Question PC randomly lagging/stuttering even when barely any applications are running

[Junevault]

Hi

We're experiencing issues with our PC. It randomly starts lagging/stuttering, this can happen right after it was started or after an hour of being used.
Here you can see the issue. It's the same problem, tested with two different graphics cards in two different PCIe slots:

https://imgur.com/a/AIk0APC

View: https://imgur.com/a/AIk0APC


What you can't hear is a static buzzing in the audio, whenever the lagging occurs. In the recording, the audio cuts out briefly. The GPU has a high load even when only moving the mouse or playing a single YT video, 15 to 40%, RTX2070 Super. That's why we assumed the video card is the culprit but the exact same thing happens with a brand new replacement card (GT710).

What we've tried so far:

• Clean re-install of Windows 10 (problem persists, that's why we're assuming it's a hardware problem)
• CHKDSK & sfc /scannow
• Stress test with OCCT, no error but 100% load on GPU even when only testing with 70% load
• Full check with OCCT, no errors found
• Windows Memory Diagnostic, no errors found
• Switched RAM slots (correct amount of RAM being recognized by the system)
• Got rid of dust inside the computer with compressed air
• Unplugged PC, pressed the power button for 20 seconds and restarted
• Uninstalled drivers (same problem)
• Re-installed drivers (same problem) and updated where necessary
• Unplugged all USB devices, plugged them back in one after the other with restarting in between each of them
• BIOS is up-to-date
• Windows Defender Offline check and Malwarebyte, no threats found
• Tried two different GPUs on two different PCI slots
• Nothing is overheating

We built the PC ourselves. It was running perfectly for about a year now. No changes were made before the problem occurred.
Specs:
Gigabyte X470 Aorus Gaming 5 WiFi (AM4, AMD X470, ATX)
MSI GeForce RTX 2070S VENTUS OC (8GB)
Seasonic Focus Plus Gold (750W)
Samsung 970 EVO Plus (500GB, M.2 2280) SYSTEM
Samsung 970 EVO Plus (1000GB, M.2 2280) with Icy Box IB-M2HS-701 GAMES
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X (AM4, 3.70GHz, 8-Core)
2TB HDD for files

We're at a loss here. Any help is greatly appreciated! If you need more info, please don't hesitate to ask.

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

By reinstall, did you fabricate your installer using Windows Media Creation Tools? What version of Windows 10 are you currently on? What BIOS version are you working with for your motherboard? By an up to date BIOS, it'd help us to know what version you're on. Did you use DDU to uninstall your GPU drivers? During reinstallation, use the latest drivers from Nvidia's support site and install them in an elevated command, i.e, Right click installer>Run as Administrator.

 

[Junevault]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

By reinstall, did you fabricate your installer using Windows Media Creation Tools? What version of Windows 10 are you currently on? What BIOS version are you working with for your motherboard? By an up to date BIOS, it'd help us to know what version you're on. Did you use DDU to uninstall your GPU drivers? During reinstallation, use the latest drivers from Nvidia's support site and install them in an elevated command, i.e, Right click installer>Run as Administrator.

Hi and thanks for the welcome!

We used the "download from cloud" option when reinstalling Windows. It's the 10.0.19042 build. We used a DDU to uninstall the NVIDIA drivers in safe mode. We used the latest drivers from the Nvidia homepage as administrator.

Sorry, I just saw that we're running the F6 BIOS version and not the newest F60 resp. F61a. Will update and report back!

 

[Junevault]

So far so good. I'm just a bit skeptical that a BIOS update fixed all of this. 🤔