[SOLVED] Looking for help with an issue on a relatively new build.

[Steaks McBeard]

Hey guys, hoping for a bit of help with trying to diagnose an issue that seems to have cropped up recently.
I've started to have random freezes during several games (the 2 main being Hunt Showdown & Doom 2016) which weren't an issue before.
Using the in-game performance metrics options, I've noticed that the main culprit seems to be the CPU, specifically the "max" frame timing, as when the freezes occur this seems to be the only metric affected (sometimes even showing so many digits it completely overlaps the rest of the data shown).
The freezes usually only last between 1-2 seconds, and are completely sporadic. They don't seem to affect any functions outside of the game, and once the freeze happens and passes everything seems to run perfectly until the next one (be it after a few seconds, or a few minutes)

I've tried what must be every single graphics option combination & resolution only to find the issue persists in exactly the same fashion (lowest settings + 480p vs maxed out settings + 4k, both with exactly the same symptom).
I've stress tested each component in the PC, tried reinstalling windows, disabling cores, defaulting Bios, changing voltage settings for components along with over/underclocks, power plans, etc. Again, to no avail.

Strangely enough, games like Control with ray tracing, max settings @ 4k (1080p internal rendering of course) has zero issues, running 40+ hours with only a brief issue regarding an overclock I first applied which was quickly remedied by dropping it by 15MHz.
I'm absolutely exhausted trying to figure this out and in hoping that it's something simple I've no doubt over looked. Regardless, any help would be massively appreciated!

My relevant specs are:

• CPU: AMD R5 3600
• GPU: EVGA RTX 2070 XC
• RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 3600 (PC4-28800) C18 (2x8GB modules)
• MoBo: MSI B450 Tomahawk Max
• OS: Windows 10 Ultimate (up to date)
• C/OS Drive: Samsung 860 Evo 250GB
• D/Games Drive: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 500GB
• PSU: Corsair TX-M 650W 80plus Gold
• Monitor: LG C8

Also, was built from new several months ago, but this issue only seems to have manifested over the past few weeks with no significant changes to either the hardware or software during that time.

 

[Frag Maniac]

The freezes usually only last between 1-2 seconds...

That's no small freeze. Ryzen CPUs tend to often cause erratic FPS fluctuation. Have you tested CPU/GPU usage by running MSI Afterburner and setting those metrics to show onscreen while playing? Also, are you running your RAM in XMP at the full rated 3600 speed? It would probably also be a good idea to try running Intelligent Standby List Cleaner while playing to keep the RAM free for times of high data transfer.

AMD are famous for making strange decisions on CPU design. They messed up Bulldozer by building it with floating module virtual cores vs physical cores, and now they insist on tying the CPU to RAM speed. Such things add a lot of latency, so I really don't get why they do it. This is why I tend to prefer Intel CPUs for some time now. When I build a gaming rig I prioritize gaming performance, not streaming or multi tasking.

 

[Steaks McBeard]

That's no small freeze. Ryzen CPUs tend to often cause erratic FPS fluctuation. Have you tested CPU/GPU usage by running MSI Afterburner and setting those metrics to show onscreen while playing? Also, are you running your RAM in XMP at the full rated 3600 speed? It would probably also be a good idea to try running Intelligent Standby List Cleaner while playing to keep the RAM free for times of high data transfer.

AMD are famous for making strange decisions on CPU design. They messed up Bulldozer by building it with floating module virtual cores vs physical cores, and now they insist on tying the CPU to RAM speed. Such things add a lot of latency, so I really don't get why they do it. This is why I tend to prefer Intel CPUs for some time now. When I build a gaming rig I prioritize gaming performance, not streaming or multi tasking.

Thanks for the reply Frag!

I'll give Afterburner a try next, as for the RAM I've tried it both enabled & disabled with the same issue persisting.
I've also tried underclocking/overclocking & undervolting/overvolting in an attempt to narrow down the culprit but none of the above seems to have affected it in the slightest.

I've just tried ISLC but no change, though what seems pretty consistent so far is the high frame time spikes on the "Max CPU" frame time metrics, so I'm starting to think the fault may lie there... but as I stated earlier, this issue seems to have manifested much later on, as previously there were zero issues (other than the same type of spikes using VR which come to think of it, didn't affect more demanding games, instead presenting itself in less demanding games such as Beatsaber) so I'm wondering if the 3600 might be physically failing.

What's also baffling is that it has zero issues running a game like Control with max setting, but an extremely optimised game like Doom has these consistent spikes (which have never occurred across several different rigs over the years, and only recently with this rig).

I've always gone with Intel which for the past decade hasn't let me down, first time purchasing an AMD and I'm already starting to regret the decision.

 

[GarrettL]

My Ryzen 3800x has never had any freezing or erratic fluctuations. I had game crashing come out of nowhere with CoD MW that was actually resolved by updating the motherboard chipset drivers. You could try that too.

You could try with Windows Game Mode off?

Did you update the gpu drivers recently? If it's only certain games then it's typically not a hardware issue.

 

[Steaks McBeard]

My Ryzen 3800x has never had any freezing or erratic fluctuations. I had game crashing come out of nowhere with CoD MW that was actually resolved by updating the motherboard chipset drivers. You could try that too.

You could try with Windows Game Mode off?

Did you update the gpu drivers recently? If it's only certain games then it's typically not a hardware issue.

Hey GarrettL,

I updated the MoBo drivers several months ago but I'll give it another check and see if there's any updated ones to grab.

Windows Game Mode was already off, so I don't believe that had any effect.
I've also got the latest GPU driver, but could try rolling back to an earlier driver to see if that changes anything.

Like I said in my previous comment, the most noticable thing that leads me to believe it's CPU related is the recurring issue in Doom 2016 with the "Max CPU Frametime" suddenly increasing exponentially whenever the freezes occur.

 

[Frag Maniac]

My Ryzen 3800x has never had any freezing or erratic fluctuations.

Yet I would say if anything, these kind of problems are far more likely to show up with Ryzens from what I've seen. At the very least it's probably a lot harder CPU to optimize games for than what Intel is putting out. Granted, it's still a far better design than Bulldozer, but pretty finicky just the same.

 

[GarrettL]

This simply isn’t true. This forum has a lot of AMD users and the issue the OP is having is rare. Or there would be a lot of threads stating the same issue and hardware reviews would reveal such issues.

This is my first AMD builds since Athlon days.
Both Intel and AMD make good quality CPU’s.

If you have evidence of such issues please provide links.

 

[Frag Maniac]

If you have evidence of such issues please provide links.

I'm not going to go as far as to derail the thread into an AMD vs Intel debate, just stating what I've seen. You can choose to dismiss it all you want, it won't change my point of view.

 

[GarrettL]

Question - stuttering in games

Hello everyone lately ive been experiencing some major stutters while playing games like rdr2 or even league of legends. it never happend before it started like 2 days ago until now and i cant seem to fix the problem i tried to reinstall gpu drivers i scanned for any viruses with windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[Frag Maniac]

Question - stuttering in games

Hello everyone lately ive been experiencing some major stutters while playing games like rdr2 or even league of legends. it never happend before it started like 2 days ago until now and i cant seem to fix the problem i tried to reinstall gpu drivers i scanned for any viruses with windows...

forums.tomshardware.com

There's not enough info in that thread to even come close to suspecting the CPU, so I really don't get your point with this post. Stuttering can be caused by many things, but long 1-2 sec freezes are usually caused by severe, erratic frame drops, the kind Ryzens are known for. Plus, in this thread the OP more than once mentioned he's seeing problems with Max CPU Frametime. At least that's something to go on, vs rash speculation.