[SOLVED] Occasional freezes for 1 up to 5 seconds

[Sc0mBuNNeRRR]

Hi, everyone!

I was unsure which section of the forum to post this in, I'm assuming it's exclusively related to gaming but it may be not. Please move it in a more appropriate section if needed.

Hardware specs:
CPU: Intel Core i7 6700K 4.00 GHz
CPU cooler: ARCTIC Freezer i11
GPU: ASUS STRIX-GTX960-DC2OC-4GD5
MOBO: ASUS Z170-A
RAM: Kingston HyperX Fury DDR4 2133 MHz (8GB x2)
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB
HD: TOSHIBA DT01ACA300 3 TB
Optical: ASUS BW-16D1HT
PSU: Corsair CS750M
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 BLACK
OS: Windows 10 Home 64bit

Problem: After a planned format, reinstall and update of Windows 10 (no power shortages, no system malfunctions, no substitutions of peripherals involved), now any game occasionally freezes for 1 up to 5 seconds, then (both video and audio) quickly stutters back to normality.

I used the term occasionally intentionally because I've not managed to identify a cause or a frequency pattern: let's say at least once every hour of gameplay but it can be as soon as 10/15 minutes.

When these freezes occur, MSI Afterburner's monitors show a sudden variation for the duration of the freeze of the following values:

Power, % = 10 (from values ranging between 60% and 70%)
GPU usage, % = 0 (from values ranging between 40% and 70%)
FB usage, % = 4 (from values ranging between 30% and 56%)
Core clock, MHz = 135 (from values ranging between 1392 and 1405)
Memory clock, MHz = 405 (from a fixed value of 3506)
Voltage limit = 0 (from a fixed value of 1)
No load limit = 1 (from a fixed value of 0)

CPU1 usage, % = 77-78 (from values ranging between 6 and 30)
CPU2 usage, % = 38 (from values ranging between 0 and 5)
CPU3 usage, % = 91 (from values ranging between 20 and 61)
CPU4 usage, % = 68 (from values ranging between 0 and 9)
CPU5 usage, % = 75 (from values ranging between 0 and 31)
CPU6 usage, % = 95 (from values ranging between 0 and 11)
CPU7 usage, % = 95 (from values ranging between 0 and 14)
CPU8 usage, % = 82 (from values ranging between 3 and 18)
CPU usage, % = 71 (from values ranging between 4 and 17)


Games tested so far (all of them on Steam): Killing Floor 2 (SSD), Alien: Isolation (HD), Tower Wars (HD).


I already tried, but to no avail, to:

■Play while Steam is either online or offline, then while ethernet cable plugged/unplugged

■Uninstall NVIDIA GeForce Experience (and ShadowPlay) [v372.90]
■Uninstall NVIDIA HD audio driver [v372.90]
■Roll back to older NVIDIA drivers [v372.54 - the ones I had previously installed and had no problems with] (performing a clean installation without GeForce Experience, PhysX, HD audio and ShadowPlay)

■Change the Windows 10 virtual memory to 1.5x of physical memory size (16 x 1024 x 1.5 = 24576) on all drives

■Change the OS power management settings to High Performance (setting PCI Express -> Link State Power Management: OFF)

■Disable unnecessary background apps at startup

■Disable temporarily Windows Defender and AVAST (also tried adding exceptions for Steam folders on all drives)

■Scan the computer for malware with different tools (no detections)

■Launch games installed in either SSD and HD with multiple settings (ranging from lowest to highest, also switching between 720p and 1080p resolutions)

■Reset hardware (holding for 10 seconds the shutdown button while power was unplugged)

■Check for memory problems with Windows Memory Diagnostics Tool (no problems detected)

■Check the temperature on CPU, GPU and storage drives for overheating while playing (CPU cores: 24°C min - 73°C max ~ GPU: 28°C min - 65°C max)

■Check BIOS settings (to the extent of my knowledge, which isn't deep) and update BIOS to the latest version [v2202]

■Perform a "Blend" test in Prime95 (successful)

■Perform 3DMark Fire Strike Stress Test (results screenshot: https://s13.postimg.org/m7gqddlk5/Fire_Strike_Stress_Test.jpg )

My only remaining doubt is having inadvertently altered some settings in the BIOS, while changing the boot sequence to get the PC to boot from the Windows installation disk, but I don't reckon so...


Any ideas, suggestions (even to just clarify the situation and the possible causes) would be much appreciated.


Thanks in advance!

 

[Sc0mBuNNeRRR]

Nvm, after a clean reinstall of the latest Windows 10 build with the latest drivers, freezes are gone.