• Happy holidays, folks! Thanks to each and every one of you for being part of the Tom's Hardware community!

Question Fortnite FPS Drops/Frametime Spikes (Stuttering/Hitching) On Multiple Decent PCs

Oct 22, 2022
5
1
15
Experiencing frametime spikes on Fortnite, on two decent PCs. I do not have such frequent and drastic frametime spikes on my Xbox Series S.

PC 1 Specs:
  • Ryzen 5650G CPU
  • RX 6600 GPU 8GB VRAM
  • 2x8GB DDR4 RAM (3200, CL16)
  • Adata SU630 SSD
  • MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX
  • Cougar XTC 600W PSU
PC 2 Specs:
  • Ryzen 3600 CPU
  • RX 6700 GPU 10GB VRAM
  • 2x8GB DDR4 RAM (3200, CL16)
  • Western Digital SN350 480GB NVME M.2
  • Gigabyte B450M-S2H Micro ATX Motherboard
  • Kolink Core S 700W PSU
I've been struggling with this issue for around a year.
Here are some things I've already tried:
  • All Fortnite Rendering Modes (DX11, DX12, Performance Mode)
  • Using an NVIDIA GPU in PC 1 (then returned the GPU because it didn't fix the issue)
  • Many different driver versions (used Display Driver Uninstaller before each new driver installation)
  • SmartAccess Memory on and off
  • Disabling Xbox Game Bar
  • HPET off
  • SMT off
  • Windows "paging"/swap file off
  • Turning off "Fullscreen Optimizations" for Fortnite
  • Running Fortnite in Compatibility Mode for Windows 8
  • Turned off exploit mitigations for Fortnite
  • fTPM off
  • Windows Game Mode on/off
  • SmartShift off
  • Turning off Windows Fast Start-up
  • Installing chipset drivers from AMD, and installing chipset drivers from motherboard vendor's website
  • Increasing and decreasing the GPU's power limit (in Adrenalin's tuning settings)
  • Waiting for FPS to stabilise in the lobby on DX12
  • Lowering some settings values in GameUserSettings
  • Turning off ULPS
  • Using the integrated GPU on PC 1
  • Disabling "DeepSleep"
  • Using a different SSD exclusively for Fortnite
  • High Priority
  • Reinstalled Windows many times
  • Disconnected front-board USB 3 connector from motherboard on PC 1
  • FreeSync Premium on/off
  • Radeon Anti-Lag on/off
  • ISLC on PC 1
  • On both PCs, the "BIOS" is up-to-date
  • Overclocking the GPU
  • Underclocking the GPU
  • Undervolting the GPU
  • Changed maximum processor state to 99% and 100%
Both PCs are running dual-channel RAM.
FCLK and UCLK are in sync with MEMCLK.

Sometimes when the FPS drops, the GPU's frequency also does. That is a symptom of the issue, not the cause of it; I've verified that by disabling "DeepSleep" which prevents the GPU from downclocking, and the stuttering issues persist.
The CPU is not overheating/thermal-throttling.

I know that Fortnite/Unreal Engine aren't optimised well, but some other players and streamers do not experience this issue. The same(?) issue seems to occur in Realm Royale (e.g., when opening chests, etc).

The stuttering's at its worst while it's loading in players' skins in Fortnite (which is very noticeable on spawn island especially, and also in-game while playing).
These stutters are not normal. I have at least one major stutter per minute while playing, usually.

The FPS drops in Fortnite are significant, by the way. It drops from 144FPS to around 20FPS.
Also, Minecraft runs horribly on both PCs (even with Sodium, even on 1.16.1, and even with mipmap levels low).

I would really appreciate any help with this issue because I am really not sure what steps I should take next to try to resolve this.
 
Last edited:
I have the same exact stutter issues on fortnite, csgo and warzone. And i just built a brand new 13900k build with an asus strix board, 32gb 5600 mhz ram, rtx triple fan 3070, etc etc, the pc is the works and these games stutter, its criminal that these issues persist lol
 
btw i was wrong about "but some other players and streamers do not experience this issue"
some people are just oblivious to it
everyone has these issues in fortnite on pc