Need Your Help! FPS Drops & Stuttering on High-End PC.

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the Tom's Hardware community: where nearly two million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Apr 7, 2018
19
0
10
[size="L"]UPDATE 2 (3):[/size] BAD NEWS!

Windows 7 HP SP1 didn't help in anyway. =(

I did a fresh install of Windows 7 with formatting previous OS drive (C:), then installed all the necessary Win7 (x64) service updates and drivers: GPU, LAN, Audio, Chipset, SATA, NVMe SSD, DirectX & Visual C++. Configured NVIDIA driver to previous Win10 config, reinstalled MSI AB & RTSS and load custom profiles from my backup.

Also, I've cleared CMOS and reconfigured UEFI with the following "Custom Default" settings:
- Enabled #1 XMP, Sync All Cores "Auto"
- Configured fans
- Change PCIEX4_3 & M.2_2 to X4 speed
- Disable unnecessary SATA ports, fans, lights and other garbage

Windows 7 changes:
- High Performance Mode
- Disabled all the startup items
- Disabled built-in AV and firewall
- Disable all reminders in Action Center

In GTA 5 (no FPS cap) I've noticed the same issues with frame time spikes and drops when pressing RMB when being in a vehicle. With capped FPS there were no problems as before installing Win7.

In The Witcher 3 I noticed almost constant 100% GPU utilization and the same spikes. On Win10 there weren't such a frequent MAX GPU utilization, only in high loaded areas.

Now, I'm pretty scared of all this cr*p even in well run Win7 OS.

GTA 5 logs: https://drive.google.com/open?id=15NAhU33h4mXKBqXfU6aOGq4aMlPRBFgs

The Witcher 3 logs: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-9U66th5eAAnMJd9hrkjZCHxTUISKG-T

Any advice, if possible in such a creepy situation?


[size="L"]UPDATE 1:[/size]

Just an hour ago I did:
1. Disconnect my Aorus GTX 1080 Ti physically from the motherboard.
2. Uninstall NVIDIA Driver 391.35 with Display Driver Uninstaller.
3. Switch to the Intel's Integrated Graphics, download and install the latest Intel VGA driver.
4. Lower all GTA 5 graphics settings to minimum and set 800*680 screen resolution.
5. Start playing.

The average performance was about 72 FPS. But drops and frame time spikes still happened at lowest possible graphics settings with 800*680 resolution! I'm really disappointed. Issue didn't go away even WITHOUT GPU and NVIDIA driver.

Then I opened the Latency Monitor and started playing GTA 5 again. After 5 minutes of gameplay I switched to LatencyMon and noticed that highest DPC latency was about 202 ms (instead of normal 30-90 ms) for this driver "Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation". I think that WIndows 10 is the culprit but not 100% sure.

You can check the MSI Afterburner GTA 5 log.hml available in the Google Drive folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14DrbFKVLNyiAG4zBtAWWF6soUT91ApyY?usp=sharing



[size="L"]Hi community,[/size]

It's sad to say, but there are serious FPS drops/spikes/freeze and micro stuttering in almost all the games on my new self-built high-end PC with Intel i7 8700K + Aorus NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti.

[size="M"]Please Note:[/size]
1. PC specifications, Windows 10 & Software configurations are below in this topic.
2. I use Google Drive for image/docs hosting instead of other specialized sites in terms of security (sorry Imgur fans).
3. All images, screenshots and documents mentioned in this topic are stored in the shared Google Drive folder available at the following link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1PYf2NOVn0sOlgkVLgBFN7rZHDgm9ZUM9?usp=sharing
4. If you don't see some items in Google Drive folder, try signing in with your Google account. I hope you have it.
5. If you can't open links or view spoilers in this topic, try signing up.

[size="M"]Warning:[/size]
I figured out that only with NVIDIA 388.13 Driver MSI Afterburner's "Power" monitoring option cause enormous FPS drops and especially stuttering in absolutely any game every time MSI AB refresh values in hardware monitor. This depends directly on hardware polling period in AB settings. Therefore, I recommend you to disable "Power" monitoring feature to prevent issue with future or other NVIDIA drivers.

[size="L"]Introduction[/size]

FPS drops/stutters are very noticeable in GTA 5, The Witcher 3 and War Thunder (very laggy hangar). There are almost no drops in recently released World of Tanks 1.0. Every game's graphics settings are set to Max/Ultra values without any type of sync or FPS lock.

All PC hardware have been purchased from trusted local vendors with original seal and warranty from the official manufacturer. PC was precisely built by me without any mistakes, with all the manual/PC building guides requirements.

Enough intro, let's dig in!

[size="L"]GTA 5 — FPS Drops/Stuttering[/size]

I have read that I'm not the first player who catch these kinds of issues. But this Rockstar child is especially laggy on my rig. FPS drops occur after each 1-2 minutes of gameplay with high average FPS, particularly noticeable when flying and aiming at the police helicopters on the background of the skybox.

Also I know that GTA 5 game engine doesn't allow more than 188 FPS. For the first time, I thought that the game is just the culprit because of the 188 FPS engine lock and Grand Theft Auto 5 porting from consoles. But now I'm think that troubles arise due to software or much worse hardware fault.

[size="M"]FPS Drops: [/size] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1n8XO6bJQ_77TaC5ZGGTidgfrHH75Pkwa?usp=sharing

[size="M"]MSI Afterburner Graphs: [/size] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jEWidv5I0g7j0B2S7dEbiR2vRi6fduFC?usp=sharing

[size="M"]GTA 5 Graphics Settings: [/size] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10aCAmFWNARyXWZbNvzcq4PhYH_3L6egV?usp=sharing

[size="L"]The Witcher 3 — FPS Drops/Stuttering[/size]

Well, I didn't expect any problems with this CD Projekt great-optimized masterpiece game due to very positive feedback on all game platforms and tons of articles like "The most optimized game ever". Unfortunately, of course, not on my rig.

Drops are rarely and less noticeable compared with Grand Theft Auto but they ARE, and this an issue. Usually, I notice them while moving, Roach riding or fighting with monsters and guards. And the biggest sorrow is that there is no workaround for this awesome game.

[size="M"]FPS Drops: [/size] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1c6ELIfJnD3CEdkKHOQplR_SUPPYtI0xM?usp=sharing

[size="M"]MSI Afterburner Graphs: [/size] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Vm0KTIQtvVrbtmIPP9dZtcoeO3fFlil-?usp=sharing

[size="M"]The Witcher 3 Graphics Settings: [/size] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Vxd6FRMoedT-lvn7F38-CnkPNZULEp85?usp=sharing

[size="L"]World of Tanks 1.0 — FPS Drops Only[/size]

What about this MMO, I didn't catch any spikes up to yesterday evening, when I decided to play a test battle to show that only one game can run smoothly on my high-end PC without any issues. But what was my disappointment when I found out that WOT wasn't as seamless as I expected.

I noticed only one drop to 18.7 FPS after 8 minutes of battle. It's the first huge FPS drop
in the last month playing WOT. Till this moment the maximum frames drawdown wasn't below 53.8 FPS and it only happened after my tank was destroyed.

WOT graphics settings was set to Ultra preset and 100% 3D Render Resolution without any other changes. Screenshots are not needed there. Also, I missed a moment of FPS drop and didn't have time to take a screenshot, so there are only MSI AB graphs.

[size="M"]MSI Afterburner Graphs: [/size] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1VFcBiO9sL62leixwwPKJiEGzta9K6SaS?usp=sharing

[size="L"]What I tried to do and that DID NOT HELP any game:[/size]

1. Marts_Sum's method with EmptyStandbyList on GeForce Forum: https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/1004600/geforce-drivers/all-games-stuttering-with-fps-drops-since-windows-10-creators-update/post/5235141/#5235141
2. Set UEFI (BIOS) and Windows 10 to default settings.
3. Roll back to Windows 10 Anniversary Builds 1703, 1607 and fresh reinstall of 1709.
4. Disable/Enable: Windows Defender, Firewall, Cortana, Game DVR/Game Bar/Game Mode, all unnecessary services/drivers/startup items, indexing, consumers features, power modes (Balanced/High performance/Power saver), hibernation, SWAP & PAGE files, Fast Boot (in UEFI as well) and LAN by unpluging an Ethernet cable.
5. Reinstall/Reconfigure all possible old/new drivers and firmwares from official sites. Also tried to use DDU.
6. Overclock/Downclock GPU, CPU and turn on/off XMP Profile (3,200 MHz).
7. Install other overclocking software.
8. Uninstall all Windows 10 built-in apps.
9. Uninstall MSI Afterburner & RTSS.
10. Paused MSI AB Hardware Monitor and disable "Power" monitoring option.
11. Reinstall game from M.2 SSD to 7,200 RPM HDD and vice versa.
12. Lower down/max out graphics settings, screen resolution and refresh rate.
13. Run as Administrator and disable/enable Fullscreen Optimization.
14. Switch to integrated Intel® UHD Graphics 630.
15. Install GTA 5 and The Witcher 3 on NASA computer in the hope of getting rid of FPS drops and stuttering. :)

[size="L"]What I tried to do and that SOMEHOW HELPS (unfortunately only for GTA 5):[/size]

1. Lock up to 150 FPS and less using the Rivatuner Statistic Server.
2. Enable VSync. But I rarely notice some drops down to 32 FPS, better than falling down to 5-8 FPS but not worth it. Also, high input lag doesn't make this method a pill from all the illnesses.
3. Hope it will be soon thanks to your helpful tips.

[size="L"]Conclusion[/size]

I hope that I gave you enough information to find out the reason. Unfortunately, I still haven't found any permanent way to play games without these killers of the game experience.

Let it be a software fault, because I really don't want to send my hardware to a service center, and I definitely don't know which part of the PC causes problems.

[size="L"]Questions[/size]

1. So, dear readers, do you know any advices, workarounds and working fixes?
2. Or, maybe, any official confirmation from NVIDIA, Microsoft and Intel that is 100% related to their software failure instead of hardware defect?
3. If FPS drops and stuttering caused by hardware, сan you roughly determine what is the culprit and where to dig?

Thank you very much for the attention!
I will be very grateful for any of your help!


[size="L"]With deepest respect,
"Happy" High-End PC Owner[/size]




[size="L"]Hardware and Software Configurations[/size]

[size="M"]PC specifications:[/size]

MB: Asus Maximus X Hero
CPU: Intel i7 8700K Kaby Lake
Cooler: Noctua NH-D15
GPU: AORUS GeForce® GTX 1080 Ti 11G
RAM: HyperX Predator 3200MHz DDR4 16GB (2x8GB in Dual Channel)
SSD: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 250GB
HDD: Western Digital Black 1TB (7200rpm 64MB)
PS: Seasonic Prime 850W Platinum
LCD: Acer Predator XB271HU (27", 2560 x 1440, 144 Hz, G-Sync)
KeyB: HyperX Alloy Elite MX Blue (1,000 MHz)
Mice: A4Tech Bloody V2 (1 ms, 1,000 MHz)
Case: Corsair Graphite 780T
Fans: (X5) Noctua NF-A14 PWM (140mm) & (X1) Noctua NF-S12A PWM (120mm)
UPS: APC Back-UPS Pro 1200VA/720W

[size="M"]DxDiag: [/size] https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SuSemQ4Q6vDD01HSIjq3PLPQW8xTAF7n/view?usp=sharing

[size="M"]Windows 10, UEFI (BIOS) and Software settings: [/size] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CN1N33vfbgKA1TBAtKW63BjSmKfu78It?usp=sharing

[size="M"]NVIDIA Control Panel settings: [/size] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1f_ZOY9XTqAJ1uOYuswf53iMOq5upNj8p?usp=sharing

[size="M"]Benchmarks results: [/size] https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18sr4PuAD-0df5neNf-9sgyfEIyJ6jtCk?usp=sharing


[size="M"]P.S.[/size] Dear Administration, I'm new to this forum. If something is wrong with this topic or its location, please, correct it and let me know. Thank you!
 

Exteez

Reputable
Jan 26, 2015
46
1
4,530
That's depressing to hear :/

My specs are:

CPU: i7 8700k @ 3.7 Ghz (4.4ghz turbo)
Motherboard: MSI Gaming PLUS Z370
Cooler: Liquid Cooler Kraken X62
RAM: 2x8 GB DDR4 Vengeance 3200Mhz
GPU: GTX 1080Ti
Case: NZXT S340
PSU: EVGA G2 750 W
Storage: Samsung Evo 840 - 120GB (OS)
Samsung Evo 850 - 500GB
OS: Windows 10 home official 64-bit

I get stutter in all games, but A LOT less and almost no stuttering in less demanding and well optimised games such as Overwatch or League of Legends. I get loads of stutter in PUBG and COD blackops4. The only thing that solves the problem for me is adaptive vsync(half refresh rate). This locks my fps on 72 because I have a 144hz monitor. But on my specs why would I wanna play like that? It's so stupid.. I've changed/tested all my hardware except power supply cables.... like come on... it can't be them. The thing I noticed, is that I get slight fps drops every time I get the singular stutter.

Questions to you:
1. What are your PC specs and in what games do you spot issues?
A: Above, and all games basically, some more than others.
2. Do you know about any other OS which is as good (in terms of FPS) for gaming as Win10? I'm so frustrated that Linux can't provide even 90% of equal game performance as it is on Windows.
A: Nope :/
3. What tweaks/workarounds help you to reduce stuttering?
A: Try the adaptive v sync(half refresh rate) in nvidia control panel and tell me about the results

Good luck out there
 
Apr 7, 2018
19
0
10


Thank you for the reply.

Well, we're in the same boat with the same HW. Your specs are almost 1:1 equal to my. Also, you've described pretty the same scenario of games issues as I've. There's something global causing performance problems, like broken Windows/NVIDIA drivers root code, or games (what I really hope to finally figure out with 100% accuracy).

But, it's also possible that high-demand games're not the culprit here (except of PUBG) while other low-demand games run great on our rigs. "Light" games (CS:GO, LOL, OW, etc.) can run smooth because of weak load on the hardware (especially GPU & CPU) and that can be the reason why there're no issues with them. You wrote about a "magic" trick with adaptive VSync enabled (72 FPS on 144 Hz monitor) which helps eliminate stuttering. That's also because of lower load on the GPU and CPU respectively.

Hence, we can assume that the HW can't deal with a full load (coming from high-demand games) and this HW weakness causes stuttering.

The same in my case, RTSS FPS lock helps me to reduce (<140 FPS for PUBG) and completely eliminate stuttering (<150 FPS for GTA 5). With unlimited FPS all high-demand games run creepy with all the possible performance issues.

In conclusion, I can say that the only one working "tweak" for me is FPS lock/cap. I can't find any other valuable workarounds to solve this irritating performance misalignment.


But if you will look for the same threads with the same issues on the same rigs you'll be really impressed how common is stuttering nowadays.

It's not unique and, as I said before, there must be something global.


 

Exteez

Reputable
Jan 26, 2015
46
1
4,530
Yeah I think you're right! But the thing is I've had a completely different setup before and I've had the exact same problem.. I've replaced mobo cpu and gpu and still the problem is there!

Weird enough locking fps for me doesn't help... the FPS still drops by like 5 fps and I get the stutter.. so annoying!
 
Apr 7, 2018
19
0
10

Damn issues! :/

Let's find & switch to competitive Linux-based Windows alternatives. :)
But where to find them? No idea... :(
 

Exteez

Reputable
Jan 26, 2015
46
1
4,530
Yeah that's the problem :( Spent so much freaking money on such good hardware to have these problems..
I'm still trying to fix my issues everyday :/
Today I've got rid of a lot of services using Win10Privacy but same results..
 
Apr 7, 2018
19
0
10

Hi, man!
Sad to hear that you've the same issue.

0. Yeah, I've tried 1607 and even Win7 SP1 Home & Ultimate. But it wasn't helpful.
Quote:
"What I tried to do and that DID NOT HELP any game:

1. Marts_Sum's method with EmptyStandbyList on GeForce Forum: https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/1004600/geforc...
2. Set UEFI (BIOS) and Windows 10 to default settings.
3. Roll back to Windows 10 Anniversary Builds 1703, 1607 and fresh reinstall of 1709."


1. Do you know about is TW3 stuttering issue absolutely the same on RTX 2080 Ti as the stuttering on 1080 Ti? Or are there any key differences/improvements with 2080 Ti?
2. What about PUBG? Some improvements with 2080 Ti?
3. Did you try Intelligent standby list cleaner (ISLC)
I saw a bunch of people swearing that ISLC fixed all the stuttering. I don't know is that a truth but will try later.
4. Did you try new Win10 1809 build? Any advantages over older 1803?
5. What about Win10 LTSB 1607 or LTSC 1809?

Thank you for the info!