Question New high end PC, infrequent but annoying stutter

[Chode]

I've had this PC for a few weeks now trying to single out a reason for why there is a stutter every 30 minutes or so. It isn't every few seconds like some people have, but it happens just enough that it can disrupt gaming.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI MPG Z690 EDGE WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Royal 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL19 Memory
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3080 10GB LHR 10 GB SUPRIM X Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Define 7 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic PRIME TX-1000 1000 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Sound Card
And a 4k@120Hz g-sync monitor connected with displayport.

I mostly game on my PC, but I notice the stuttering in game and out of it. It can happen in any program, be it a modern game (Cyberpunk 2077), an old game (Doom 2), or just on Windows desktop. I've been trying to fix this problem for weeks now, I've tirelessly searched the internet for solutions and I just haven't found any that worked. The last thing I did was completely reinstall Windows 10 with up to date install media, installed the most recent bios, software drivers, Steam, and a few games. With as little running/installed as possible, it happens regardless. I don't have anything overclocked, and I have tried turning on/off XMP, which doesn't seem to make a difference.

I'm at a loss. Is this a software or hardware issue? How can I measure the stuttering, and find out what is causing it? How can I fix this this? Is it normal for PCs nowadays to have this occasional frame drop or stutter, or should I be expecting better (considering the pretty high cost of the PC)?

Let me know if I can provide any further information. Thank you.

 

[white.a.drew]

I've had this PC for a few weeks now trying to single out a reason for why there is a stutter every 30 minutes or so. It isn't every few seconds like some people have, but it happens just enough that it can disrupt gaming.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI MPG Z690 EDGE WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Royal 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL19 Memory
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3080 10GB LHR 10 GB SUPRIM X Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Define 7 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic PRIME TX-1000 1000 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Sound Card
And a 4k@120Hz g-sync monitor connected with displayport.

I mostly game on my PC, but I notice the stuttering in game and out of it. It can happen in any program, be it a modern game (Cyberpunk 2077), an old game (Doom 2), or just on Windows desktop. I've been trying to fix this problem for weeks now, I've tirelessly searched the internet for solutions and I just haven't found any that worked. The last thing I did was completely reinstall Windows 10 with up to date install media, installed the most recent bios, software drivers, Steam, and a few games. With as little running/installed as possible, it happens regardless. I don't have anything overclocked, and I have tried turning on/off XMP, which doesn't seem to make a difference.

I'm at a loss. Is this a software or hardware issue? How can I measure the stuttering, and find out what is causing it? How can I fix this this? Is it normal for PCs nowadays to have this occasional frame drop or stutter, or should I be expecting better (considering the pretty high cost of the PC)?

Let me know if I can provide any further information. Thank you.

MavisLink HDMI Cable Fiber Optic 10ft 4K 60Hz HDMI2.0b 18Gbps HDR10 ARC HDCP2.2 YUV4:4:4/4:2:2/4:2:0 Slim Flexible for HDTV/Game Console/Projector/Home Theatre https://a.co/d/b6ZjLfZ

You need a display cable like this to get the frames and high demanding profamce your wanting

 

[white.a.drew]

I've had this PC for a few weeks now trying to single out a reason for why there is a stutter every 30 minutes or so. It isn't every few seconds like some people have, but it happens just enough that it can disrupt gaming.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: MSI MPG Z690 EDGE WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Royal 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL19 Memory
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3080 10GB LHR 10 GB SUPRIM X Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Define 7 ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: SeaSonic PRIME TX-1000 1000 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit
Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Sound Card
And a 4k@120Hz g-sync monitor connected with displayport.

I mostly game on my PC, but I notice the stuttering in game and out of it. It can happen in any program, be it a modern game (Cyberpunk 2077), an old game (Doom 2), or just on Windows desktop. I've been trying to fix this problem for weeks now, I've tirelessly searched the internet for solutions and I just haven't found any that worked. The last thing I did was completely reinstall Windows 10 with up to date install media, installed the most recent bios, software drivers, Steam, and a few games. With as little running/installed as possible, it happens regardless. I don't have anything overclocked, and I have tried turning on/off XMP, which doesn't seem to make a difference.

I'm at a loss. Is this a software or hardware issue? How can I measure the stuttering, and find out what is causing it? How can I fix this this? Is it normal for PCs nowadays to have this occasional frame drop or stutter, or should I be expecting better (considering the pretty high cost of the PC)?

Let me know if I can provide any further information. Thank you.

Sorry my mistake I just realized that's HDMI, this is display.
DisplayPort Cable 10ft, JSAUX 21.6Gbps High Speed DP 1.2 Braided Display Port Cord, 4K 60Hz HDR, 2K/1440P 165Hz & 144Hz, 1080p, 3D Compatible for Gaming Monitor Graphics Card TV PC Laptop -Grey https://a.co/d/3JUAk9h

 

[edenn.]

it's constantly about every 30 mins? do you have a "slideshow" type screensaver on your desktop that automatically changes your screensaver every once in a while? i've seen a few people have stutter issues caused by that

 

[Chode]

Sorry my mistake I just realized that's HDMI, this is display.
DisplayPort Cable 10ft, JSAUX 21.6Gbps High Speed DP 1.2 Braided Display Port Cord, 4K 60Hz HDR, 2K/1440P 165Hz & 144Hz, 1080p, 3D Compatible for Gaming Monitor Graphics Card TV PC Laptop -Grey https://a.co/d/3JUAk9h

This is my cable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VVJZJ2P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It says it is 4k@120Hz capable, which it does do almost all the time, while the cable you are showing me says it can only do 4k@60Hz, so I am confused

it's constantly about every 30 mins? do you have a "slideshow" type screensaver on your desktop that automatically changes your screensaver every once in a while? i've seen a few people have stutter issues caused by that

I saw that was a common reason for stutter as well, but no, I just have a static background image for my wallpaper. And it doesn't happen every 30 minutes on the dot. Sometimes it happens every five minutes, sometimes every 45 minutes, its always different. There isn't much of a pattern.

 

[white.a.drew]

This is my cable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VVJZJ2P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It says it is 4k@120Hz capable, which it does do almost all the time, while the cable you are showing me says it can only do 4k@60Hz, so I am confused

I saw that was a common reason for stutter as well, but no, I just have a static background image for my wallpaper. And it doesn't happen every 30 minutes on the dot. Sometimes it happens every five minutes, sometimes every 45 minutes, its always different. There isn't much of a pattern.

What are you power settings on? Do you have the PC set to put the drive to sleep still after the default 3hrs? Because this has caused people issues as well I never allow drive to go to sleep. It's been more a pain in my butt then helped ever

 

[Chode]

What are you power settings on? Do you have the PC set to put the drive to sleep still after the default 3hrs? Because this has caused people issues as well I never allow drive to go to sleep. It's been more a pain in my butt then helped ever

Power plan on Windows is High Performance, power management mode in nvidia control panel is set to Prefer maximum performance.

In settings -> Power & sleep, the PC is set to "When plugged in, PC goes to sleep after Never."

 

[white.a.drew]

Power plan on Windows is High Performance, power management mode in nvidia control panel is set to Prefer maximum performance.

In settings -> Power & sleep, the PC is set to "When plugged in, PC goes to sleep after Never."

There should be a advanded power option tab in power plan where you can set the drive to never sleep as well and control much more

 

[Chode]

There should be a advanded power option tab in power plan where you can set the drive to never sleep as well and control much more

Ok, I'm there, but what am I looking for? Every option I can see doesn't appear to allow the computer to sleep.

 

[edenn.]

gotcha. so at this point, seeing as you reinstalled windows (hopefully you completely wiped windows instead of just reinstalling & keeping your files, doing it like that can keep drivers and such) i'm pretty confident it's a hardware issue. do you have any return waranties still in effect? just so you can return the item to the store instead of doing a two week long rma process for each piece of hardware.

if you want to "measure" the stutters, you can install msi afterburner + rivatuner overlay and put a frametime graph on the overlay so you can see your frametime spike. i'm p sure you can also "record" data so you can view a continuous frametime graph of you gaming from start to finish. keep in mind i have seen a few people have afterburner create stuttering too, but it seems to be the extreme minority

 

[NextdoorPsycho]

gotcha. so at this point, seeing as you reinstalled windows (hopefully you completely wiped windows instead of just reinstalling & keeping your files, doing it like that can keep drivers and such) i'm pretty confident it's a hardware issue. do you have any return waranties still in effect? just so you can return the item to the store instead of doing a two week long rma process for each piece of hardware.

if you want to "measure" the stutters, you can install msi afterburner + rivatuner overlay and put a frametime graph on the overlay so you can see your frametime spike. i'm p sure you can also "record" data so you can view a continuous frametime graph of you gaming from start to finish. keep in mind i have seen a few people have afterburner create stuttering too, but it seems to be the extreme minority

im fairly certain its not a hardware issue as im having the same problem.

 

[edenn.]

im fairly certain its not a hardware issue as im having the same problem.

frametime spikes can be caused by a massive amount of things. at the end of the day, you're right, it IS most likely to be software related if you have a capable system. it's not uncommon to have a misbehaving network or related driver that is causing dpc latency, or polling rate that is too high on your mouse, or any other number of small things. a fresh install of windows along with the newest recommended version of drivers from your motherboard website + gpu should have you sorted on the software side of things if your OS install doesnt have a ton of bloat on it. personally there's only so much i'm willing to do before throwing my hands up and deciding to start rma'ing stuff to see if i ended up getting a bum part

 

[Chode]

gotcha. so at this point, seeing as you reinstalled windows (hopefully you completely wiped windows instead of just reinstalling & keeping your files, doing it like that can keep drivers and such) i'm pretty confident it's a hardware issue. do you have any return waranties still in effect? just so you can return the item to the store instead of doing a two week long rma process for each piece of hardware.

if you want to "measure" the stutters, you can install msi afterburner + rivatuner overlay and put a frametime graph on the overlay so you can see your frametime spike. i'm p sure you can also "record" data so you can view a continuous frametime graph of you gaming from start to finish. keep in mind i have seen a few people have afterburner create stuttering too, but it seems to be the extreme minority

It is indeed a fresh install of Windows, I wanted to rule out any kind of software conflict I could.

Unfortunately, since the stuttering is random and impossible to predict, it has taken me quite some time to try to troubleshoot it - so my hardware can't be returned to newegg/amazon anymore. I'd have to do the RMA process for each piece like you said, which is a nightmare.

How do I proceed? It could be any piece of hardware for all I know.

 

[edenn.]

It is indeed a fresh install of Windows, I wanted to rule out any kind of software conflict I could.

Unfortunately, since the stuttering is random and impossible to predict, it has taken me quite some time to try to troubleshoot it - so my hardware can't be returned to newegg/amazon anymore. I'd have to do the RMA process for each piece like you said, which is a nightmare.

How do I proceed? It could be any piece of hardware for all I know.

yeah, this is the worst part about troubleshooting this type of stuff. it's not like "my pc won't turn on" where you can just bring it into a hardware store and swap out parts until it eventually does turn on. to me, the first "layer" of suspicion would be cpu, ram or your ssd. followed by gpu and motherboard. unfortunately like i mentioned in my last post, it can be a ton of different things causing this so i could be completely leading you down the wrong path with that order of suspicion, it's just kinda what my intuition is telling me yaknow?

 

[Chode]

yeah, this is the worst part about troubleshooting this type of stuff. it's not like "my pc won't turn on" where you can just bring it into a hardware store and swap out parts until it eventually does turn on. to me, the first "layer" of suspicion would be cpu, ram or your ssd. followed by gpu and motherboard. unfortunately like i mentioned in my last post, it can be a ton of different things causing this so i could be completely leading you down the wrong path with that order of suspicion, it's just kinda what my intuition is telling me yaknow?

I did some more testing.

I ran Unigine Superposition benchmark about ten times to see if the stutter happened, and it did. Normally, my numbers for that benchmark are about Min FPS: 94, Avg FPS: 110, Max FPS: 133. During the eighth benchmark, it did stutter, and my Min FPS dropped to 30 as soon as it stuttered.

I was just curious if that says anything to you. Does that mean it could be the graphics card? Or could it still be any other piece of hardware?

 

[edenn.]

I did some more testing.

I ran Unigine Superposition benchmark about ten times to see if the stutter happened, and it did. Normally, my numbers for that benchmark are about Min FPS: 94, Avg FPS: 110, Max FPS: 133. During the eighth benchmark, it did stutter, and my Min FPS dropped to 30 as soon as it stuttered.

I was just curious if that says anything to you. Does that mean it could be the graphics card? Or could it still be any other piece of hardware?

you mentioned it even happens on desktop, right? i would be a lot more suspect of the gpu drivers if it happened exclusively while gaming or running gpu benchmarks.

the most common cause of stuttering is the pc having to "wait" on something, whether that be because it doesn't have enough resources like memory so it has to wait for some to become free, or waiting on a driver, waiting for the cpu to request a frame from the gpu, or just abt anything else lol. it's really hard to pinpoint exactly.. but next time a stutter happens, alt tab out and open up task manager and see if your cpu, gpu or anything else's usage spiked or dropped. could point you in the right direction.

also , just wondering - when the stutter happens, do you notice a pop or crackle in your audio?

 

[Chode]

you mentioned it even happens on desktop, right? i would be a lot more suspect of the gpu drivers if it happened exclusively while gaming or running gpu benchmarks.

the most common cause of stuttering is the pc having to "wait" on something, whether that be because it doesn't have enough resources like memory so it has to wait for some to become free, or waiting on a driver, waiting for the cpu to request a frame from the gpu, or just abt anything else lol. it's really hard to pinpoint exactly.. but next time a stutter happens, alt tab out and open up task manager and see if your cpu, gpu or anything else's usage spiked or dropped. could point you in the right direction.

also , just wondering - when the stutter happens, do you notice a pop or crackle in your audio?

The audio does not get interrupted in any way when a stutter occurs.

My gpu drivers are just the standard nvidia drivers that Geforce Experience tells me I need to install, I don't have any old or "weird" drivers.

I will check again, but I did keep an eye on the performance tab in task manager - nothing dips or spikes as far as I can tell (except fps), when a stutter happens.

 

[white.a.drew]

The audio does not get interrupted in any way when a stutter occurs.

My gpu drivers are just the standard nvidia drivers that Geforce Experience tells me I need to install, I don't have any old or "weird" drivers.

I will check again, but I did keep an eye on the performance tab in task manager - nothing dips or spikes as far as I can tell (except fps), when a stutter happens.

You should be able to use this https://download.msi.com/uti_exe/vga/MSI-Center.zip to update your GPU bios which may help

 

[Chode]

You should be able to use this https://download.msi.com/uti_exe/vga/MSI-Center.zip to update your GPU bios which may help

Unfortunately this had no effect. Still got a few stutters. I can't find a pattern when looking at task manager -> performance.

 

[white.a.drew]

Unfortunately this had no effect. Still got a few stutters. I can't find a pattern when looking at task manager -> performance.

Sounds like your having a temp issue in the GPU ram, have you tried monitors the temps in this area

 

[white.a.drew]

You should be able to use this https://download.msi.com/uti_exe/vga/MSI-Center.zip to update your GPU bios which may help

I love how out of all the dumb crap I came up with trying to help solve this, the one thing that would actually made since to fix the issue was voted down who the f just wow.

 

[Chode]

Sounds like your having a temp issue in the GPU ram, have you tried monitors the temps in this area

The GPU ram does get very hot. Over 95C at load according to hwmonitor. The case is well ventilated and has pretty good airflow, so I'm not sure what I can do about this. What tipped you off about it being gpu ram? What can be done about that?

Thank you for your continued help and sticking with me so far, by the way.

 

[white.a.drew]

The GPU ram does get very hot. Over 95C at load according to hwmonitor. The case is well ventilated and has pretty good airflow, so I'm not sure what I can do about this. What tipped you off about it being gpu ram? What can be done about that?

Thank you for your continued help and sticking with me so far, by the way.

The factor of everything else we tried failed and this is most common when it comes to used mining GPUs the ram gets hot and will start cause stutters leading to bsods leading to pure black screens that lead to straight no post. Saddly the only way to fix this is replace the card. You can't do much to cool the GPU ram unless you switch to a liquid cooler and no telling how long you had this issue of it over heating which means no telling how fried the chip is so liquid cooling may be pointless and can lead to wasted money

 

[edenn.]

any updates here brother? worked anything out?

 

[Chode]

any updates here brother? worked anything out?

I wish I could say I had an update for you. Nothing we tried here worked.

The only thing I can think of is to switch the gpu's bios from silent to gaming, and see if a more aggressive fan curve will prevent things from getting too hot and potentially stopping the errors.