Question Laptop keeps stuttering

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VermilionNeko

VermilionNeko

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Apr 24, 2014
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Hi

I've got a minor issue that's annoying me with my laptop. I had the same trouble with my last one. 🙄 I have an ASUS TUF F15 FX507ZR gaming laptop. Here's the spec for it:

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/156...ddr5-1tb-nvme-ssd-8gb-rtx-3070-tb4-win11-home

I've noticed things can stutter every so often. It happens when I watch videos on YouTube and listen to music on Spotify, though with the web player. I've yet to find out what it's like with the app. And I've encountered it whilst playing a game. That game was only Sonic Mania, so it's nothing demanding. I've looked on Event Viewer, and seen some warnings and errors, but not sure what they are or if they're the cause. I've attached them to the post though I'm not sure if/what is useful.

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/qjdr6bnd1t4a8zabbq4dl/h?dl=0&rlkey=gbmbcw73zshx2agtmbtan59k3

Dropbox - File Deleted - Simplify your life

www.dropbox.com www.dropbox.com

Let me know if the links work or if they're the correct files.

Thanks
 
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Okay, I came across this forum thread that mentioned about DPC latency, so the tool linked in there might be useful to run the next time I’m on my laptop.

Small micro-second spike/stutter every second, regardless of activity

Hi, I have an UX303LB Asus Zenbook. Regardless of what I do (browsing web/playing games/watching series) it has a tiny micro-second spike, once every second. See video of it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X046nVbGag And another when i scroll faster (might be more noticable)...
forums.tomsguide.com forums.tomsguide.com
 
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It's not looking like I'm getting any help or suggestions here... 🙁

I've downloaded and used LatencyMon and that hasn't turned up anything. Everything's been in the green for the past few minutes, so I'm totally stumped what could be the cause.



Can someone help with this?

Thanks
 
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VermilionNeko said:
It's not looking like I'm getting any help or suggestions here... 🙁
Click to expand...
Hey there,

So, first things first. Most of the posters here may not be here everday, or every hour to respond to questions. But, with that said, this is one of the best communities for that. Everyone volunteers their time to answering questions for forum users. So don't fret. We will get back to you, even if it might take a day or two, or an hour or two.

You've a very modern gaming laptop. It's pretty good :)

Like almost all gaming laptops, there is the whole heat problem. With such a small envelope thermally, it's difficult to keep both the GPU and CPU cool. The CPU can run up to 95c and it's designed to do that. The GPU temps will typically be about 70-80c or so.

Often with laptops, the cooling system isn't sufficient for the hardware, and can introduce throttling. The CPU or GPU will throttle to stop getting so hot. This means you can get stuttering as the CPU/GPU switch to lower frequencies to give the chips time to cool down.

There are some things you can try.

  1. Get a laptop cooling pad, which can shave off a degree or two in general heat.
  2. Consider opening up the laptop and clear out any dust that has accumulated. Whilst doing this, you can also consider changing the thermal pastes, as the generic stuff that comes with most laptops is not up to the job. Warning though: This could void your warranty.
  3. Limit the power the CPU can use, and/or boost frequencies. This will reduce heat and so the CPU/GPU won't be as strained. Performance will suffer though. But, it might also bring a more stutter free experience. So it's worth messing around with.
 
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Roland Of Gilead said:
Hey there,

So, first things first. Most of the posters here may not be here everday, or every hour to respond to questions. But, with that said, this is one of the best communities for that. Everyone volunteers their time to answering questions for forum users. So don't fret. We will get back to you, even if it might take a day or two, or an hour or two.

You've a very modern gaming laptop. It's pretty good :)

Like almost all gaming laptops, there is the whole heat problem. With such a small envelope thermally, it's difficult to keep both the GPU and CPU cool. The CPU can run up to 95c and it's designed to do that. The GPU temps will typically be about 70-80c or so.

Often with laptops, the cooling system isn't sufficient for the hardware, and can introduce throttling. The CPU or GPU will throttle to stop getting so hot. This means you can get stuttering as the CPU/GPU switch to lower frequencies to give the chips time to cool down.

There are some things you can try.

  1. Get a laptop cooling pad, which can shave off a degree or two in general heat.
  2. Consider opening up the laptop and clear out any dust that has accumulated. Whilst doing this, you can also consider changing the thermal pastes, as the generic stuff that comes with most laptops is not up to the job. Warning though: This could void your warranty.
  3. Limit the power the CPU can use, and/or boost frequencies. This will reduce heat and so the CPU/GPU won't be as strained. Performance will suffer though. But, it might also bring a more stutter free experience. So it's worth messing around with.
Click to expand...

Okay, thanks. Once I've loaded up the Armoury Crate app to check the temperatures, I'll post the results. Not much is being used at the moment, apart from several tabs being open in Firefox.

I have noticed some new errors/warnings in the Event Viewer...
 
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VermilionNeko said:
Okay, thanks. Once I've loaded up the Armoury Crate app to check the temperatures, I'll post the results. Not much is being used at the moment, apart from several tabs being open in Firefox.

I have noticed some new errors/warnings in the Event Viewer...
Click to expand...
Ah, Armoury crate! I'd suggest you actually uninstall that immediately. (And it really takes a lot of effort to remove it further.) Armoury Crate is like many other manufacturers software/hardware management apps. Unfortunately, it's a really intrusive one, and creates more problems than any benefits that come from using it.

I would uninstall it immeidately, and then begin your testing again. Use HWInfo to monitor your system. It's much more reliable.
 
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Roland Of Gilead said:
Ah, Armoury crate! I'd suggest you actually uninstall that immediately. (And it really takes a lot of effort to remove it further.) Armoury Crate is like many other manufacturers software/hardware management apps. Unfortunately, it's a really intrusive one, and creates more problems than any benefits that come from using it.

I would uninstall it immeidately, and then begin your testing again. Use HWInfo to monitor your system. It's much more reliable.
Click to expand...

Right, okay. To be honest, I'm not even sure it tells me about the temperatures. Not from what I can see anyway. Apart from the BIOS, what's the better app to use for overclocking the GPU and CPU? The Armoury Crate does seem to have quite a number of options to fine tune the performance and fans etc.
 
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VermilionNeko said:
Right, okay. To be honest, I'm not even sure it tells me about the temperatures. Not from what I can see anyway. Apart from the BIOS, what's the better app to use for overclocking the GPU and CPU? The Armoury Crate does seem to have quite a number of options to fine tune the performance and fans etc.
Click to expand...

I guess in laptops with limited BIOS functionality, overclocking is not an option (and you don't really want to do that with a laptop CPU anyway) so in this case it might be better to keep Armoury Crate.

HWInfo is really good for monitoring your system.
 
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So, I'd start with something simple.

Cinebench R23. Run a multicore test. Have HWinfo open beside it and look at the metrics you are seeing. Look for CPU clockspeed/usage/temps. While you run Cinebench it will put a load on the CPU, and the temps will go up. You need to look for the max clockspeed of 4.7ghz. It will be lower for an all core clock. But you can use the results to see how your CPU performs.

You can also use other apps, like CPU-z bench, Geekbench 5, AIDA 64, among others.

The basic gist is to put your CPU under load, and see where your temps are, and how that impacts your boost clockspeeds. Better boost speeds equals more FPS in gaming.
 
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Roland Of Gilead said:
So, I'd start with something simple.

Cinebench R23. Run a multicore test. Have HWinfo open beside it and look at the metrics you are seeing. Look for CPU clockspeed/usage/temps. While you run Cinebench it will put a load on the CPU, and the temps will go up. You need to look for the max clockspeed of 4.7ghz. It will be lower for an all core clock. But you can use the results to see how your CPU performs.

You can also use other apps, like CPU-z bench, Geekbench 5, AIDA 64, among others.

The basic gist is to put your CPU under load, and see where your temps are, and how that impacts your boost clockspeeds. Better boost speeds equals more FPS in gaming.
Click to expand...

Will that be necessary in this case? Gaining more FPS isn't really the concern here. :) The issue is this random stutter I keep getting just from general use. It happens just from watching YouTube videos and listening to music on Spotify. Something is happening under the hood somewhere that's triggering a hiccup. It seems to happen every minute or so.
 
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VermilionNeko said:
Will that be necessary in this case? Gaining more FPS isn't really the concern here. :) The issue is this random stutter I keep getting just from general use. It happens just from watching YouTube videos and listening to music on Spotify. Something is happening under the hood somewhere that's triggering a hiccup. It seems to happen every minute or so.
Click to expand...

Okay, in that case, I'd just make sure GPU drivers are uninstalled with DDU, then do a fresh install of the driver from Nvidia's website.

Ensure you have the most up to date bios as per the manufacturers website.
 
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Roland Of Gilead said:
Okay, in that case, I'd just make sure GPU drivers are uninstalled with DDU, then do a fresh install of the driver from Nvidia's website.

Ensure you have the most up to date bios as per the manufacturers website.
Click to expand...

Okay. What I thought it was hasn't changed anything, I don't think. Still had a stutter. I do keep seeing this error reoccurring in the Event Viewer though:

Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Processor-Power
Date: 09/03/2023 5:49:19 PM
Event ID: 37
Task Category: (7)
Level: Warning
Keywords:
User: SYSTEM
Computer: Gazzoid
Description:
The speed of processor 19 in group 0 is being limited by system firmware. The processor has been in this reduced performance state for 71 seconds since the last report.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Processor-Power" Guid="{0f67e49f-fe51-4e9f-b490-6f2948cc6027}" />
<EventID>37</EventID>
<Version>0</Version>
<Level>3</Level>
<Task>7</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2023-03-09T17:49:19.7287392Z" />
<EventRecordID>60863</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="4" ThreadID="488" />
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>Gazzoid</Computer>
<Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="Group">0</Data>
<Data Name="Number">19</Data>
<Data Name="CapDurationInSeconds">71</Data>
<Data Name="PpcChanges">0</Data>
<Data Name="TpcChanges">0</Data>
<Data Name="PccChanges">1</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>
Click to expand...

Currently downloading the latest GPU drivers now and then I'll hunt for the latest BIOS firmware.
 
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Okay, so far (touch wood), I don't appear to be getting any hitching whilst listening to Spotify, 😁 We'll see how long it lasts...

I've still yet to update the GPU drivers, but I have them downloaded. There don't appear to be any BIOS updates. I did, however, install some updates in the Armoury Crate, including an AI Noise Cancellation Software. That could have fixed the issue. It might have been related to the audio...?
I also signed into MyASUS and let that run a check. It found three issues. One was to do with the Wi-Fi that I don't fully get, another with closing apps to free memory, and one about an optional Windows Update. Can't remember what that was now.

EDIT: Nope. It's back. 😖
 
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Could it be related to the memory, perhaps? When I have Firefox open, which has several tabs, plus whatever else I might be working on, I may only have around 1-2GB left.

At7nNUs.png
 
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I've tried using Google Chrome instead of having Firefox open, which tends to be quite the memory hog. I like having the web open whilst working in other software so I can look stuff up, such as research, and listen to music in Spotify's webplayer. Firefox was using around 3GB of RAM with all the tabs I have open whereas Google Chrome is using 2GB. I currently have around 4.5GB free, though the stutter can still happen here and then. Not as often, but still.

So I'm still no further forward to figuring out what the issue is. I'm no longer sure if it is a memory hiccup. I've not noticed any discrepancies in the Task Manager for the memory anyway.
 
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Now it feels like I'm no longer getting any help/replies on here... It's just me talking to myself. 🙁

For anyone who's interested, I have saved out my Resource Monitor information from the past few minutes. I'm still not quite sure where the discrepancies are when the stutters occurred. It doesn't look like the memory is an issue though. So it could either be something with the hard drives or the CPU.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1u376cdmrb0w7io/resource_monitor.ResmonCfg?dl=0
 
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Not that anyone's even concerned based on the lack of replies I've had, but it looks like I've managed to find a way of fixing the problem. I've still no idea what specifically was the root cause though. I did uninstall the ASUS Armoury Crate, but that didn't do anything to alleviate the problem.

I did, however, manage to unlock the Power Options. For some bizarre reason, all I had was Balanced Power and no other options. I managed to unlock all of them from the Command Prompt. By setting it to Ultimate Performance, the issue appears to have gone. No stuttering whilst listening to music and no stuttering whilst playing a game. :)

Would have very much liked to have discovered the root cause, but at least I've found a way of nipping it in the bud. Another thing I was going to try was unparking the CPU cores...
 
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