Question Super high hard pagefault count on a new build in Latencymon

[audio369]

Hey everyone, I know this has been discussed already and I have scrolled through a few threads but everything seems super situational and I am still struggling to get down to the bottom of why this is happening.

I build a new PC with the following components:

CPU: i5-13600k
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws 32gb 6000mhz 30CL
MoBo: ASUS Steel Legend Z790
Memory: KC3000 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2
PSU: Corsair 750RMx

I don't use this PC for gaming so I don't have a GPU at the moment. The most spikes I get is when I open something for the first time, like Chrome/Brave, Ableton, Steam and File Explorer. Then when I close them and open them again the hard pagefaults are normal, but sometimes they just happen randomly while browsing, switching tabs etc. In ableton for example they happen when I open a new plugin, and then when I close and open the plugin again there's no spike. For all the examples above there's always a 200-500 pagefault jump and the stutter is always noticeable on the screen, but also just it will randomly stutter and jump as well and it is super annoying. Right now I feel like it's stuttering more and more as I'm writing this so I should probably do more testing too.

Is it possibly it's just faulty RAM sticks? Should I upgrade my BIOS? Is this a software issue? Any help would be incredibly appreciated.

 

[Colif]

Hard faults happen when ram has to write data to storage/page file.

Hard faults often occur when a memory block has to swap to the virtual memory (hard drive or SSD) instead of physical memory.

It’s a normal part of the computer is processing the memory information, instead of an issue of the quality or brand of memory. However, when you are getting a massive amount of hard faults/sec, it indicates that your computer is in question because of too little memory.

link
So they not necessarily a sign the ram is bad, could be other reasons such as being full.
have you changed size of page file? What is your ram usage like?

since you don't have a GPU in it, some of the ram would be used by igpu to run display, but it shouldn't be that much.

 

[audio369]

My ram is usually between 25%-35%, this is while browsing chrome, using Ableton, FL studio etc. It doesn't go much higher than that. It usually allocates around 1gb to the iGPU, however I did put my old geforce gtx1050 in the rig now because someone said they had a problem with their i5 13600k iGPU, latency looks better but not fixed. Still getting stutters and slight audio crackles. Will post updated latencymon results at the bottom.

I haven't change the size of page file as windows says it's running the recommended one and I a lot of opinions online are mixed on this. What could I put my page file size at considering my RAM specs? I've read somewhere you can 1.5x your RAM and I've read someone say they disable page files all together and I have no idea where to start. Right now it's running at a bit below 4970mb which is the recommended. I have two ssd's idk if that will help anything.

Things that I tried so far:
Update BIOS
Unpark Cores
Tweak with CPU in BIOS (Disabling SpeedShift, Hyperthreading, all that <Mod Edit>, nothing is showing much results)
Updated all the drivers
Updated to Windows 11
Try a dedicated GPU (This almost seems to have helped a little but idk, issue still persists)
Unplugging ethernet, wifi, webcam other stuff I don't use.
Some stuff in system registry with the CPU too, I don't remember but it didn't help a lot.

There's definitely not too little memory, maybe it's the pagefile thing? Or maybe G.SKILL Ripjaws are just not as good as I thought they would be, or they just have bad compatibility with my MoBo. I think it will also really help if I mention that I get stutters and crackles in bios too so that's why I'm assuming it's something to do with hardware. Idk what tho...

Here's another test I ran... Keep in mind this wasn't in idle and I was doing stuff and stress testing it, but still I know it's not running how it's supposed to I just need to figure out why


_____________________________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your system appears to be having trouble handling real-time audio and other tasks. You are likely to experience buffer underruns appearing as drop outs, clicks or pops. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:45:31 (h:mm:ss) on processors 0,1,2,3,4 and 5.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Computer name: DESKTOP-SE9150K
OS version: Windows 11, 10.0, version 2009, build: 22631 (x64)
Hardware: Z790 Steel Legend WiFi, ASRock
BIOS: 11.02
CPU: GenuineIntel 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-13600K
Logical processors: 20
Processor groups: 1
Processor group size: 20
RAM: 32597 MB total


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU SPEED
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reported CPU speed (WMI): 350 MHz
Reported CPU speed (registry): 3494 MHz

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 3859.20
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 2.848277

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 3857.40
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 0.885293


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED ISRs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 0.0
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time:

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0.0
Driver with highest ISR total time:

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0.0

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-1000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED DPCs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 591.961076
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: ntoskrnl.exe - NT Kernel & System, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0.000657
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: portcls.sys - Port Class (Class Driver for Port/Miniport Devices), Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0.002851

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 861599
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-10000 µs): 8
DPC count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.

NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.

Process with highest pagefault count: ui32.exe

Total number of hard pagefaults 8569
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 1125
Number of processes hit: 51


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PER CPU DATA
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 8.348503
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 0 ISR count: 0
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 591.961076
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 0.854833
CPU 0 DPC count: 671729
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 4.649584
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 1 ISR count: 0
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 32.126789
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0.034614
CPU 1 DPC count: 12756
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 7.165612
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 2 ISR count: 0
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 125.878649
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0.460336
CPU 2 DPC count: 133645
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 5.302176
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 3 ISR count: 0
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 46.622210
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0.036360
CPU 3 DPC count: 7302
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 5.689048
CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR count: 0
CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs): 585.211792
CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 0.111104
CPU 4 DPC count: 24949
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 5.506622
CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR count: 0
CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs): 580.771322
CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 0.060260
CPU 5 DPC count: 11226
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

[Colif]

if I hadn't seen

Your system appears to be having trouble handling real-time audio and other tasks. You are likely to experience buffer underruns appearing as drop outs, clicks or pops. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:45:31 (h:mm:ss) on processors 0,1,2,3,4 and 5.

I would have said latency mon wasn't seeing a problem, based on first two screenshots

if you don't have the latest BIOS, it could help - https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z790 Steel Legend WiFi/#BIOS

Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.

NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.

Process with highest pagefault count: ui32.exe

ui32.exe is wallpaper engine. That seems unusual. Might want to look into that.

 

[audio369]

if I hadn't seen

I would have said latency mon wasn't seeing a problem, based on first two screenshots

if you don't have the latest BIOS, it could help - https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/Z790 Steel Legend WiFi/#BIOS




ui32.exe is wallpaper engine. That seems unusual. Might want to look into that.

Right now latencymon seems fine but I'm still getting microstutters and noticable latency issues in music programs such as FL studio. (Which is <Mod Edit>. Cause this build is for music)

Just got a new radeon GPU so it wasn't the iGPU, as some people suggested. As a matter of fact I'm getting even more DPC latency now with some <Mod Edit> graphic drivers. I'm almost through with this <Mod Edit> I think the next step is either installing Hackintosh or calling actual computer service cause this is the most unbearable <Mod Edit> I've ever had happen to me.

I got the latest bios. With Wallpaper engine closed microstutters still happen. It's way better now than when I made my first post but still unbearable, considering how much I invested in this PC.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your system appears to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tasks without dropouts.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:04:49 (h:mm:ss) on processors 0,1,2,3,4 and 5.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Computer name: DESKTOP-SE9150K
OS version: Windows 11, 10.0, version 2009, build: 22631 (x64)
Hardware: Z790 Steel Legend WiFi, ASRock
BIOS: 11.02
CPU: GenuineIntel 13th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-13600K
Logical processors: 20
Processor groups: 1
Processor group size: 20
RAM: 32525 MB total


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU SPEED
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reported CPU speed (WMI): 350 MHz
Reported CPU speed (registry): 3494 MHz

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 1168.0
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 2.597575

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1165.90
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 0.817963


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED ISRs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 62.652833
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: HDAudBus.sys - High Definition Audio Bus Driver, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0.00690
Driver with highest ISR total time: HDAudBus.sys - High Definition Audio Bus Driver, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0.006966

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 38496
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-1000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED DPCs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 204.419863
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: ndis.sys - Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS), Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0.004555
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0.009011

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 156625
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-10000 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.

NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.

Process with highest pagefault count: system

Total number of hard pagefaults 7206
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 1518
Number of processes hit: 70


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PER CPU DATA
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 1.736127
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 62.652833
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 0.402809
CPU 0 ISR count: 38496
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 204.419863
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 0.167720
CPU 0 DPC count: 85401
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 2.070533
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 1 ISR count: 0
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 163.842015
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0.274530
CPU 1 DPC count: 45966
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.623430
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 2 ISR count: 0
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 66.880366
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 0.042973
CPU 2 DPC count: 13087
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.506934
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 3 ISR count: 0
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 51.907556
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0.005895
CPU 3 DPC count: 1906
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.548090
CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 4 ISR count: 0
CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs): 73.611048
CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 0.019442
CPU 4 DPC count: 6789
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 0.552877
CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 5 ISR count: 0
CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs): 28.757298
CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 0.010530
CPU 5 DPC count: 3476
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________