Frame stuttering while gaming?

Shock34

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Nov 1, 2015
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First of all, thanks for clicking on my thread!

So recently I have been having a lot of frame drops while gaming, like it says in the title. Keep in mind these frame drops do not happen all the time while gaming, it only starts about 20-30 mins into it. At first it seems like server lag, since you only dip 1-2 frames and it's not too noticeable. However, if you choose to ignore the stuttering then it gets worse and worse every minute. Soon enough it dips from 60fps-30-40fps and then back up to 60.... over, and over again. Every second.
In order to fix this, most of the time I just exit the game and contemplate trying to figure out a solution, and then I just go right back into the match with my friends. Although a quick fix, Its an inconvenience that I'd rather be without, since having to leave in the middle of a game isn't my thing.

Initially, I suspected it was my new hard drive that I had installed, since I didn't have this problem before. So, naturally I tried one of the games on my ssd. Of course, because this is my computer, the problem persisted. I then thought it was the ram, however during heavy games that I tested like BF1 and WD2, my ram usage was only at 6-7GB/8GB. Alright then, so I tried to replace the ram, like any other person would. And of course once again, because this is my computer, the problem persisted. Okay, so it's not the ram or the hdd. Maybe it was my CPU overclock? I quickly lowered the cpu freq. from 3.7GHz 1.3v, to its base clock of 3.2GHz at 1.2v (specs down below) That still didn't work. GPU? No. I tested with my one of my good friend's other GTX 970 and it still stuttered. It can't be CPU temps since they sit at around 60C never going over 70 and I highly doubt its the motherboard. Now since I have no idea about the ideology ( I hope that word has a place here) of power supplies, could it be that? I suspect it could be because my PSU is actually under the wattage it should be for my system, however this problem has not popped up since yesterday and I've had this build for a few months now with no hiccups, so I kinda doubt it's that aswell.

Can power supplies even effect frames?

Please let me know down below.

Thanks a lot for reading! I really hope someone can help solve my problem here.

specs:
CPU: Ryzen 5 1400 @3.2GHz
PSU: XFX TS 430w
GPU: GALAX EXOC GTX 970
Motherboard: MSI b350 TOMAHAWK
RAM: HyperX Fury 2133MHz 8GB
3 system fans, Cryroig M9a
Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB

Games tested: BF1, GTA V, Watch dogs 2, Watch dogs, Battlefield 4/hardline, Arma 3, CSGO, Payday 2, Rust

(all games had the problem, with the heavier ones getting stutter earlier, CSGO getting it after 2 hours and 30 mins, and rust having it worse than normal.)

[EDIT] I highly, highly doubt it is a CPU bottleneck since this problem never appeared before with the same setup.
 
Solution

To an extent. It may be fine until you do intensive things (like playing games or video editing) that make the PSU hit the thresh hold because the CPU and GPU are asking for too much power. I'd also monitor temps too and see what your GPU gets up to when playing games. I still have a strong feeling its your PSU.


If your PSU wont supply enough power for your system (watts) then that is more than likely the culprit.
 


But I don't understand why I never noticed it before, nor why it takes almost an hour for it appear in games on average?
If it's the power supply, shouldn't I notice it right away?

 

To an extent. It may be fine until you do intensive things (like playing games or video editing) that make the PSU hit the thresh hold because the CPU and GPU are asking for too much power. I'd also monitor temps too and see what your GPU gets up to when playing games. I still have a strong feeling its your PSU.

 
Solution

I have that feeling too, unfortunately. however if I'm doing an intensive task such as games, shouldn't it start immediately since the power draw is almost consistent? And if this is the power supply, is it a reason to stop playing games or even using my pc until I get a new psu?

Also my gpu temps never go over 60C under intensive gaming, the average is about 55C. For the CPU I get about 65C overclocked and 50C stock