Question Inexplicable random freezes after BIOS update

[Daumer]

Hello, this is an issue I've had for a while and I still can't find a solution.


The issue:

I have a brand new gaming PC that I built myself in October (specs below).
On November 10th I installed a BIOS update for my Asus TUF X570-Plus Wi-Fi motherboard (v1404, 2019/11/08).

Two days later (I had not used my PC in the meantime) I started noticing very frequent stutters in all my games: they freeze for a split second approximately every 20 seconds and then instantly go back to their original framerate.

The thing that bothers me the most is that I can't identify the source and the nature of the problem. It's a 2000€ PC and it's quite frustrating.


What I know:

• ALL my drivers are up to date (graphics, chipset, LAN, Wi-Fi, audio, etc.)
• Windows 10 is up to date.
• My system temperatures (CPU, GPU, chipset, etc. are all normal (below 70°C) even under heavy load.
• My CPU and GPU loads and frequencies are normal and hit their expected values when running games.
• XMP (DOCP for Asus motherboards) correctly applies RAM frequencies and timings.
• All my PC's connectors and cables are correctly plugged in.
• I am getting below-average scores in 3DMark (maybe irrelevant).
• When recording a benchmark with MSI Afterburner, the 1% low framerate is always around 10-20 FPS (very low indeed, considering that some games average at about 200 FPS)
• I noticed that some specific game actions always cause a stutter.
• My GPU (RTX 2070 Super) emits a bit of coil whine (buzzing) when playing games (it's normal and it's always been like that). However, during the microstutters, the buzzing sound also stops for an instant, as if the GPU actually stopped working for a moment.

What I've tried:

• Reset my BIOS settings and re-apply XMP.
• Re-download and flash the same BIOS version again (I can't revert to a previous version).
• Reset the CMOS by removing the board's battery.
• Reinstall Windows 10
• Uninstall and reinstall all drivers.
• Closing all unnecessary 3rd party processes in the background

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


My specs:

CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X
Motherboard: Asus TUF X570-Plus Wi-Fi
RAM: Viper Steel 16GB 3866MHz CL18
SSD: Sabrent Rocket 2TB NVMe
HDD: None
GPU: MSI Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super Ventus OC
PSU: Cooler Master MasterWatt 650
Chassis: Cooler Master H500
OS: Windows 10 Pro 1909

 

[Lutfij]

Always list your specs like so:
CPU:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:

When posting a thread of troubleshooting nature. You might want to include the version of Windows 10 that you're on. When you reinstalled the OS, I'm assuming you used Windows Media Creation Tools to fabricate the USB installer for the installation, correct? Which slot on the motherbaord did you populate the M.2 SSD on?

 

[Daumer]

Always list your specs like so:
CPU:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:

When posting a thread of troubleshooting nature. You might want to include the version of Windows 10 that you're on. When you reinstalled the OS, I'm assuming you used Windows Media Creation Tools to fabricate the USB installer for the installation, correct? Which slot on the motherbaord did you populate the M.2 SSD on?

(Edited my specs.)

I did use Media Creation Tool to reinstall Windows 10 (without losing my apps & data). I might try a full clean intall if I can't find a solution.
My mobo comes with two M.2 PCIe 4.0 slots. One of them has a heatsink. That's where I mounted my SSD. The other is empty.