Random stuttering on new pc?

[Mdlitster]

I built a new PC this Christmas, and after playing Far Cry 3 for about 30 Minutes, it started to randomly stutter. I closed Far Cry and attempted Skyrim, which had a similar issue; I would swing my characters sword and it would skip some frames. It makes most games unplayable, and the only fix I have found is to restart my PC entirely.
SPECS:
CPU: Core i7-4770K
GPU: EVGA GTX 780 (the non-reference cooler one)
RAM: G.Skill 8GB DDR3
CPU Cooler: CoolerMaster Hyper212 +

 

[Asuveroz]

Do you have the latest drivers?

 

[Jim_L9]

I would start with checking the temps on your CPU and GPU during game play. It sounds like one of your components is getting too hot and throttling back to protect itself.

 

[rhysiam]

If not drivers, could be a heat issue. Grab HW Monitor and watch temps while you play (best if you've got 2 screens).
Maybe too much or not enough thermal paste on the CPU cooler?

 

[rhysiam]

Jim beat me to it!
I'd double check you've installed that cooler properly too.

 

[super_teabag]

Always check your connections to the motherboard. Maybe reapply thermal paste to the cpu, and really get that cpu cooler close to the surface of the cpu. I had stuttering/freezing/lockups when my cpu cooler was not completely locked down right. My temps were fine, but it still caused issues. Maybe set your PCI-E slot to "gen3" compatability. Run a stress test possibly either AIDA 64 for a cpu, and furmark, or any GPU stress test program. Obviously make sure all your drivers are up to date. Make sure to install the intel drivers from their website. Last thing that I can think of is that maybe disable your IGPU, or uninstall that intel driver from interfering with the nvidia drivers. Unless you're using VirtuMVP (don't it's a pos).