[SOLVED] Random Frame Drops/Stuttering in Games

Rallient

Commendable
Dec 2, 2019
33
0
1,530
So this has been a common problem for a while now, and I believe it's been occurring even before my recent GPU upgrade, but I'm not 100% certain on that. In September, I upgraded from an RX 580 8GB to the MSI RTX 2060 and the performance difference has been quite nice. But, at just random times I'll get frame drops and stuttering that lasts for a couple of seconds. This doesn't happen every time I play a game, though, which is what I'm really concerned about.

Earlier today, I was playing Destiny 2 and it was running on high-ultra settings perfectly. About an hour or so later I rebooted the game and I was beginning to see the frame stuttering and frame drops. This actually happens frequently in Apex Legends. Where one day the game will run smooth like butter, and the other day when I'm in a battle and what not I got massive frames stuttering and drops to where the game was nearly unplayable. I thought that Apex was the problem until today when I was playing Destiny 2. Now, the frame stuttering wasn't completely terrible as the game was still playable, but when you're trying to do a Strike or a campaign mission and there are these frequent frame drops that happen every 10-15 seconds it becomes annoying. My question is, why is my system doing this? I opened up MSI Afterburner and turned on the essential overlays to monitor the temperature, clock speed, etc., and everything was consistent and I wasn't having problems when I was playing another game. If it's not a GPU problem then have can I determine if it is a CPU/Memory problem, or anything else?

Side note: When I purchased the GPU, it was brand new.

Specs:

MSI B350 PC Mate
Ryzen 7 2700x @ 3.7Ghz
MSI RTX 2060
Corsair 650W PSU
2x8 GB Corsair Vengeance Ram @ 3000Mhz

Any help is appreciated! :)
 
Solution
Regarding the ram sticks, I recently checked the bios and they are actually clocked at 2966 or 2933 (can't remember) but when I open up task manager it shows 2133 which confuses me. The Ryzen 7 2700x processor is actually turning a year old next month so it's not quite there yet with age haha.
Make sure XMP is turned on instead of manually setting the speed. Don’t forget to save changes before leaving BIOS. Also the ryzen 7 2700x is over two years old now if I’m not mistaken, dont know where you got less than a year.
Dec 1, 2020
5
1
15
Hi there,

If you're monitoring your GPU usage in Afterburner, there should also be options to monitor your CPU and RAM. It could be worth seeing whether you're going over your RAM allowance or your CPU is maxing out at certain points. Your CPU is slightly aging now, though still a powerful piece of kit, and I doubt you'd be maxing out your RAM with 16GB's worth. Though, have you properly overclocked your RAM? Have you gone into the BIOS and changed settings to make sure it's actually running at 3000MHz?

What kind of storage are you using? If its an old, full, and stuffy HDD, it's possible you're getting performance issues due to slow loading of new assets and areas etc. Though if you're saying its intermittent, that wouldn't make much sense.

Otherwise... the fact that is intermittent maybe points to thermal issues... Are you monitoring your temperatures? Its possible that your CPU or GPU may be throttling to reduce the temperature at high load.

Else, it might possibly be background processes that run intermittently maxing out your CPU/RAM. Have a look at Task Manager during gaming and programs you're running at start-up that might be unnecessary and demanding.

Hope this helps :)
 

Rallient

Commendable
Dec 2, 2019
33
0
1,530
I'll definitely keep these all in mind! Regarding the ram sticks, I recently checked the bios and they are actually clocked at 2966 or 2933 (can't remember) but when I open up task manager it shows 2133 which confuses me. The Ryzen 7 2700x processor is actually turning a year old next month so it's not quite there yet with age haha. Regarding the storage, I have an HDD, an SSD, and then an M.2 which all aren't full of storage. The games I have been discussing are actually on either the SSD or the HDD, which aren't half full yet (Picture down below) I'll be sure to monitor it further.

Regarding the motherboard, it's definitely beginning to age since I've had it for nearly 2 and a half years now. I wonder if maybe the motherboard could be affecting performance, though it seems unlikely.
 

johnsoner13

Respectable
Regarding the ram sticks, I recently checked the bios and they are actually clocked at 2966 or 2933 (can't remember) but when I open up task manager it shows 2133 which confuses me. The Ryzen 7 2700x processor is actually turning a year old next month so it's not quite there yet with age haha.
Make sure XMP is turned on instead of manually setting the speed. Don’t forget to save changes before leaving BIOS. Also the ryzen 7 2700x is over two years old now if I’m not mistaken, dont know where you got less than a year.
 
Solution

Rallient

Commendable
Dec 2, 2019
33
0
1,530
Make sure XMP is turned on instead of manually setting the speed. Don’t forget to save changes before leaving BIOS. Also the ryzen 7 2700x is over two years old now if I’m not mistaken, dont know where you got less than a year.
I'll go ahead and make sure that's turned on! And I said less than a year because it's been in my system for less than a year (was "brand new" when I bought it, meaning fresh out of the box).