so there isn't much to disable other than microsoft processes like Cortana, runtime broker, your phone etc...



Good idea but I never touched overclocking since I'm afraid I will mess something up



Yep it is disabled.

You're way overcomplicating this. What is the CPU load per core on that bench when it stutters? Any core hitting 90% or more ever?

New paste, new cooler, no point. Stutter like this is a performance problem, and it is likely in software, or in RAM, or in CPU.

- Do you get the same behaviour on other games?
- In actual gameplay? Is there any consistency to it? What do the CPU loads per core look like? And temps?
- What are your Vsync and frame rate cap settings? Is this uncapped, or fast Vsync, then change that first.
- Are you running into any weird errors, longer hangs or any other larger disruptions than this 'constant' stuttering?

Start again with answers to these questions and forget everything you've tried, go back to defaults on everything, also Nvidia control panel - fresh install the latest driver.

Another thing, do NOT install Geforce Experience as it contains Shadowplay (additional load). Just clean install the driver only.

I have a feeling your CPU might be running into a limit. As you say its not OC'd that means it hasn't got stellar clocks either, its just an ordinary, pretty old quadcore on DDR3. That also opens up the overclocking route to try for a fix. Check if XMP is active on your RAM - and I assume you run it in dual channel?. Give the CPU 1.2-1.22V and lock the turbo clock for all 4 cores at your highest 1 core turbo and see if the behaviour is less than before. You can fine tune it later

Here are your red flags: I'm actually convinced now. Try using regular Vsync, and I think your problem goes away with a bit of OC. Your system is pretty balanced with this GPU and CPU, you just need to stop pushing it to the max. And your next stop is something with more than 4 cores/threads & DDR4.

I'm assuming you are on 1903? High dpc latency for NT Kernel has been a known bug since 1903 came out. It affects every single game. I know alot of people are trying to help you fix the issue you are having, and assuming it's a faulty PC, but this is an OS problem that won't see a fix till august. This is all on microsoft.

https://forums.geforce.com/default/...-ver-1903-ntoskrnl-exe-large-latency-spikes-/

My suggestion is to rollback off 1903, or deal with your issue until microsoft decides to push the preview build to live.

This, as well. I put a max delay on my Windows updates, still rocking 1803.

 

[vocab]

I'm assuming you are on 1903? High dpc latency for NT Kernel has been a known bug since 1903 came out. It affects every single game. I know alot of people are trying to help you fix the issue you are having, and assuming it's a faulty PC, but this is an OS problem that won't see a fix till august. This is all on microsoft.

https://forums.geforce.com/default/...-ver-1903-ntoskrnl-exe-large-latency-spikes-/

My suggestion is to rollback off 1903, or deal with your issue until microsoft decides to push the preview build to live.

 

[frank30fps]

it does the same thing to me, try the stock speed of your gpu (if you overclocked it)

 

[chaosmassive]

- I would check the CPU temp, stress test it see if the temp reach above 90+, have you clean your fan? (I personally experienced stuttering with my 2500 when playing Overwatch, check the CPU temp was at 98C, check the CPU fan has cake of dust on top of the heatsink, clean it and the stuttering is gone)
- I would check the HDD/SDD access time as the data transfer are heavily affected by other application that running in background and also it could be your HDD/SSD at its last leg.

 

[frank30fps]

it didnT do that with my previous graphics cars, so i dont think it the hdd