AMD FX-8150 - More CPU usage = more stutter in games

[ninjaKO]

I've had my FX-8150 for almost 4 years now and it's been running great, causing no problems at all. It's been running overclocked from 3.6 to 4 GHz for the past 3 years.
Two days ago, I restarted my PC and suddenly I had extreme stutter in games like CS:GO and Overwatch.
First I thought it was my GPU but after reinstalling it's software (I have a GTX 960) and some testing, I found out that the stutter only happened when I moved the mouse (2 months old mouse, a ROG Gladius).
I reinstalled the mouse software (ROG Armoury) and created a new profile in it but this didn't help either. Lowering the polling rate in the mouse software seems to help but I have to put it all the way down to 250 or lower for games to playable (I've been running with 1000 polling rate since I got this mouse without any problems).
When moving the mouse around on my desktop, I can see that the CPU usage increases with 10-20% so something is wrong..
Today I removed my CPU overclock (reset to stock speed) and when running a game with no other programs running, it works great but as soon as I start up a program like Mumble or Chrome, the stutter returns and it seems that the more programs I run, the worse it gets.

What I'd like to know is, is the CPU dying? If yes, which other AM3 CPU should I invest in? If no, what can I do to fix this stuttering problem?

I need to be able to run extra programs while I play, just like I could a few days ago..

 

[Mike BD]

If it has got better stats from underclocking,but still has issues handling 2 jobs at a time,it might mean it's about its own death...
Still,I don't wanna be misleading,so,for now,I suggest a chipset diver reinstall.

 

[ninjaKO]

If it got better stats from underclocking,but still has issues handing 2 jobs at a time,it might mean it's about its own death...
Still,I don't wanna be misleading,so,for now,I suggest a chipset diver reinstall.

Am downloading the latest version of the chipset driver now. Do I need to uninstall it in some way first or just install the new one over the current one?

 

[ninjaKO]

If it got better stats from underclocking,but still has issues handing 2 jobs at a time,it might mean it's about its own death...
Still,I don't wanna be misleading,so,for now,I suggest a chipset diver reinstall.

Hmm seems that ASUS has not released any chipset drivers for Windows 10 64-bit..
It's still using the driver from my Windows 7 installation or a standard driver in Windows..
I have a ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0

 

[Mike BD]

If it got better stats from underclocking,but still has issues handing 2 jobs at a time,it might mean it's about its own death...
Still,I don't wanna be misleading,so,for now,I suggest a chipset diver reinstall.

Am downloading the latest version of the chipset driver now. Do I need to uninstall it in some way first or just install the new one over the current one?

Usually,the newer driver overrides the old one.
However,experts do recommend uninstalling the past driver that was on the machine.

 

[ingtar33]

I've had my FX-8150 for almost 4 years now and it's been running great, causing no problems at all. It's been running overclocked from 3.6 to 4 GHz for the past 3 years.
Two days ago, I restarted my PC and suddenly I had extreme stutter in games like CS:GO and Overwatch.
First I thought it was my GPU but after reinstalling it's software (I have a GTX 960) and some testing, I found out that the stutter only happened when I moved the mouse (2 months old mouse, a ROG Gladius).
I reinstalled the mouse software (ROG Armoury) and created a new profile in it but this didn't help either. Lowering the polling rate in the mouse software seems to help but I have to put it all the way down to 250 or lower for games to playable (I've been running with 1000 polling rate since I got this mouse without any problems).
When moving the mouse around on my desktop, I can see that the CPU usage increases with 10-20% so something is wrong..
Today I removed my CPU overclock (reset to stock speed) and when running a game with no other programs running, it works great but as soon as I start up a program like Mumble or Chrome, the stutter returns and it seems that the more programs I run, the worse it gets.

What I'd like to know is, is the CPU dying? If yes, which other AM3 CPU should I invest in? If no, what can I do to fix this stuttering problem?

I need to be able to run extra programs while I play, just like I could a few days ago..

try another mouse first. your mouse might be dying

as to the cpu question, no, a dying cpu won't "struggle" with moving a mouse. they aren't even related. something else is happening. be it a virus, dying hard drive, dying video card or a dying mouse. My money is on the mouse, and mice are cheap. get something cheap and trying it. if it's the same problem, then i would assume you have a virus. If you run some antivirus suites and nothing is found i'd run a hard drive health test with something like Western Digital's Data Lifeguard. It wouldn't hurt to use HWMonitor to make sure you're not overheating somewhere, but assuming no temp issues, I would finally assume there is a gpu or power supply problem if you've checked all of the above stuff.

Dying cpus simply don't boot, or start crashing your system out. they don't "slow down" unless they're overheating. I guarantee there is 100% something else then a dying cpu happening.

 

[Mike BD]

If it got better stats from underclocking,but still has issues handing 2 jobs at a time,it might mean it's about its own death...
Still,I don't wanna be misleading,so,for now,I suggest a chipset diver reinstall.

Hmm seems that ASUS has not released any chipset drivers for Windows 10 64-bit..
It's still using the driver from my Windows 7 installation or a standard driver in Windows..
I have a ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0

Then,we can exclude this point.
How about borrowing a new mouse to try?
You can try all the stuff you find: PS2 Mouse,USB/Wireless Mice,BT Mouse,etc.
I start to doubt a dying CPU will not actually getting old in tasks,but just over a mouse movement,despite multitasking issues could be a 2nd CPU problem...

 

[Petarded]

My PC did this because my sata settings were not achi in bios. Same PC setup.

 

[ingtar33]

My PC did this because my sata settings were not achi in bios. Same PC setup.

I suppose this could cause it, windows usually doesn't have a problem going from AHCI to IDE (it does have issues going from IDE to AHCI); though it's possible the default windows IDE drivers don't work well with this system?

 

[Shaun o]

Obviously check the temps of the cpu as it may be getting hot and throttling in speed to cope with high heat buildup.

Try moving the mouse to another usb port on the system then restarting it.
In the bios disable Amd cool and quiet.

This will stop the cpu from down clocking in Mhz speed.

When in windows, go to the power options of windows, and the power profiles.
Select advanced and set the system to high performance mode.

Next go to the start bar, and in the search box type: msconfig.
Click on the search result to the top left.

A new window will open.
Click on the startup tab at the top of the window.

You will see a long list of programs that are set to auto load after windows has loaded.
each one takes up system memory, and running tasks and processes on your computer.

If the list is long untick most of the programs set to auto run that you do not use.
Click apply, and then ok.

Restart your system and let windows boot again.
See if the responsiveness of windows improves.

Download malwarebytes, and scan your system for any malware, or route kits or pups that may of infected your system.
Or malware.

Run a virus check to see the cause is not a virus.

Your mouse when using it should only ever use 1 to 2% of the cpu.
So it suggests you have a lot of processes, or back ground tasks running.
causing the lagging of the mouse pointer ect.

 

[Petarded]

My PC did this because my sata settings were not achi in bios. Same PC setup.

I suppose this could cause it, windows usually doesn't have a problem going from AHCI to IDE (it does have issues going from IDE to AHCI); though it's possible the default windows IDE drivers don't work well with this system?

Yeah gotta say it was a bitch getting windows 10 to swap back. seems its a known issue when googled

 

[ninjaKO]

I've had my FX-8150 for almost 4 years now and it's been running great, causing no problems at all. It's been running overclocked from 3.6 to 4 GHz for the past 3 years.
Two days ago, I restarted my PC and suddenly I had extreme stutter in games like CS:GO and Overwatch.
First I thought it was my GPU but after reinstalling it's software (I have a GTX 960) and some testing, I found out that the stutter only happened when I moved the mouse (2 months old mouse, a ROG Gladius).
I reinstalled the mouse software (ROG Armoury) and created a new profile in it but this didn't help either. Lowering the polling rate in the mouse software seems to help but I have to put it all the way down to 250 or lower for games to playable (I've been running with 1000 polling rate since I got this mouse without any problems).
When moving the mouse around on my desktop, I can see that the CPU usage increases with 10-20% so something is wrong..
Today I removed my CPU overclock (reset to stock speed) and when running a game with no other programs running, it works great but as soon as I start up a program like Mumble or Chrome, the stutter returns and it seems that the more programs I run, the worse it gets.

What I'd like to know is, is the CPU dying? If yes, which other AM3 CPU should I invest in? If no, what can I do to fix this stuttering problem?

I need to be able to run extra programs while I play, just like I could a few days ago..

try another mouse first. your mouse might be dying

as to the cpu question, no, a dying cpu won't "struggle" with moving a mouse. they aren't even related. something else is happening. be it a virus, dying hard drive, dying video card or a dying mouse. My money is on the mouse, and mice are cheap. get something cheap and trying it. if it's the same problem, then i would assume you have a virus. If you run some antivirus suites and nothing is found i'd run a hard drive health test with something like Western Digital's Data Lifeguard. It wouldn't hurt to use HWMonitor to make sure you're not overheating somewhere, but assuming no temp issues, I would finally assume there is a gpu or power supply problem if you've checked all of the above stuff.

Dying cpus simply don't boot, or start crashing your system out. they don't "slow down" unless they're overheating. I guarantee there is 100% something else then a dying cpu happening.

I've used the past 6 hours running tests and checks, and attempting to stress my system.
I used WD's Data Lifeguard but it found no errors on my OS drive (SSD) or my games drive (HDD).
With Prime95 the temp didn't go over 44c on the CPU (62c on the socket) and I allowed it to run for 2 hours.

I'm thinking it's the mouse itself as everything points in that direction.

 

[ninjaKO]

My PC did this because my sata settings were not achi in bios. Same PC setup.

I think it was set to this as standard with my board. Can't remember that I changed it myself but it is set to ahci.

 

[ninjaKO]

Obviously check the temps of the cpu as it may be getting hot and throttling in speed to cope with high heat buildup.

Try moving the mouse to another usb port on the system then restarting it.
In the bios disable Amd cool and quiet.

This will stop the cpu from down clocking in Mhz speed.

When in windows, go to the power options of windows, and the power profiles.
Select advanced and set the system to high performance mode.

Next go to the start bar, and in the search box type: msconfig.
Click on the search result to the top left.

A new window will open.
Click on the startup tab at the top of the window.

You will see a long list of programs that are set to auto load after windows has loaded.
each one takes up system memory, and running tasks and processes on your computer.

If the list is long untick most of the programs set to auto run that you do not use.
Click apply, and then ok.

Restart your system and let windows boot again.
See if the responsiveness of windows improves.

Download malwarebytes, and scan your system for any malware, or route kits or pups that may of infected your system.
Or malware.

Run a virus check to see the cause is not a virus.

Your mouse when using it should only ever use 1 to 2% of the cpu.
So it suggests you have a lot of processes, or back ground tasks running.
causing the lagging of the mouse pointer ect.

Temps on full load (running Prime95) never goes over 44c (socket 62c).
Already tried changing the USB port but with no change.
I often check startup to make sure nothing has sneaked its way in there (btw in Win10 its moved to the task manager).
My primary AV is Trend Mirco and I have Ad-aware installed as 2nd line of defense, and MalwareByte as backup (just in case) - did scans with all of them yet none has discovered anything.
I'm careful about what runs on my PC and I often go through my installed programs, and startup to make sure its how I want it.

 

[ninjaKO]

If it got better stats from underclocking,but still has issues handing 2 jobs at a time,it might mean it's about its own death...
Still,I don't wanna be misleading,so,for now,I suggest a chipset diver reinstall.

Hmm seems that ASUS has not released any chipset drivers for Windows 10 64-bit..
It's still using the driver from my Windows 7 installation or a standard driver in Windows..
I have a ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0

Then,we can exclude this point.
How about borrowing a new mouse to try?
You can try all the stuff you find: PS2 Mouse,USB/Wireless Mice,BT Mouse,etc.
I start to doubt a dying CPU will not actually getting old in tasks,but just over a mouse movement,despite multitasking issues could be a 2nd CPU problem...

I'm doubting it being anything but a mouse problem.
Will check with a friend if I can lend him for 30 min so I can test it or if I can test my mouse on his PC (guess it should do the same on his PC if it's a mouse problem).

 

[ingtar33]

If it got better stats from underclocking,but still has issues handing 2 jobs at a time,it might mean it's about its own death...
Still,I don't wanna be misleading,so,for now,I suggest a chipset diver reinstall.

Hmm seems that ASUS has not released any chipset drivers for Windows 10 64-bit..
It's still using the driver from my Windows 7 installation or a standard driver in Windows..
I have a ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0

Then,we can exclude this point.
How about borrowing a new mouse to try?
You can try all the stuff you find: PS2 Mouse,USB/Wireless Mice,BT Mouse,etc.
I start to doubt a dying CPU will not actually getting old in tasks,but just over a mouse movement,despite multitasking issues could be a 2nd CPU problem...

I'm doubting it being anything but a mouse problem.
Will check with a friend if I can lend him for 30 min so I can test it or if I can test my mouse on his PC (guess it should do the same on his PC if it's a mouse problem).

not necessarily. breaking stuff doesn't always fail the same way on different pcs. this is why so many people have so many ideas for whats wrong with your system. the easiest solution is to spend 5 dollars on a cheap mouse and simply test it. or borrow someone else's mouse to try on your system. If someone else's mouse has the same problem, then we know it's not a mouse problem. I would also try moving the USB port your mouse is plugged into. ideally something on a different bank of USB plugs all together if possible.

 

[ninjaKO]

If it got better stats from underclocking,but still has issues handing 2 jobs at a time,it might mean it's about its own death...
Still,I don't wanna be misleading,so,for now,I suggest a chipset diver reinstall.

Hmm seems that ASUS has not released any chipset drivers for Windows 10 64-bit..
It's still using the driver from my Windows 7 installation or a standard driver in Windows..
I have a ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0

Then,we can exclude this point.
How about borrowing a new mouse to try?
You can try all the stuff you find: PS2 Mouse,USB/Wireless Mice,BT Mouse,etc.
I start to doubt a dying CPU will not actually getting old in tasks,but just over a mouse movement,despite multitasking issues could be a 2nd CPU problem...

I'm doubting it being anything but a mouse problem.
Will check with a friend if I can lend him for 30 min so I can test it or if I can test my mouse on his PC (guess it should do the same on his PC if it's a mouse problem).

not necessarily. breaking stuff doesn't always fail the same way on different pcs. this is why so many people have so many ideas for whats wrong with your system. the easiest solution is to spend 5 dollars on a cheap mouse and simply test it. or borrow someone else's mouse to try on your system. If someone else's mouse has the same problem, then we know it's not a mouse problem. I would also try moving the USB port your mouse is plugged into. ideally something on a different bank of USB plugs all together if possible.

I understand. Will try and borrow my friends mouse which also runs at 1000hz.
One of the first things I tried was to move the mouse to another USB port, lower on the port section of my mainboard. It didn't change anything.

 

[ninjaKO]

If it got better stats from underclocking,but still has issues handing 2 jobs at a time,it might mean it's about its own death...
Still,I don't wanna be misleading,so,for now,I suggest a chipset diver reinstall.

Hmm seems that ASUS has not released any chipset drivers for Windows 10 64-bit..
It's still using the driver from my Windows 7 installation or a standard driver in Windows..
I have a ASUS SABERTOOTH 990FX R2.0

Then,we can exclude this point.
How about borrowing a new mouse to try?
You can try all the stuff you find: PS2 Mouse,USB/Wireless Mice,BT Mouse,etc.
I start to doubt a dying CPU will not actually getting old in tasks,but just over a mouse movement,despite multitasking issues could be a 2nd CPU problem...

I'm doubting it being anything but a mouse problem.
Will check with a friend if I can lend him for 30 min so I can test it or if I can test my mouse on his PC (guess it should do the same on his PC if it's a mouse problem).

not necessarily. breaking stuff doesn't always fail the same way on different pcs. this is why so many people have so many ideas for whats wrong with your system. the easiest solution is to spend 5 dollars on a cheap mouse and simply test it. or borrow someone else's mouse to try on your system. If someone else's mouse has the same problem, then we know it's not a mouse problem. I would also try moving the USB port your mouse is plugged into. ideally something on a different bank of USB plugs all together if possible.

I just tried with a friends mouse and the problem was still there.
During all my testing today, it has become a bit better though the stutter is still there and it's enough to not be able to play games with 1000 polling rate.
Not sure if the next step is to reinstall Windows or if there is something else I can try.

 

[ingtar33]

have you tried virus scans?

 

[ninjaKO]

have you tried virus scans?

Yea, Trend Micro, Ad-Aware and MalwareByte. First only found 3 cookies and the rest found nothing.

 

[ingtar33]

I've been chewing on this, It might be a failing "device". What USB devices do you have plugged in other then the mouse. I remember an external hard drive causing almost this exact same type of behavior when it was failing. I know other devices can do this as well.

 

[ninjaKO]

I've been chewing on this, It might be a failing "device". What USB devices do you have plugged in other then the mouse. I remember an external hard drive causing almost this exact same type of behavior when it was failing. I know other devices can do this as well.

Headset, keyboard and a 360 controller. I recharge my phone via the PC as well.
Will try with only the mouse and keyboard connected and see if that does anything.
Nothing new has been plugged in for quite a while and it would be strange if it suddenly created problems now..

What if I remove the USB driver via the device manager and let Windows install it again?
Since there is no drivers for this on the ASUS website, I'm a little skeptic about trying it..

 

[ninjaKO]

I've been chewing on this, It might be a failing "device". What USB devices do you have plugged in other then the mouse. I remember an external hard drive causing almost this exact same type of behavior when it was failing. I know other devices can do this as well.

Hmm, there was less stutter with my friends mouse than there is with mine.
Think it's related to my mouse, question is just where the problem lays.
I reinstalled the driver and software but maybe there is something wrong with the version I'm using or smt like that.

 

[ninjaKO]

I just changed the polling rate to 2000 and Overwatch kept minimizing, and the stutter when I managed to keep it open was crazy.

 

[ninjaKO]

I've been chewing on this, It might be a failing "device". What USB devices do you have plugged in other then the mouse. I remember an external hard drive causing almost this exact same type of behavior when it was failing. I know other devices can do this as well.

I decided to uninstall everything under Human Interface Devices while only my mouse was plugged in and this seems to have solved the problem. At least, now I don't have any stuttering while playing Overwatch with 1000 polling rate.
As it's getting late here, I'll stop now and do some more testing tomorrow, and hopefully the problem is solved..
If it really is solved, it must have been a corrupt USB driver or smt like that. Not sure how that could happen.

Thanks for your help!