[SOLVED] Massive lag while viewing screen sampling previews

[dakoda]

For past 2 or 3 months I have been having issues with my computer where it completely lags out when a screen recording preview is present, I don't know how else to describe it but here are a couple examples.

• Going to share my screen on Discord
• Going to the Oculus Link screen in SteamVR and viewing my desktop
• Going to the lighting section of Logitech G Hub to modify the lighting of my mouse. There is a screen sampler option that lets you base the lighting effects from what's happening on your screen, and even though it's not selected I'm assuming it will still start to sample as soon as you get there.

The lag is absolutely unbearable, causing quite literally everything to lag including the mouse which makes it hard to exit out of the preview. On top of that, all audio will cut out and in the case of a Discord call I have to rejoin the call, or sometimes restart Discord, to get it working again. Out of all these things, OBS does not cause any issues.

Here are my specs if it helps:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8GHz
RAM: 32GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
MB: NZXT N7 B550
Cooler: NZXT Kraken Z73
OS: Windows 11 on a Samsung 870 EVO 250 GB
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G3

I only recently installed Windows 11 of course, and I had the issue before that. I reinstalled Windows 10 twice, which included formatting my main drive completely, and the issue is still there. Some kind of hardware problem? Any help would be very much appreciated, this has been driving me insane.

 

[Ralston18]

Use Task Manager and Resource Monitor to observe system performance.

Use both tools but only one at a time.

First observe what is happening before doing anything that causes the lag.

Then observe again when doing things (sharing the screen, going to Oculus, etc.) that cause the lag.

Watch for what changes.

What resources are being used? To what extent (%) any given resource is being used? And lastly what is using the resource.

Could be some app or driver is buggy and/or corrupted.

A reinstall might fix the problem.

 

[dakoda]

Use Task Manager and Resource Monitor to observe system performance.

Use both tools but only one at a time.

First observe what is happening before doing anything that causes the lag.

Then observe again when doing things (sharing the screen, going to Oculus, etc.) that cause the lag.

Watch for what changes.

What resources are being used? To what extent (%) any given resource is being used? And lastly what is using the resource.

Could be some app or driver is buggy and/or corrupted.

A reinstall might fix the problem.

Hey, thanks for the quick reply

I just tried both Task Manager and Resource Monitor and pressed the share screen button in Discord, but I'm not seeing any kind of spike in anything. All stays the same.

Also as a side note, I noticed that my mouse actually reset its DPI while the lagging was happening as well.

Sometimes I've been successful in sharing my screen by very quickly, and with some luck, being able to tab out of Discord fast enough so that I can share without the preview being rendered on my screen. Works perfectly fine like that, it is literally only the preview that lags my whole PC. The only thing like this that hasn't lagged my PC is OBS. I've even had problems with ShareX doing a triple screenshot because it'll lag when I press the icon on the taskbar.

 

[Ralston18]

Need to narrow down possible causes.

Try running the built in Windows troubleshooters. The troubleshooters may find and fix something.

You can also use "sfc /scannow" and "dism".

References:

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-use-sfc-scannow-to-repair-windows-system-files-2626161

Fix Windows Update errors via DISM or System Update Readiness tool - Windows Server | Microsoft Docs

 

[dakoda]

Need to narrow down possible causes.

Try running the built in Windows troubleshooters. The troubleshooters may find and fix something.

You can also use "sfc /scannow" and "dism".

References:

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-use-sfc-scannow-to-repair-windows-system-files-2626161

Fix Windows Update errors via DISM or System Update Readiness tool - Windows Server | Microsoft Docs

I tried the "sfc /scannow" and just received "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations." I tried a couple of the troubleshooters as well but they found nothing.

After that I tried to do the Discord screen share thing and it didn't start to lag when I pressed the "Screen" button, so I was able to select which window I want to share completely lag-free which I thought was pretty odd since that didn't happen before.

I've just been trying to screen share over and over again and it seems to be completely random whether it's gonna lag and how bad it lags. I just screen shared Task Manager 100% fine, but my desktop and Chrome are awful. I use Wallpaper Engine too so I closed that as well but no change.

 

[Ralston18]

Another tool you can use is Microsoft's Process Explorer (free via Microsoft).

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

Once installed, open Process Explorer right after an initial boot up. Get a sense of both the tool and what processes etc. are running on your desktop.

Explore the tabs and options to help search and filter results. Mainly to narrow things down. May take some trial and error learning....

Then launch Chrome, Discord, Wallpaper Engine but only one at a time to observe what changes.

The objective is to discover or identify some change that causes the lagging to occur. And it could be some combination of things (e.g. "perfect storm") that makes the lagging appear to be random.

 

[RodroX]

For past 2 or 3 months I have been having issues with my computer where it completely lags out when a screen recording preview is present, I don't know how else to describe it but here are a couple examples.

• Going to share my screen on Discord
• Going to the Oculus Link screen in SteamVR and viewing my desktop
• Going to the lighting section of Logitech G Hub to modify the lighting of my mouse. There is a screen sampler option that lets you base the lighting effects from what's happening on your screen, and even though it's not selected I'm assuming it will still start to sample as soon as you get there.

The lag is absolutely unbearable, causing quite literally everything to lag including the mouse which makes it hard to exit out of the preview. On top of that, all audio will cut out and in the case of a Discord call I have to rejoin the call, or sometimes restart Discord, to get it working again. Out of all these things, OBS does not cause any issues.

Here are my specs if it helps:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8GHz
RAM: 32GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 3GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070
MB: NZXT N7 B550
Cooler: NZXT Kraken Z73
OS: Windows 11 on a Samsung 870 EVO 250 GB
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G3

I only recently installed Windows 11 of course, and I had the issue before that. I reinstalled Windows 10 twice, which included formatting my main drive completely, and the issue is still there. Some kind of hardware problem? Any help would be very much appreciated, this has been driving me insane.

This is what I would do:

Go to Logitech G-Hub, disable the Start with Windows option, do the same for NZXT software (can't remember the name), and do the same for any other extra-app you don't really need. Keep all of them closed and so that they don't run when Windows is loading.

Now restart the PC and use it without touching (runing) this programs. Try everything else (try Gaming, Oculus and Discord).

Is it doing the same lag as before? If its not doing the same lag, then kep it that way for at least a day or two to be sure.

Then you can try to enable one of those two programs (either Logitech or NZXT) at the time and see hot it goes.

 

[dakoda]

This is what I would do:

Go to Logitech G-Hub, disable the Start with Windows option, do the same for NZXT software (can't remember the name), and do the same for any other extra-app you don't really need. Keep all of them closed and so that they don't run when Windows is loading.

Now restart the PC and use it without touching (runing) this programs. Try everything else (try Gaming, Oculus and Discord).

Is it doing the same lag as before? If its not doing the same lag, then kep it that way for at least a day or two to be sure.

Then you can try to enable one of those two programs (either Logitech or NZXT) at the time and see hot it goes.

Thanks for the reply I have booted my PC up with all applications disabled in the start-up section of Task Manager and I still seem to be having the same issue.

Another tool you can use is Microsoft's Process Explorer (free via Microsoft).

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer

Once installed, open Process Explorer right after an initial boot up. Get a sense of both the tool and what processes etc. are running on your desktop.

Explore the tabs and options to help search and filter results. Mainly to narrow things down. May take some trial and error learning....

Then launch Chrome, Discord, Wallpaper Engine but only one at a time to observe what changes.

The objective is to discover or identify some change that causes the lagging to occur. And it could be some combination of things (e.g. "perfect storm") that makes the lagging appear to be random.

Something I have just noticed is that it's not the PC that's lagging per se? I can see the Process Explorer ticking through all the applications every so often, but my mouse will not be moving at all. It's like the computer dedicates so many resources to the screen share that it forgets about all the peripherals. Which could be why the DPI of my mouse reset, and audio refuses to work until Discord is restarted, etc. Not sure what I should do with this information.

Also to add to that, my keyboard, mouse and headphones are all completely new as of last week, and I've been having this problem much much longer so possibly a driver issue?

EDIT: I just tried spamming my keyboard through one of the lags and nothing gets typed, but I can clearly see everything still going in the process explorer

 

[Ralston18]

Certainly try reinstalling the keyboard, mouse, and audio drivers as applicable to your build.

Manually download directly from the manufacturer's website, reinstall and reconfigure. No third party tools or installers.

Reinstall the drivers one at a time allowing so time in between to test and observe system performance as you have been doing.

Maybe reinstall Discord as well.

Key is to be methodical and change only one thing at a time much as @RodroX has suggested (Post #7 above).

Get to the point where there is no lagging and then add back apps etc. one at a time with some "waiting" in between. Hopefully you will discover one particular app that causes the lags to begin again.

 

[dakoda]

Certainly try reinstalling the keyboard, mouse, and audio drivers as applicable to your build.

Manually download directly from the manufacturer's website, reinstall and reconfigure. No third party tools or installers.

Reinstall the drivers one at a time allowing so time in between to test and observe system performance as you have been doing.

Maybe reinstall Discord as well.

Key is to be methodical and change only one thing at a time much as @RodroX has suggested (Post #7 above).

Get to the point where there is no lagging and then add back apps etc. one at a time with some "waiting" in between. Hopefully you will discover one particular app that causes the lags to begin again.

Hi there, I have tried to reinstall Discord, as well as all of my peripheral drivers (my keyboard and headphones come on the device itself, there's no drivers on the website), and also Logitech G Hub. I left some time in-between each reinstall to test if the lag is there while screen-sharing but I'm still having problems.

Does anyone know if there is something significant happening during capture of a display? Very odd that the lag only happens while a screen capture is happening, and it only affects my peripherals.

Also about 4 months ago I had issues where my computer would lag substantially, again just the peripherals, while downloading anything and this turned out to be an issue with HPET which I then disabled and that fixed the problem. Since then I've had a new motherboard and processor so I decided to try disabling HPET again, but no help there either.

Could this instead be a hardware issue? The things that have stayed since upgrading my PC:

• The C: drive, although that has been wiped twice and had a new OS (Windows 11) installed onto it.
• All other drives
• RAM
• Power supply
• Graphics card

I don't know much about how those parts affect certain things on the computer, but maybe anyone knows if an issue with those things could result in the problems I'm having?

EDIT: Also I am running the AMD chipset driver installer to update all that stuff to see if it helps.

EDIT 2: It didn't.

 

[Ralston18]

You listed 32 GB of RAM in the specs: what is the actual RAM configuration and how much RAM is being reported?

Otherwise, all I can think of for the moment is to go back to Resource Monitor.

Take a closer look at the processes using memory. Let the system just sit and you do not do anything.

Then try screen recording as normal and try to spot some change - especially if you note the lag occurring.

Also run Process Explorer: just after boot up and before opening any apps etc..

Then do the usual screen recording steps one by one allowing time between steps. Continue to watch for some change (any change) in the running processes.

Not running Windows 11 at present so will need to defer any suggestions or ideas about its being involved. However, because Windows 10 had the same behavior it is likely that some other app or process is the culprit. Buggy, corrupted, or causing some conflict.

 

[dakoda]

You listed 32 GB of RAM in the specs: what is the actual RAM configuration and how much RAM is being reported?

Here is my RAM configuration from CPU-Z:

All 4 slots are using 8GB sticks that are all exactly the same aside from colour (I have 2 black and 2 white because its cool)

I will try the resource monitor thing very soon. Thank you

 

[Vic 40]

What does the memory tab say? This doesn't show if XMP is enabled, so if the ram works at rated specs of 3000mhz. You also mixed sets of ram which can work fine, but also can give issues.

Other thing i thought of is do you have the latest bios, just to make sure all is optimized and maybe set the pcie slot fixed to 4.0, even try 3.0 if it still lags. Might well be software, but these things might help.

 

[dakoda]

What does the memory tab say? This doesn't show if XMP is enabled, so if the ram works at rated specs of 3000mhz. You also mixed sets of ram which can work fine, but also can give issues.

Sorry forgot about that tab :d

I believe when I was looking in the BIOS earlier XMP was turned on.

Other thing i thought of is do you have the latest bios, just to make sure all is optimized and maybe set the pcie slot fixed to 4.0, even try 3.0 if it still lags. Might well be software, but these things might help.

Thanks I will try these

 

[Vic 40]

Well at least XMP is on and ram is running rated specs. Might also be good to test with only one kit, either black or white to see if it makes a difference.

 

[dakoda]

Other thing i thought of is do you have the latest bios, just to make sure all is optimized and maybe set the pcie slot fixed to 4.0, even try 3.0 if it still lags. Might well be software, but these things might help.

Okay so I went onto the NZXT website and tried their Windows BIOS update thingymajig, and after using it the computer restarted and went to the BIOS flash screen and did some updates. After coming back into Windows I have had zero lags, and I'm literally screen-sharing as I'm writing this comment. I'm going to start everything else up to be sure, but I'm now just wondering what changed?

This is an updated view of my Memory tab in CPU-Z and some of the values are different? Does this mean XMP is off now? Could that have caused the issues?

Also if anyone is interested here is a video I recorded of the lags happening :d Every time the mouse stops is when it lags. ALSO I just wanna point out that it started lagging constantly, it wasn't just the screen share that did it anymore, it just made it a lot lot worse.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1qiPEdPVJk


I'm really really hoping that updating the BIOS has just fixed all my problems But I will see how it goes for the rest of today. Thank you so much for the help everyone

 

[RodroX]

In the pciture, RAM XMP is disable, usually when BIOS update through software base "updaters", they tend to restore BIOS to default/optimized settings.

That means XMP is off.

Either some of this happend:

1. BIOS update fixed the issue.
2. RAM running at XMP profile is the issue, thus not using XMP then no lag.
3. There was some setting in BIOS that was causing the lag problem. When BIOS was restored to default/optimized settings the issue was gone.

 

[Vic 40]

Try and enable XMP, see what happens, right now is the ram running something like spd speed which is about 2108 which is weird, should usually be 2133 at minimum. Is the bclk set at 100? The bclk is found in the bios.
Might want to set optimal default values first, see what that does, then enable XMP and do look at the bclk.

Could be that with four sticks XMP is just abit too much for the memory controller, especially when from different kits.

 

[dakoda]

In the pciture, RAM XMP is disable, usually when BIOS update through software base "updaters", they tend to restore BIOS to default/optimized settings.

That means XMP is off.

Either some of this happend:

1. BIOS update fixed the issue.
2. RAM running at XMP profile is the issue, thus not using XMP then no lag.
3. There was some setting in BIOS that was causing the lag problem. When BIOS was restored to default/optimized settings the issue was gone.

Try and enable XMP, see what happens, right now is the ram running something like spd speed which is about 2108 which is weird, should usually be 2133 at minimum. Is the bclk set at 100? The bclk is found in the bios.
Might want to set optimal default values first, see what that does, then enable XMP and do look at the bclk.

Could be that with four sticks XMP is just abit too much for the memory controller, especially when from different kits.

Thanks I will try enabling XMP and fiddling around with those settings and see if that was causing the issue. If it was, does this mean the memory is faulty?

 

[Vic 40]

If it was, does this mean the memory is faulty?

Not necessarily, might just mean that you have to clock down the ram. Maybe try 2666mhz for four sticks and/or maybe just add some voltage to the Memory Controller.

Might be best to get a kit of four if you're set on four sticks and sell what you have or just go back to to sticks.

Just see what setting bclk to 100 does and enabling XMP. Don't forget to set bios to "optimal default values" first.