[SOLVED] Severe stuttering after upgrading to RTX 4080 Super (SOLVED)

[nonnih]

(Final edit with all received suggestions and found solution appended at the end)​

My goal is to replace the GTX 1080 Ti in my PC with an RTX 4080 Super. So far my attempts at swapping the 1080Ti to the 4080S have resulted in severe stuttering and visual artefacts, frequent monitor signal losses as well as random shutdowns and BSODs, even under light load. These symptoms have forced me to return the 1080Ti to the assembly, as the stuttering only emerges with the 4080S installed.

With stuttering, I mean drops in framerate that last for 1-5 seconds with intervals of 1-10 seconds. The framerate drops from 100-120Hz to 1-10Hz. The interval and duration between stutters depend on the load somewhat unpredictably. Heavy load induces steady 2 second stutters every 1-2 seconds, while light load induces them more randomly within the duration and interval brackets I first mentioned above.

Monitor signal losses happen many times a minute, and shutdowns often with them. BSODs happen less frequently, but at least once every 15-30 minutes. So far I have seen at least the following codes and drivers(?) mentioned in the BSODs:

• code: VIDEO_SCHEDULER_INTERNAL_ERROR
• code: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_GREATER_OR_EQUAL
• driver(?): nvlddmkm.sys

I have Googled far and wide, with no effective solution found. This is my last request for help before I feed the whole PC to acid. Jokes aside, my next step will likely be RMAing the 4080S, but before that, people of the Internet, please help me solve this. Find more information below.


Starting setup:

• Motherboard: Asrock B760M-ITX/D4 WiFi
• CPU: Intel i5-13600K
• CPU cooler: Noctua NH-L12S w/ NF-A12x15 PWM
• RAM: 2x Kingston 32GB 3200Mhz DDR4 CL16 HyperX Fury Black
• GPU: Gigabyte GTX 1080 Ti GAMING OC 11GB
• PCIe x16 riser cable: PCIe 3.0, included with case
• SSD M.2: Samsung 970 PRO M.2 NVMe 1TB
• SSD SATA: Samsung 860 EVO SATA 2,5" 2TB*
• PSU: Seasonic Prime Ultra Platinum 750W
• Case: SSUPD Meshilicious
• Operating system: Windows 10 Pro (exact version unknown)
• Video drivers: GeForce GRD 556.12

New components:

• GPU (new): Asus GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER ProArt - OC Edition 16GB
• PSU (new): Seasonic Prime PX-750
• PSU–GPU cable #1: Seasonic 2x8pin 12VHPWR (compatibility verified)
• PSU–GPU cable #2: 3x Seasonic 8-pin PSU-PCIe + Asus adapter to 12VHPWR

Things I have tried in chronological order:

• Removed 1080Ti, installed 4080S with PSU–GPU cable #1 (All mentioned symptoms emerge)
• Checked that integrated graphics are not used
• Turned off GPU hardware scheduling
• Turned on GPU hardware scheduling
• Uninstalled GeForce Experience
• Uninstalled HD Audio Drivers
• Uninstalled all video drivers using DDU
• Installed GeForce GRD 551.??
• Installed GeForce GRD 555.85
• Installed GeForce GRD 556.12
• Uninstalled MSI Afterburner
• Did a clean reinstall of Windows 10 (22H2)
• Flashed BIOS to the most recent version
• Installed Intel chipset + LAN drivers
• Installed GeForce GRD 551.??
• Installed GeForce GRD 555.85
• Installed GeForce GRD 556.12
• Set RAM speed to DDR4 standard 2400MHz
• Set RAM speed to XMP 3200MHz
• Swapped displays and DP cables
• Made sure DP cables are connected to the GPU
• Removed 4080S, installed 1080Ti (All mentioned symptoms disappear)
• Removed 1080Ti, installed 4080S with PSU–GPU cable #2 (All mentioned symptoms re-emerge)
• Removed old PSU, installed new PSU
• Set RAM speed to DDR4 standard 2400MHz
• Set RAM speed to XMP 3200MHz

Apart from the swapping the GPUs around, all emerged symptoms persisted through all attempted fixes.


Things I have not tried:

• Replacing the RAM sticks
• Replacing the 4080S with another 4080S
• Replacing the 4080S with e.g. 4070 Ti
• Replacing the motherboard
• idk help

(Final edit with solution at the bottom)​

All suggestions and thoughts I received from here and Reddit r/buildapc:​

• Have you deleted the old GPU drivers and installed the new GPU ones
• use DDU in safemode, wipe out the old nvidia drivers, install 4080super drivers from nvidia
• more psu wattage (850w-1000w)
• Cables. Have you switched them out and tried other cables? Often overlooked. Check your cable versions and compare.
• Does the 4080 have an HDMI slot you can try?
• Well, starting with the basics, are you sure you’re not using your iGPU instead of the 4080?
• Look what windows power plan youre using, it can mess with things. Just use high performance. Also reenable the e-cores that aint it. Then check in nvidia control panel if power management is in performance mode.
• What happens if you place the 4080 Super into another computer rig?
• I wonder if the Nvidia driver and scheduler error, from the dump file, is a result of the problem, and not the initial cause.
• "The framerate drops from 100-120Hz to 1-10Hz": The 1-10Hz part reminds me of adaptive sync (e.g. g-sync, freesync).
• Download, install, run Samsung Magician. Update firmware of all Samsung SSDs.
• You’re connecting the gpu with a pci 3 riser? Does the 4080 super support pci 3? (3rd place!)
• install gpu without riser (2nd place!)
• force bios to use pcie 3.0 (winner!)

So the problem was that I was not forcing the BIOS to use PCIe 3.0 with the GPU. The motherboard and GPU both support PCIe 4.0, but little did they knew that the riser cable between them did not. I found the setting in the Asrock UEFI under Advanced > Chipset > PCIE link speed > Gen 4 and switched that to Gen 3.

I was aware of the existence of the different PCIe generations and how their bandwidth goes, but did not know enough to realize they had to be deliberately configured this way in this situation. Thus, without you guys, I would still have a 1000EUR unusable brick on my table and a 1080Ti in my PC, but thanks to you, the problems are gone with a single blow and my framerates are 300% of what they used to be. So a big and heartfelt thank you to everyone who gave their suggestions! You made my week.

 

[MEMOFLEX]

You have tried a lot of what I would suggest already. Only thing i can see that you havent mentioned is trying the 4080S without the riser cable?

 

[rcald2000]

Question: What is the mfg and model of your monitor(s)? What cable type are you using? DisplayPort or HDMI?

What happens if you place the 4080 Super into another computer rig?


Thoughts: I wonder if the Nvidia driver and scheduler error, from the dump file, is a result of the problem, and not the initial cause.


"The framerate drops from 100-120Hz to 1-10Hz": The 1-10Hz part reminds me of adaptive sync (e.g. g-sync, freesync).


Might-as-well: Download, install, run Samsung Magician. Update firmware of all Samsung SSDs.

 

[nonnih]

You have tried a lot of what I would suggest already. Only thing i can see that you havent mentioned is trying the 4080S without the riser cable?

Got suggested that by someone on Reddit too, will try that out. Thanks!

 

[Eximo]

PCIe 3.0 riser cable. Have you forced PCIe 3.0 mode in the BIOS? If not, that is almost certainly the problem. Either force it, or buy a PCIe 4.0 certified riser.

750W PSU for a 4080 Super is a little low. The one you picked out seems to be PCIe 5.0 though, so theoretically it should work. Not the choice I would have gone with. If you are still within the return window, consider picking up a 850W or even 1000W PSU. Keep that power usage closer to the 50% point under a gaming load.

In the news recently has been Intel CPU based crashes with high end GPUs and people getting GPU errors that are not actually GPU related.

Not normally attributed to i5 CPUs, and on a locked motherboard as you are makes it less likely, but the research is going in directions that may indicate 13th and 14th gen CPUs may have serious problems. Your faster GPU is demanding many more frames and a lot more communication to the rest of the system which could indicate this problem.

 

[nonnih]

Question: What is the mfg and model of your monitor(s)? What cable type are you using? DisplayPort or HDMI?

Monitor #1 Lenovo Y32p-30 (4K)
Monitor #2 Acer XB271HU (2K)
DisplayPort 1.4 on both

What happens if you place the 4080 Super into another computer rig?

Haven't been able to try as this is my only PC. Good advice, I'll try to find a way to try that.

Thoughts: I wonder if the Nvidia driver and scheduler error, from the dump file, is a result of the problem, and not the initial cause.

Seems logical, I agree.

"The framerate drops from 100-120Hz to 1-10Hz": The 1-10Hz part reminds me of adaptive sync (e.g. g-sync, freesync).

Yeah, I suppose it could be, but the stutter feels so performance-related that I'm having a hard time seeing that it's merely because of that. Anyways, my Lenovo display is FreeSync capable and Acer display is G-Sync capable so I'm thinking could they somehow mess with each other? Although there is no issue with my old GPU and these same monitors.

Might-as-well: Download, install, run Samsung Magician. Update firmware of all Samsung SSDs.

Had that before Windows reinstall, but I'll be sure install those again. good software.

Thanks for the good points!

 

[nonnih]

PCIe 3.0 riser cable. Have you forced PCIe 3.0 mode in the BIOS? If not, that is almost certainly the problem. Either force it, or buy a PCIe 4.0 certified riser.

That's it! You're a genious, and I cannot tell you how grateful I am of your existence.

750W PSU for a 4080 Super is a little low. The one you picked out seems to be PCIe 5.0 though, so theoretically it should work. Not the choice I would have gone with. If you are still within the return window, consider picking up a 850W or even 1000W PSU. Keep that power usage closer to the 50% point under a gaming load.

I agree with you, however it seems to run fine now after making changes to that BIOS setting for the PCIe. I've also read that people have not had problems running RTX 4070s, -80s or -90s with a 750W, or even a 650W PSU. The new PSU I got came from an RMA process due to a noisy fan, so I cannot return it, I'm afraid, but I will however definitely opt for a 850-1000W PSU next time I upgrade.

In the news recently has been Intel CPU based crashes with high end GPUs and people getting GPU errors that are not actually GPU related.

Not normally attributed to i5 CPUs, and on a locked motherboard as you are makes it less likely, but the research is going in directions that may indicate 13th and 14th gen CPUs may have serious problems. Your faster GPU is demanding many more frames and a lot more communication to the rest of the system which could indicate this problem.

Interesting! Seemed to not be the issue here, but relevant info for my setup anyway.

 

[biuex]

Thank you so both much! This thread saved me, I was having the exact same issue and spent days stuck on it. I was so close to returning my GPU until I found this thread.

Even though my riser cable says "GEN4" on it, isn't working with with PCIe mode set to 4.0 or auto in the BIOS. Another issue I ran into, my BIOS didn't save the changes when I tried updating this setting. If anyone out there is facing this issue, you may need to double (and triple) check that the BIOS settings are being saved and applied.

I may try with a different riser cable, perhaps this one was just faulty, but for the time being, everything is working fine now. Thanks again!