Question Camera stuttering in all games. Will pay/do anything for a fix.

[matkinson]

Had this problem for 4+ years now, I still can't find a fix.

The reason I bring it up, I've now reached a point where I've replaced every single component on my pc (just bought a 4070ti) and it's still here.

Current specs/info:
Ryzen 3700x (have also tried a 3600 and 5800x, including on a b550 board)
MSI B450 Tomahawk (Tried all BIOS versions)
8GBx2 3600 RAM (used to have 3000mts ram, no different, tried multiple slots etc)
4070ti Gigabyte Eagle (previously used an MSI 2070 Gaming Z, same issue)
Samsung 850 EVO, Crucial 2TB, 4TB HDD, 2TB HDD, 1TB SSD. (have tried games on all drives, all are on at least 30% remaining space)
Acer XV282 4k 144hz Monitor (also tried an LG 32" 1440p 144hz, and a 34" Iiyama 144hz as well, same thing)

I've used MSI Afterburner to check thermals, usage etc, everything is fine. GPU reaches 55c on my new one, old 2070 reached 68 ish.
CPU reaches 60-70 when gaming. PC clean with no dust.
I've tried CapFrameX to capture frametimes, and they are nothing out of the ordinary. It's a stutter that can't seem to be monitored.
The bit that throws me off is when Dota is at 144fps locked, it's fine, but if it drops even a couple of fps, it breaks.
I've tried every setting under gsync, vsync, fast sync, nothing at all, all same issue.
The gsync logo comes up in game showing it's working, and it works on the nvidia pendulum test also.

Only things left I haven't tried (that I can think of) would be an intel mobo/cpu. AMD GPU, Gsync Ultimate Monitor.
I've replaced everything, tried different SSDs and multiple HDDs. Only thing I can think of software wise would be to install Windows on a completely new drive?
I've tried different mains plugs as well in case it's power related.
Tried using a controller as well, no luck.

Here are some Youtube examples of exactly what I'm seeing:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym0FQR1bgjM&t=5s

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUD_opuWGbE&list=PL-0Y12V39j4OpOSH8T1z3Dint3QmsJ7HS&index=133

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYUSmVen1aY&t=4s



Dota 2 is the worst for me, it's smooth when it's at 144fps locked, but the second it drops even 1fps below, it's a mess.
Having Nvidia Reflex permanently causes it to go under 144fps (138fps as expected) which causes the issue when enabled. This isn't right, yet nobody else seems to have this issue.

I've scoured the internet for countless hours to no avail.

Can't explain how desperate I now am for a fix. 🙁

Appears to be the same as this thread:

Question - No Frame drops but stuttering in all games

Hi all, Been having this problem for a while. Tried lots but can't get to the bottom of it. Problem tends to happen when panning left and right or when lots is happening in the game. No fps drops. I have tried: Reinstalling windows YouTube optimisation guides for windows new cable matters...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

PSU: make, model, wattage, age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used)?

Disk drive(s): make, model, capacity, how full?

= = = =

Use Task Manager and Resource Monitor to observe system performance.

Use both tools but use only one tool at a time.

Boot up, open the tool and do nothing but watch for awhile.

Then, leave the tool window open and drag to one side. Open a game or app where stutters occur.

Do not immediately begin playing. Just watch to determine what, if anything changes.

Next, play a game while continuing to watch. Again determine what, if anything, changes.

Key is to discover what resource is being used, to what extent ( % ), and what is using any given resource especially when stuttering occurs.

Another tool that might help is Process Explorer (Microsoft, free).

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

Take your time, no need to rush. Some problem may not immediately appear.

 

[matkinson]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

PSU: make, model, wattage, age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used)?

Disk drive(s): make, model, capacity, how full?

= = = =

Use Task Manager and Resource Monitor to observe system performance.

Use both tools but use only one tool at a time.

Boot up, open the tool and do nothing but watch for awhile.

Then, leave the tool window open and drag to one side. Open a game or app where stutters occur.

Do not immediately begin playing. Just watch to determine what, if anything changes.

Next, play a game while continuing to watch. Again determine what, if anything, changes.

Key is to discover what resource is being used, to what extent ( % ), and what is using any given resource especially when stuttering occurs.

Another tool that might help is Process Explorer (Microsoft, free).

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

Take your time, no need to rush. Some problem may not immediately appear.

I've updated my Original Post with a bit more info.

Regarding when the stuttering happens, it's whenever almost any game isn't locked at 144fps. (but not always, trying to get to the bottom of dota first, hopefully the rest will fall into place)
e.g. Dota, when at anything but 144fps, it faces this stutter. I put nvidia reflex on, which caps it at 138, and it's just constant.
I've just done another CapFrameX capture, and you can definitely see it here actually:

Here is an Imgur Link showing the 2 captures:

https://imgur.com/a/SD96y2X

View: https://imgur.com/a/SD96y2X

 

[geofelt]

Stuttering is a temporary lack of a critical resource.
This is most commonly cpu, but it can also be caused by a page fault due to lack of ram. Many are using 32gb these days.

To check on how much ram you need, go to task manager/resource monitor/memory tab and look at the hard page fault/sec column.
When the stuttering happens, check for hard faults.
If you see anything north of zero, you can benefit from more ram.

Are you running any other app concurrently?
Discord or streaming. Perhaps chrome tabs open?
Have you checked for malware?

How is your single thread cpu performance?
That is what games mostly need.
Run the cpu-Z bench on your 3600X.
You should see a number like 515:
http://valid.x86.fr/bench/1sllkv

If budget is not an issue, consider a I9-13900K or even the I9-13900KS.

 

[matkinson]

Stuttering is a temporary lack of a critical resource.
This is most commonly cpu, but it can also be caused by a page fault due to lack of ram. Many are using 32gb these days.

To check on how much ram you need, go to task manager/resource monitor/memory tab and look at the hard page fault/sec column.
When the stuttering happens, check for hard faults.
If you see anything north of zero, you can benefit from more ram.

Are you running any other app concurrently?
Discord or streaming. Perhaps chrome tabs open?
Have you checked for malware?

How is your single thread cpu performance?
That is what games mostly need.
Run the cpu-Z bench on your 3600X.
You should see a number like 515:
http://valid.x86.fr/bench/1sllkv

If budget is not an issue, consider a I9-13900K or even the I9-13900KS.

I'm getting 521 in CPU-Z in Single Core. I've tried a 5800x on the same and a different mobo as well, same thing.
Unfortunately no change if I run nothing in the background. My pc usually only ever has steam, geforce experience and maybe a few chrome tabs in the background.

I get 0 Hardfaults/sec in Resource Monitor.

Used Malware Bytes & Defender, no malware or other signs of malware either.

If I play Battlefield V as another example, the frametimes appear fine, but can still see this stutter.
Like it skips a frame or something. Same as the Youtube videos above.

 

[Kona45primo]

Are the games that are stuttering loaded on the HDD or SSD?

 

[matkinson]

Are the games that are stuttering loaded on the HDD or SSD?

SSD, I've also tried different games on all my drives, same issue. 🙁

 

[matkinson]

It's may be worth adding, I've had a ground loop issue here before, as well as an issue where my speakers/subwoofer going into standby or turning off would make the monitor go black for a few seconds (similar to tabbing out of games)

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

After all those bios updates, did you clear CMOS after each one?

If not you really need to rule that out.

 

[matkinson]

Hey there,

After all those bios updates, did you clear CMOS after each one?

If not you really need to rule that out.

Hi!

Yeah, my b450 tomahawk has honestly always been a bit dodgy with bios, and required a CMOS reset each update anyways.

I tried out a b550 gigabyte mobo later on as I thought it was a likely culprit, but that made no difference unfortunately. Also tried the b550 with a 5800x.

 

[Ralston18]

"My pc usually only ever has steam, geforce experience and maybe a few chrome tabs in the background. "

Referencing @geofelt (Post #4) question regarding open Chrome tabs.

Close the chrome tabs. Just as a matter of testing and elimination.

 

[matkinson]

"My pc usually only ever has steam, geforce experience and maybe a few chrome tabs in the background. "

Referencing @geofelt (Post #4) question regarding open Chrome tabs.

Close the chrome tabs. Just as a matter of testing and elimination.

Tested with everything closed apart from steam. Still the same.

Here is a Youtube Video I've put together, using my phone's slo mo function:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp9UMP_ZPZ0


I took 3 videos, 1 at 90fps locked, 138fps locked (due to Nvidia Reflex) and the last one at 144fps locked.
I can definitely see the uneven stuttering from the first 2 videos in comparison. I've just no idea why.

 

[matkinson]

I've uploaded another video on Youtube, with the game capped at 90fps, but my monitor's on screen refresh rate showing a different story:

View: https://youtu.be/FAee3eLz9qU


Anyone experienced this? feel like I'm missing something obvious.

 

[matkinson]

Here is Valheim with Vsync ON in game, with nothing else, no NVCP changes, VRR disabled etc:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUr1fofakPI


Same mess.... 🙁

 

[lordmogul]

You mentioned you have basically replaced every part during your search for the issue, but have you looked at your mouse?
The game might run fine, but your input might be the one stuttering. Any other mouse around to try? Or maybe try a controller and see of things change?
I've had games before that had issues whenever I moved my mouse, but pure keyboard or controller input was fine.

Some games also might have issues with higher polling rate. So try setting that down to the standard 125 Hz.


Also, you mentioned you have geforce experience installed.
Those stutters are very similar to my experience from years back with the rotating background recording (so that you can save the last couple minutes of gameplay ad hoc)

Spoiler: periodic stutters

(done with fraps, as it's frametime logging was the closest to what CapFrameX can do nowadays.

And those stutters also happened without taking performance metrics

That would also be interesting to look into.
And any other software that might hook into your games, ready to capture. From GFE to OBS, RTSS, whatever AMD's current solution is, any ENB/Reshade filters, etc.