Question Micro-stuttering in virtually every video game ?

[dovlePC]

Hi everyone,

I've been experiencing micro stuttering issues on a wide range of video games, both new and old. The problem manifests as brief stuttering when loading new areas, after cutscenes, or when many assets need to be loaded (like many enemy spawns or entering crowded areas)

My system:
PSU: Seasonic G12 GM-Series 750W, 80+Gold
CPU: Intel i5-12400F
GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (Driver version 24.10.1)
RAM: 16GB (2x8GB)* Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200MHz C16 running in dual channel
Storage: Patriot 1TB 2.5 SATA3 SSD (30% free space)
Monitor: 144Hz via DisplayPort

*I used to have 4x8GB RAM but my PC started getting bluescreens and Windows Memory Diagnostic reported hardware issues that were gone when I removed slot 1 and 3 RAM sticks.

I'm currently playing Mass Effect Legendary Edition and while the game is easily hitting max FPS most of the time, micro stutters still creep in in crowded areas. AMD metrics overlay shows:

99th percentile FPS drops to 25-60 FPS during stutters
"Micro stutter" metric shows jumps to 12% (it sits at 0% when game is running smoothly)

What I've already tried:

• Tinkering with all AMD features (Anti-Lag, Enhanced Sync, FreeSync) and VSync in game.
• Tried turning XMP profile on/off in BIOS.
• Tried limiting FPS to 60.
• Monitored CPU/GPU temperature

I've also tested and noticed the same micro-stutter in:
Skyrim, Dragon Age Veilguard, The Outer Worlds, Half-Life 2 and a wide variety of other games.

The stuttering is far from game-breaking and I've put up with it for a long while, but I'd really appreciate if anyone can offer a solution.

 

[Fix_that_Glitch]

I would look at your hd first, since you state the micro stuttering appears when certain things are loading and every game is affected. Perhaps buying a m2 drive would smooth things out. Also make sure your memory sticks are in the correct slots.

 

[geofelt]

What is the make/model of your motherboard?
CPU-Z will tell you.
Does it have an available gen3 m.2 ssd slot?

XMP simply sets your ram to run at 3200, no need to run at default ram speeds.

Is 16gb enough?
If you are running other apps like discord or performance monitors, you may not.
Task manager can be misleading if it is used to assess ram use.
Windows stores unused code in ram in anticipation of quick reuse.
If an app tries to access code that is not currently resident in ram, it needs to fetch it from the page file and perhaps write some older data to the page file to make room. That is called a hard page fault and while the fault is not resolved, the app stops dead.
Resolution can be painful if the page file is on a HDD.

When actively running, open task manager, open the resource monitor/memory tab.
Look at the hard fault rate column.
If you see anything much more than zero, you can use more ram.

 

[dovlePC]

Thank you for the suggestions and responses.

1) Memory sticks are definitely in correct slots.

2) Motherboard is Asus PRIME Z690-P D4 (Definitely supports M.2)

3) The hard fault rate thing is on 0 for most processes including the game. There was only 1 for Msmpeng.exe which is apparently windows anti-malware.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

Have you tried turning on/off game bar? I'm presuming you are using MSI Afterburner OSD or something similar to measure FPS and frame time and 1% lows. Does the same happen when you don't use those apps? (You have to feel for the stutters).

Are you running any open tabs of chrome or anything in the background? 16gb for new games is getting pushed really hard. 32gb is now the sweet spot. Something to look at.

What bios are you running?

Freesync on/vsync off still stutters? Is it less or more than before, or maybe the same?

Your 1% lows are very low. That's where the stuttering is from.

 

[geofelt]

Stuttering is usually caused by a temporary lack of a critical component, Typically cpu.

Likely, you are getting interference from another task/app.
Check your startup list in task manager/startup for anything that can be disabled.
Look in your installed programs list for anything you do not recognize.
Run malwarebytes free to check for malware.
uninstall apps that check for updates like printer software, gpu drivers and such.