Question Is my GPU causing the stutters that I get while gaming ?

[bakugan834]

Hey sorry to raise your expectations hoping for an answer but I have the same issue as you. People told me its probably the nvme drive or that I should update drivers. The problem occured after updating drivers and I was gaming just fine from 2021. It happend on january and im having this issue for months

 

[bakugan834]

By any chance did you clean your computer? With a microfiber cloth? Air duster? Anything?

 

[CelicaGT]

Here is the screenshot of HWinfo

I also checked the memory tab and it shows that both memory modules' speed is 1600MHz (DDR4-3200 / PC4-25600) Should it be 3200MHz because I have DDR4-3200 selected in BIOS? (Currently using Corsair Vengeance LPX ram) Also, if there is anything else you need a picture of, just ask!

The one thing I do see is the PCIe link state, it seems low @ 2.5GT/s. When you launch HWInfo, choose Summary Only. Then check the GPU summary, specifically the fourth line down, it should show something like this "PCIe v4.0 x16 (16.0 GT/s) @ x16 (16.0 GT/s)". Because the System Summary is dynamic, the information in this line will change with GPU load. Yours currently shows "PCIe v4.0 x16 (16.0 GT/s) @ x16 (2.5 GT/s)". This is likely because the system is at idle. Strangely, mine never goes below 5.0GT/s at idle. Keeping the System Summarty up on your second monitor, load a game, or anything that significantly loads the GPU and make sure this changes to 16GT/s. I'm reaching, but it's possible there's some power management sorcery at play here.

 

[Nikzogg]

The one thing I do see is the PCIe link state, it seems low @ 2.5GT/s. When you launch HWInfo, choose Summary Only. Then check the GPU summary, specifically the fourth line down, it should show something like this "PCIe v4.0 x16 (16.0 GT/s) @ x16 (16.0 GT/s)". Because the System Summary is dynamic, the information in this line will change with GPU load. Yours currently shows "PCIe v4.0 x16 (16.0 GT/s) @ x16 (2.5 GT/s)". This is likely because the system is at idle. Strangely, mine never goes below 5.0GT/s at idle. Keeping the System Summarty up on your second monitor, load a game, or anything that significantly loads the GPU and make sure this changes to 16GT/s. I'm reaching, but it's possible there's some power management sorcery at play here.

Yes, when I load a game, it changes to 16GT/s

 

[Nikzogg]

By any chance did you clean your computer? With a microfiber cloth? Air duster? Anything?

I cleaned my PC after the stuttering started, everything with an air duster including my AIO radiator and every fan

 

[Nikzogg]

The one thing I do see is the PCIe link state, it seems low @ 2.5GT/s. When you launch HWInfo, choose Summary Only. Then check the GPU summary, specifically the fourth line down, it should show something like this "PCIe v4.0 x16 (16.0 GT/s) @ x16 (16.0 GT/s)". Because the System Summary is dynamic, the information in this line will change with GPU load. Yours currently shows "PCIe v4.0 x16 (16.0 GT/s) @ x16 (2.5 GT/s)". This is likely because the system is at idle. Strangely, mine never goes below 5.0GT/s at idle. Keeping the System Summarty up on your second monitor, load a game, or anything that significantly loads the GPU and make sure this changes to 16GT/s. I'm reaching, but it's possible there's some power management sorcery at play here.

I just noticed when I opened Spotify and scrolled down, even that stuttered! 2 quick hitches.

 

[CelicaGT]

I just noticed when I opened Spotify and scrolled down, even that stuttered! 2 quick hitches.

Ok, well that's another thing eliminated. I forgot to ask, and it isn't in your listed specs, is your system drive an SSD or HDD? Do you have secondary drives etc. A system wide stutter even on the desktop is likely not the GPU, but could be caused by a slow or failing drive. If you haven't done so already, it might be worthwhile disconnecting any secondary hardware and peripherals. I've seen some odd things before. Had a mouse cause perceived in game stutter because of a bad connection internally. Anyways, take the system down to basics. CPU, GPU, a single stick of RAM and nothing else. Just enough to run. IF the stutter has gone, add things back one by one. If it hasn't gone, it's either a BIOS setting (setup defaults aren't always the best, especially with X3D processors), or a possible hardware issue. Also, re-seat everything, ensure the motherboard is grounded properly to the case either through the IO shield or the stand offs. I'm just throwing s*** at the walls here so if you've tried some of this already take no offense. Also, monitor EVERYTHING. Watch CPU clockspeed, temperature, core activity. Same with GPU. Take note of any abnormalities. Keep an eye on RAM and VRAM utilization. All of this can be done with Afterburner, Ryzen master, HWInfo or the like. Stutter like this can be VERY difficult to nail down.

 

[CelicaGT]

Just to add. Depending on how long that warranty is on the GPU, consider an RMA. It may seem extreme but if they replace it, technically you are "testing with known good" as it's said in the industry. Unless you currently own another known good GPU this is an option. Also making sure you aren't missing the RMA window by futzing around with other stuff. It's unlikely, but still very much could be the GPU.

 

[Nikzogg]

Ok, well that's another thing eliminated. I forgot to ask, and it isn't in your listed specs, is your system drive an SSD or HDD? Do you have secondary drives etc. A system wide stutter even on the desktop is likely not the GPU, but could be caused by a slow or failing drive. If you haven't done so already, it might be worthwhile disconnecting any secondary hardware and peripherals. I've seen some odd things before. Had a mouse cause perceived in game stutter because of a bad connection internally. Anyways, take the system down to basics. CPU, GPU, a single stick of RAM and nothing else. Just enough to run. IF the stutter has gone, add things back one by one. If it hasn't gone, it's either a BIOS setting (setup defaults aren't always the best, especially with X3D processors), or a possible hardware issue. Also, re-seat everything, ensure the motherboard is grounded properly to the case either through the IO shield or the stand offs. I'm just throwing s*** at the walls here so if you've tried some of this already take no offense. Also, monitor EVERYTHING. Watch CPU clockspeed, temperature, core activity. Same with GPU. Take note of any abnormalities. Keep an eye on RAM and VRAM utilization. All of this can be done with Afterburner, Ryzen master, HWInfo or the like. Stutter like this can be VERY difficult to nail down.

My system drive is an SSD. I also have a second SSD and and M2 SSD. I disconnected my headset dongle and wifi/bluetooth antenna and it seemed to stutter less, not sure though. I also tried 2 different mice and that didn't help. How long do SSDs usually last for? I've had my system drive for around 5 years since I originally got the pc. HWinfo says that drive health is at 70%

Also, do you have a guide for the best settings in BIOS for X3D CPU? I haven't played with BIOS settings much so it's still kind of new to me.

 

[Nikzogg]

Just to add. Depending on how long that warranty is on the GPU, consider an RMA. It may seem extreme but if they replace it, technically you are "testing with known good" as it's said in the industry. Unless you currently own another known good GPU this is an option. Also making sure you aren't missing the RMA window by futzing around with other stuff. It's unlikely, but still very much could be the GPU.

The warranty ends in November, and my friend has a spare GTX 1070 TI that I can test, possibly this weekend.

 

[CelicaGT]

My system drive is an SSD. I also have a second SSD and and M2 SSD. I disconnected my headset dongle and wifi/bluetooth antenna and it seemed to stutter less, not sure though. I also tried 2 different mice and that didn't help. How long do SSDs usually last for? I've had my system drive for around 5 years since I originally got the pc. HWinfo says that drive health is at 70%

Also, do you have a guide for the best settings in BIOS for X3D CPU? I haven't played with BIOS settings much so it's still kind of new to me.

Make sure any Asus performance enhancements are OFF, D.O.C.P is fine as long as your RAM seems happy. Ensure PBO is OFF, some older BIOS don't honor that setting but by now all should. It should be greyed out, or not accessible on you system as you have the latest BIOS. Above all, you want to keep an X3D as close to stock AMD speeds and voltages as possible. Many performance settings in the BIOS will slightly spice things up a bit for a performance edge, the expense is heat and sometimes instability. As for that SSD, 70% is getting there. I would consider replacement if I were you. Others may disagree but I like to be proactive, even if there's nothing important on there (always back up) I'd rather replace the drive before it fails, so I can do it on my terms and schedule. There's also a small chance it's the cause of the stutter, depending on the drive and it's cache type.

 

[Avro Arrow]

So first of all, I have tried everything and nothing seems to fix my stutters while gaming. It's usually under half a second and is more noticeable in more demanding games. Even though the gameplay is is smooth overall with high FPS, I get stutters. I believe the issue is most likely my GPU since I don't have a spare one to test. Temperatures also look normal so it shouldn't be the issue.

The stuttering started about 3 weeks ago seemingly out of nowhere. Didn't change any game settings, didn't update BIOS version, didn't update drivers, didn't change any hardware and didn't change any gpu settings.

What I have tried:
- The usual settings in Windows and device manager
- Completely fresh install of Windows
- Upgraded my CPU
- Changed my PSU
- Tried 3 different sets of ram
- Reset bios settings and removed CMOS battery
- Removed overclock from GPU
- Tried older GPU drivers from before the stuttering started
- Used DDU to remove GPU drivers and downloaded the latest ones
- Updated BIOS

My specs:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D (upgraded from R7 3700X)
GPU: ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 3070 TI
MOBO: ASUS ROG STRIX B550-E Gaming
RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance RGB PRO 32gb 3600mhz (Also tried Corsair Vengeance LPX 16gb 3200mhz and GSkill Trident Z NEO 32gb 3600mhz)
PSU: CORSAIR RM750 (Also tried Fractal Design Integra M 750W

I'm losing my mind since I just cant find the culprit. I have been thinking about RMA-ing the GPU since it it still under warranty, but I'm still not 100% sure it is the culprit. If anyone knows anything that can help, please comment! Thank you for reading.

I have a few questions:

#1 - What games are you playing that are stuttering?
#2 - What resolutions are you gaming at?
#3 - Do you get stutter on less demanding free-to-play games like CS:GO?

I ask those questions because without knowing those, I have to assume that you're experiencing VRAM overflow. This is because the GeForce RTX 30-series, with the exception of the RTX 3090, is the single most VRAM-starved line of video cards that I have ever seen (and my first video card was an ATi EGA Wonder back in 1988 so I've pretty much seen 'em all).
Of the RTX 30 line, the RTX 3080 and RTX 3070 Ti are tied as the worst offenders when it comes to having far too little VRAM when one considers the potency of their GPUs. The Radeon counterpart of the RTX 3070 Ti is the RX 6800 and ATi gave that card 16GB of VRAM, literally double the amount that nVidia gave the 3070 Ti. I don't think that the RX 6800 needed 16GB like the 6800 XT does but whatever. The differences in performance between GDDR6 and GDDR6X have (as I expected) proven to be insignificant.

So, that's my guess as to what's causing the stuttering because stuttering is definitely the most obvious symptom of VRAM overflow. As for why it's just happening now, I have no idea but, as I said, this is only a guess. It's a guess based off the fact that the rest of your system setup looks rock-solid to me.

A way to know for sure if this is the problem is to swap your RTX 3070 Ti out and pop in something like an RX 6800 and see if the stuttering stops. The RX 6800 would be ideal because it has near identical (it's 3% faster than the RTX 3070 Ti) performance but double the VRAM capacity. That way, the presence of stuttering couldn't be attributed to the potency of the GPU because they're both the same in that regard. To test if there's something actually wrong with the card itself, you could swap in any card to see if the stuttering stops.

 

[Nikzogg]

I have a few questions:

#1 - What games are you playing that are stuttering?
#2 - What resolutions are you gaming at?
#3 - Do you get stutter on less demanding free-to-play games like CS:GO?

I ask those questions because without knowing those, I have to assume that you're experiencing VRAM overflow. This is because the GeForce RTX 30-series, with the exception of the RTX 3090, is the single most VRAM-starved line of video cards that I have ever seen (and my first video card was an ATi EGA Wonder back in 1988 so I've pretty much seen 'em all).
Of the RTX 30 line, the RTX 3080 and RTX 3070 Ti are tied as the worst offenders when it comes to having far too little VRAM when one considers the potency of their GPUs. The Radeon counterpart of the RTX 3070 Ti is the RX 6800 and ATi gave that card 16GB of VRAM, literally double the amount that nVidia gave the 3070 Ti. I don't think that the RX 6800 needed 16GB like the 6800 XT does but whatever. The differences in performance between GDDR6 and GDDR6X have (as I expected) proven to be insignificant.

So, that's my guess as to what's causing the stuttering because stuttering is definitely the most obvious symptom of VRAM overflow. As for why it's just happening now, I have no idea but, as I said, this is only a guess. It's a guess based off the fact that the rest of your system setup looks rock-solid to me.

A way to know for sure if this is the problem is to swap your RTX 3070 Ti out and pop in something like an RX 6800 and see if the stuttering stops. The RX 6800 would be ideal because it has near identical (it's 3% faster than the RTX 3070 Ti) performance but double the VRAM capacity. That way, the presence of stuttering couldn't be attributed to the potency of the GPU because they're both the same in that regard. To test if there's something actually wrong with the card itself, you could swap in any card to see if the stuttering stops.

#1 - Pretty much any game I've tried has stuttered. For example: The Finals, Escape from Tarkov, The Division 2, Snowrunner, Geometry Dash, CoD Cold War, Volcanoids. Somehow, when I ran 3DMark demo, I didn't notice a single stutter.
#2 - Only 1920x1080
#3 - I tried playing World of tanks for about 15 minutes/ 1 game and didn't notice any stutter. Haven't tested playing it for longer to see if it stutters too, will test it.

 

[Nikzogg]

Make sure any Asus performance enhancements are OFF, D.O.C.P is fine as long as your RAM seems happy. Ensure PBO is OFF, some older BIOS don't honor that setting but by now all should. It should be greyed out, or not accessible on you system as you have the latest BIOS. Above all, you want to keep an X3D as close to stock AMD speeds and voltages as possible. Many performance settings in the BIOS will slightly spice things up a bit for a performance edge, the expense is heat and sometimes instability. As for that SSD, 70% is getting there. I would consider replacement if I were you. Others may disagree but I like to be proactive, even if there's nothing important on there (always back up) I'd rather replace the drive before it fails, so I can do it on my terms and schedule. There's also a small chance it's the cause of the stutter, depending on the drive and it's cache type.

Before making this post, I had ASUS Performance Enhancement on, but I turned it off later. Immediately noticed a difference especially in The Finals. Before it was almost unplayable, but after turning it off, it got significantly better. Still stutters quite frequently, but not nearly as much. Also not sure if you're familiar with the game, but in the map SYS$HORIZON I almost dont get any stutter, maybe a few hitches here and there, but overall quite smooth.

When playing The Division 2, it doesn't stutter much. Usually like once every 3 minutes or so, and it's almost always 2 quick hitches.

Snowrunner is different than the other ones. Whenever I get stutter while playing it, it's usually 1 freeze ranging from a short one to a REALLY long one like in the video I linked. Usually it happens maybe every 20 seconds or less.

 

[Avro Arrow]

#1 - Pretty much any game I've tried has stuttered. For example: The Finals, Escape from Tarkov, The Division 2, Snowrunner, Geometry Dash, CoD Cold War, Volcanoids. Somehow, when I ran 3DMark demo, I didn't notice a single stutter.

Ok, then my VRAM guess is most likely wrong. I say this because CoD is an e-sports title and should be child's play for your RTX 3070 Ti regardless of resolution or graphical settings.

#2 - Only 1920x1080

Yeah, definitely not VRAM-related then.

#3 - I tried playing World of tanks for about 15 minutes/ 1 game and didn't notice any stutter. Haven't tested playing it for longer to see if it stutters too, will test it.

Yeah, that's really weird but sometimes with electronics, problems can be intermittent. Like, you might have a part of the card that only acts up when the card's temperature is up because of thermal expansion. When the card is "cold", you might not see a problem. I don't think that this is the case with your card because 15 minutes is more than enough time for a card to heat up. I was just using it as an example.

I would recommend that you go ahead with your play to try your friend's GTX 1070 Ti. CoD would be ideal because I'm sure that a GTX 1070 can handle that game easily and the fact that your RTX 3070 Ti is stuttering in that game makes it the ideal guinea pig. If CoD doesn't stutter with the GTX 1070, then I would RMA your RTX 3070 Ti immediately. There's no way a GTX 1070 Ti should be able to run any game better than a healthy RTX 3070 Ti.

 

[Nikzogg]

Ok, then my VRAM guess is most likely wrong. I say this because CoD is an e-sports title and should be child's play for your RTX 3070 Ti regardless of resolution or graphical settings.

Yeah, definitely not VRAM-related then.

Yeah, that's really weird but sometimes with electronics, problems can be intermittent. Like, you might have a part of the card that only acts up when the card's temperature is up because of thermal expansion. When the card is "cold", you might not see a problem. I don't think that this is the case with your card because 15 minutes is more than enough time for a card to heat up. I was just using it as an example.

I would recommend that you go ahead with your play to try your friend's GTX 1070 Ti. CoD would be ideal because I'm sure that a GTX 1070 can handle that game easily and the fact that your RTX 3070 Ti is stuttering in that game makes it the ideal guinea pig. If CoD doesn't stutter with the GTX 1070, then I would RMA your RTX 3070 Ti immediately. There's no way a GTX 1070 Ti should be able to run any game better than a healthy RTX 3070 Ti.

Just played World of Tanks for roughly 1 hour. No stutter at all while playing, but if I open settings and change tabs in there I get short hitches. Maybe because the whole map is loaded in at the start of the match? I think it has something to do with loading in assets.

Edit: Here is an example

 

[bakugan834]

Have you tried running " dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth " in command prompt? You maybe have corrupted Windows files

 

[CelicaGT]

Just played World of Tanks for roughly 1 hour. No stutter at all while playing, but if I open settings and change tabs in there I get short hitches. Maybe because the whole map is loaded in at the start of the match? I think it has something to do with loading in assets.

Edit: Here is an example

Ya, that's pretty normal and to be expected. Even games that load up many cores will have a single main thread. Opening menus, changing settings are the kinds of things that can cause a little hitch. Nothing to be concerned with.

 

[bakugan834]

@Nikzogg please keep us updated on the GPU switch. Im trying to see if its from my SSD or GPU. We both have the same kingston SSD and I have a feeling it could either be the SSD or the GPU

 

[Nikzogg]

@Nikzogg please keep us updated on the GPU switch. Im trying to see if its from my SSD or GPU. We both have the same kingston SSD and I have a feeling it could either be the SSD or the GPU

I'm trying the GPU switch today. If it doesn't help, might try to switch the SSD

Also, do you have a video of the stuttering? And did you try the same potential fixes as me?

 

[bakugan834]

I'm trying the GPU switch today. If it doesn't help, might try to switch the SSD

Also, do you have a video of the stuttering? And did you try the same potential fixes as me?

Yes

https://youtu.be/Ai6w8laTCZg
https://youtu.be/8s1G444tLmw

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s1G444tLmw



I tried.

 

[bakugan834]

Also PLEASE make an announcement if youve found something. My product is still in warranty and this is the only day I can make an acclaim because monday I can't do it. Tuesday is the final day of the warranty.

Also, do you pay the repair fee on warranties?

 

[Nikzogg]

@bakugan834 @CelicaGT @Avro Arrow
UPDATE: I tried my friend's GTX 1070 TI, and suprisingly, (at least) The Finals didn't stutter anymore! But I tried switching back to my RTX 3070 TI just to test out if DLSS was causing it, so I tried running the game without DLSS, no stutter. Then I changed DLSS to Performance, no stutter! Not sure what was causing it, but there was a little bit of dirt on the connector, could that be the cause of it?

Also, Snowrunner still seems to have these weird hitches so my GPU is not causing that at least. I also tried Fortnit today, and it had similar hitches, but that might be because I turned DX12 render on.

 

[bakugan834]

@bakugan834 @CelicaGT @Avro Arrow
UPDATE: I tried my friend's GTX 1070 TI, and suprisingly, (at least) The Finals didn't stutter anymore! But I tried switching back to my RTX 3070 TI just to test out if DLSS was causing it, so I tried running the game without DLSS, no stutter. Then I changed DLSS to Performance, no stutter! Not sure what was causing it, but there was a little bit of dirt on the connector, could that be the cause of it?

Also, Snowrunner still seems to have these weird hitches so my GPU is not causing that at least. I also tried Fortnit today, and it had similar hitches, but that might be because I turned DX12 render on.

So you changed to a 1070 Ti and you didnt had stutters unlike on your 3070 Ti?

Try the SSD

 

[Nikzogg]

So you changed to a 1070 Ti and you didnt had stutters unlike on your 3070 Ti?

Try the SSD

Sorry if I worded that wrong. I meant that with the 1070 TI I had no stutters in the Finals, and when I changed back to 3070 TI, I had no stutters anymore.

I also tried Snowrunner with both and I still get those hitches no matter which card I use