Question Freezing/Stuttering issue.

[XDark187]

Hey, I've been sutruggling with this issue for the past 2 months, here's my current build:


CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600x

Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 White

GPU: Colorful iGame RTX 3080

RAM: G.Skill DDR5 32GB (2x16GB) CL30-38-38-96, 6000Mhz

MOBO: Asrock B650M-HDV/M.2

PSU: Corsair RM1000x ATX3.0

SSD: Kingston 2TB NVMe PCIe Gen 4.0

CASE: Lian li Lancool III White



Backstory:

I built this a year ago and everything was working perfectly until I started gettings these sutters, only thing I did after building it and installing windows is that I used the EXPO profile for the RAM and disabled the iGPU because it was taking a portion of my RAM.



Problem:

Consistent stutter on every startup where everything freezes on the screen and I cannot input anything with the mouse or keyboard and then after 2-3 seconds everything is back to normal, it happens on random intervals or when I do sudden tasks like moving an app from one monitor to the other. It sometimes happen when I switch between tabs on chrome. What drives me crazy is that when I play ANY game everything is so smooth with 0 issues.

Note: the startup freeze happens even on the first startup of a fresh windows install before I install any programs.



Thermals:

GPU: ~52 °C idle, ~75 °C under stress.

CPU: ~46 °C idle, ~83 °C under stress.



Images:

Let me know if you see any capacitor related issue on the MOBO.

https://imgur.com/a/HdoueIW

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




Here's a big list of what I did with no success:

1- Reinstalled windows like 3 times.

2- Reinstalled GPU drivers using DDU.

3- Tried different GPU drivers (old/latest/recommended by the community).

4- Reset all bios settings to default.

5- Updated MOBO bios.

6- Updated GPU bios.

7- Complete reassembly of the build after cleaning it from all dust particles.

8- Made sure that every cable is 100% seated on every part.

9- Tried with/without EXPO profile.

10- Tried Enabling/Disabling PBO and TJmax on bios.

11- Bunch of other small windows related fixes that I cannot remember.

12- Tried using 1 monitor at a time/ different monitors.

13- Tried Windows 11 and Windows 10 same issue on both.

14- Stress testing CPU and GPU doesn't show any issues.

15- Changed M.2 Slot.

16- M.2 read/write speeds are exactly as the specs on kingston website.

17- Ran MemTest86 and it passed 4 test without any errors.



Help:

It feels like I've tried everything without any success, one important thing that I've noticed is that when I plug my monitor into the mobo (iGPU) all of these freezing and stuttering issues are gone, could that be an indicator of a faulty GPU? but if that was the case why is the gaming performance of the GPU flawless?
One thing that just crossed my mind is that when I installed the GPU I had to push it a little bit back towards the back of the case so I can put the screws in to secure it in place because if I just put it in the PCIe slot the metal piece of the GPU is blocking the screw hole so I have to push it a little so I can put the screw in, it's nothing major but at this point it could be anything.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[COLGeek]

Do you have access to another GPU to test with?

 

[XDark187]

Do you have access to another GPU to test with?

Yes, an old GTX970 I think, should I plug it instead of my 3080 and see if the stuttering is gone?

 

[COLGeek]

Yes, an old GTX970 I think, should I plug it instead of my 3080 and see if the stuttering is gone?

Yes. Intent is to isolate the issue. You did imply that using the iGPU resolved as well. When you did that, did you remove the 3080?

Also, how many PCIe power cables are you using to power the 3080? One with multiple connectors or two cables from the PSU?

 

[XDark187]

When I used the iGPU I didn't remove the 3080.

Regarding PCIe power cables, I have 3 different 8 pin cables coming out of my PSU to power the GPU, and it's not daisy chained.

 

[COLGeek]

When I used the iGPU I didn't remove the 3080.

Regarding PCIe power cables, I have 3 different 8 pin cables coming out of my PSU to power the GPU, and it's not daisy chained.

Good. Remove the 3080 altogether and test performance with the iGPU and then the 970.

Do you have another PC that you could test the 3080 with?

 

[XDark187]

Good. Remove the 3080 altogether and test performance with the iGPU and then the 970.

Do you have another PC that you could test the 3080 with?

Yes, I can test it on my brother's pc he has a similar build.

I'll try to change the pcie slot now before removing the 3080 maybe that will fix the issue.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

4- Reset all bios settings to default.

5- Updated MOBO bios.

How exactly did you 'reset the bios'?

What process did you do to update the bios? Did you clear CMOS afterward? This is important.

Are all system drivers, including chipset, lan etc up to date?

 

[XDark187]

How exactly did you 'reset the bios'?

What process did you do to update the bios? Did you clear CMOS afterward? This is important.

Are all system drivers, including chipset, lan etc up to date?

First I reset the settings from the bios itself which didn't help after that I was like maybe I need to update the bios, so after updating it using a flash drive and following official asrock instructions I reset the settings for the second time from the bios itself which didn't help and then some days later which is yesterday when I cleaned the pc from dust I removed the cmos battery so it resets for the 3rd time.

Regarding drivers, I made sure that every single driver was downloaded from official sources and was up to date.

Is there something I missed here in this process?

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

On the board itself there will be 2 pins which you will need to short.

So, you first remove the battery, then short two pins (you can do this a number of times - you are simply using a flathead screwdriver), The pins are typically marked CLRTC. Once you've shorted the pins, replace the battery back in place, and reboot.

 

[XDark187]

I see 2 pins marked "CLRCMOS1" on the bottom right of the mobo, I think you can see it on the Images I uploaded above.

I assume I need to switch off my psu and unplug it and then remove the cmos battery and then short the pins using a screwdriver? Is that correct?

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

I see 2 pins marked "CLRCMOS1" on the bottom right of the mobo, I think you can see it on the Images I uploaded above.

I assume I need to switch off my psu and unplug it and then remove the cmos battery and then short the pins using a screwdriver? Is that correct?

Yes, precisely.

Lets just rule that out completely. Once done you should be presented with a screen different than normal boot, that tells you to go to the bios to reconfigure. Then boot again and test.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Also, have you tried a safe mode startup? Does the stuttering still continue?

 

[XDark187]

Just booted into safe mode, first thing the resolution is 800x600, second thing I was introduced with a ctfmon.exe - System Error message "the system detected an overrun of a stack-based buffer in this application. This overrun could potentially allow malicious user to gain control of this application."

Edit: There's no stuttering in safe mode.

 

[XDark187]

Yes, precisely.

Lets just rule that out completely. Once done you should be presented with a screen different than normal boot, that tells you to go to the bios to reconfigure. Then boot again and test.

Sorry I didn't see this reply, I just did the steps and the only thing that was different from the normal boot is that it took 50 seconds longer I wasn't introduced by any different screens, the ram speed is currently 4800 which means that the bios was successfully reset to default settings.

 

[XDark187]

Good. Remove the 3080 altogether and test performance with the iGPU and then the 970.

Do you have another PC that you could test the 3080 with?

Just tested the 970 on my PC, same stutter on startup.

 

[XDark187]

Changing the gpu doesn't fix the issue which means it's something else thats causing it, booting into safe mode seems to resolve the issue.

 

[COLGeek]

Just tested the 970 on my PC, same stutter on startup.

But not when using just the iGPU?

 

[XDark187]

But not when using just the iGPU?

Plugging my monitor into the iGPU with or without the 3080 being installed fixes the issue.

 

[COLGeek]

Are you using the PCIe x16 slot closest to the CPU itself?

A couple things you mentioned earlier would suggest a possible driver issue. Are you using the latest Nvidia video drivers, directly from Nvidia AND the latest AMD chipset drivers directly from AMD?

 

[XDark187]

Are you using the PCIe x16 slot closest to the CPU itself?

A couple things you mentioned earlier would suggest a possible driver issue. Are you using the latest Nvidia video drivers, directly from Nvidia AND the latest AMD chipset drivers directly from AMD?

Yes, I'm using the closest pcie slot to the cpu, and using gpu z confirms that the gpu is using x16 4.0

Regarding the drivers, I'm pretty sure I have everything from nvidia and amd, but I'm willing to re install them again, can you give me the links to nvidia and amd drivers?

I will use ddu on safe mode to remove the gpu drivers and then restart and install the new ones.