[SOLVED] Micro stutters, big FPS drops after upgrading CPU/Motherboard.

Jun 19, 2019
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I've been looking around for a few days and can't seem to find my solution anywhere so I'm just going to post here.

PC specs:
CPU: i7-9700k @4.8GHz 1.26v (stress tested with CPU-Z for 3 hours with no problems)
GPU: GIGABYTE GTX 1080 WindForce 3X OC (Stock)
Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-F GAMING
RAM: Corsair 32GB, 3200MHz (CMK32GX4M2D3200C16)
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G1+

So I recently upgraded from a Ryzen 7 1700 to a i7-9700k and I started experiencing stutters pretty much instantly.

Heaven Valley
Heaven Valley HWiNFO Log
Destiny 2 / Another Screenshot (Obviously FPS isn't always going to be stable especially in a game like this. I went from 144FPS to 118 - 130 in a certain area, but then would see a heavy spike to around 92 FPS then back up to 118 - 130 constantly. This is my main game and notice the stutters here the most more than anything else.)
Fire Strike
Time Spy
Userbenchmark

I was getting stutters every 3 seconds in Risk of Rain 2 with 300+ FPS, and it was incredibly consistent.

Solutions I've tried:
Re-installing windows, formatting my SSD, deleting all paritions and re-installing from USB.
Installing all the latest drivers.
Disabling windows features such as gamebar.
Underclocking my GPU, raising the Power Limit.
Updated the BIOS to most recent version.

I'll willingly do some more tests on anything if needed, this might be a simple fix and I'm just missing it completely.
The weird thing is, it doesn't seem like every game stutters, only some which I find pretty odd.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
 
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Solution
Yes, it is something to worry about. MANY games DO run AVX and AVX2 instructions these days, as do a good many other types of applications. If your CPU can't handle full load operation when AVX instructions are not even being used, it is DEFINITELY going to have issues with games and applications that do. Yes, there are usually offsets you can apply in the BIOS to account for AVX, but when you are overheating under a full load WITHOUT even running AVX loads, that's not good.

Is your CPU overclocked at all or is at the stock configuration?

I'd say your cooler is either loose, needs to be repasted, has too low of a fan curve, has a weak or faulty pump or is simply not up to the task. We've seen a lot of systems with 240mm AIO coolers...
RE-installing, "formatting" (Which only directly affects the C: partition, and not the other hidden system and boot partitions) or in place upgrading (restore, refresh, etc.) are not always, in fact they OFTEN are not, good enough.

Especially when there is a change of camps, i.e., AMD to Intel, or generational chipsets, it is necessary to do a CLEAN install. That entails completely removing ALL partitions from the drive so that there is absolutely nothing in the boot record or hardware tables that relates to the previous hardware.

My step by step guide shows you exactly how to go about doing that.



HOWEVER, since I do not see any mention of BIOS version or updating in your OP, that would be the first thing I'd want to do is make sure you have the MOST recent BIOS firmware version installed. The SECOND thing I'd want to do is a HARD reset of the BIOS to ensure no settings have "stuck" from the previous hardware, which in fact happens. I would recommend doing a hard reset even you THINK it can't be relevant AND even if you DO or HAVE done a BIOS update. After updating, reset. Not all settings are changed during an update AND more importantly, sometimes the hardware tables and boot manager don't get reset.


BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes, press the power button on the case for 30 seconds. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the hardware tables to reset in the boot manager.

It is probably also worth mentioning that for anything that might require an attempt to DO a hard reset in the first place, it is a GOOD IDEA to try a different type of display as many systems will not work properly for some reason with displayport configurations. It is worth trying HDMI if you are having no display or lack of visual ability to enter the BIOS, or no signal messages.




Also, you might want to think about returning, if you recently bought it, or replacing (Even if you recently bought it) that power supply. It is rather poor quality and has some outright bad flaws. It could VERY WELL be the source of your problems.


https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/evga-supernova-650-g1-plus-psu,5661.html


You can find my list of recommendations at the following link:

 
Jun 19, 2019
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Thanks for your reply, I have updated my BIOS to the most recent version, forgot to mention that.

This PSU is rather noisy, I can hear it from the other end of the room which is annoying, but I wasn't experiencing stutters with this PSU before I upgraded the Motherboard/CPU? Could this new hardware be demanding a lot more?

I have indeed deleted all partitions in my C: drive and unplugged my HDD while installing windows to it, so that should be fine right?

Sorry for leaving out critical information.

I also don't notice any stutters when running firestrike/time spy for some weird reason, but then heaven benchmark and some other games have stuttering problems.
 
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No problem, I just like to make CERTAIN of those things because often they DO tend to be at the heart of the issue in the end. The fact that you have done exactly as recommended just makes it one less thing to have to worry about.

DID you however, do a hard reset of the BIOS?

If not, I would try that. I've seen it make a difference when there is no good explanation for WHY it did, and often in cases where there have been hardware changes. Yes, it requires a bit of reconfiguring some things if you had a lot of custom settings in there, but it's a good idea to do the work anyhow if you have not already. Just updating the BIOS version does not necessarily do what a hard reset does.

I would also do a CLEAN install of the graphics drivers as follows.

 
Jun 19, 2019
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I have not done a hard reset of the BIOS, I'm a bit hesitant on doing things which I'm not so sure on.
I have used DDU, used safe mode and disconnected my internet when installing the drivers and the problem still persists.
 
Have you stress tested while monitoring thermals, for both GPU and CPU conditions? I'd recommend Furmark or Heaven for GPU, and Prime95 with AVX and AVX2 disabled for CPU. I'd recommend using HWinfo for monitoring. Choose the "sensors only" option. Gaming temperatures are not indicative of thermal compliance, so DO use the recommended or another stress utility to ensure you are seeing actual peak full load steady state temperatures. Just a shot in the dark on thermals, but you never know.

I have to go take care of some service calls but I'll look at this closer when I get back later.
 
So, those logs don't help much for me. I'd prefer to just see screenshots of the relevant information. You can post screenshots here in the thread by uploading them to imgur or another hosting site and then clicking the image button between the smiley face and chain link on the formatting bar, and then pasting the link in the box that pops up. The link MUST end in an image format like .jpg, .png, etc. so you'll want to copy the code under the option that says "for direct layouts" on imgur after you upload it.
 
Jun 19, 2019
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I screenshot a load of things which looked useful from HWiNFO, I don't exactly what you need so I just got the whole lot.
I ran Furmark for 20 minutes and experienced microstutters the entire time.

fjP9ejs.png


D1IHrHI.png

Ld4WZCi.png
 
I believe there is a problem with your graphics card or power supply. Your GPU core voltage seems to be considerably lower than what it should be. That is the first thing that jumps out at me anyhow.

https://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/780281-GTX-1080-SC-Voltage-question/page2


Also, your CPU is SERIOUSLY overheating. When you ran Prime95, latest version, and disabled AVX and AVX2, WHICH test did you run? Should have been Shall FFT. It is wasn't Small FFT, please run it again on Small FFT and take another set of screenshots showing the CPU core temps and clocks like you did before.

What CPU cooler are you using?
 
Jun 19, 2019
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I ran Small FTTs and it peaked at 95, it's strange because I have a Corsair H100i v2, it's like 3 years old now but it should still be fine? But in reality your CPU is never going to have that much load so is it something to even worry about?

And I'm not sure why my GPU voltage is so low, I've tried adding +100 core voltage in afterburner but still end up with stutters.

EDIT: I can get it to 1.030 - 1.060v around that range, still end up with some stutters though, I'll have to see.
 
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Yes, it is something to worry about. MANY games DO run AVX and AVX2 instructions these days, as do a good many other types of applications. If your CPU can't handle full load operation when AVX instructions are not even being used, it is DEFINITELY going to have issues with games and applications that do. Yes, there are usually offsets you can apply in the BIOS to account for AVX, but when you are overheating under a full load WITHOUT even running AVX loads, that's not good.

Is your CPU overclocked at all or is at the stock configuration?

I'd say your cooler is either loose, needs to be repasted, has too low of a fan curve, has a weak or faulty pump or is simply not up to the task. We've seen a lot of systems with 240mm AIO coolers that could not handle the 9700k and 9900k CPUs. Generally speaking, we recommend only using a very good 280mm or higher AIO, a custom loop or the big double finstack air coolers, for these CPUs. Even with stock configurations.

I believe that your CPU temps COULD be part of, or all of, the problems you are having with stuttering if you are exceeding thermal boundaries when you play games that are particularly CPU intensive or that use AVX instructions.

You might want to play these games, take screenshots of the HWinfo window as an overlay or on the side, or on another screen, while gaming, and see what the temps are doing when the game is stuttering or you are having problems.

It might not be CPU thermal related, but it IS a concern that your temps are so high.

And, just because the CPU temp is not through the roof, although it IS high, does not mean that you don't have a VRM thermal issue either. VRM throttling is real. Play your game, run Prime again for a longer period of time, say 15 minutes, keep track of the thermals and see if WHILE under a full load, at any point the clock speeds are getting reduced to reduce thermals. It might be that you are losing clock speed and that is causing the stuttering, from an overheated core or VRM temp.

What is your case model and how many fans are installed? Where is the AIO installed? What direction are the fans for EACH fan location blowing and what direction are your AIO fans blowing?
 
Solution
Jun 19, 2019
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I'm most likely going to end up sending this to a repair shop, hopefully they can sort it all out, I had a lot of help building this from a good friend of mine, my PC building knowledge is very little. But clearly something went wrong or something's faulty. I really do appreciate your help Darkbreeze, you've given me a lot to suggest to the people looking at this deeper, I might also try investing in a new CPU cooler/PSU if needed.
Thanks again.