Question Video Games Stuttering

[cioco.dany]

Hello! I have posted this question some days ago, but now the site changed (I think?) and I lost track of my post. Dunno if it really exists or not, sorry if I double post.

Been posting and asking this on a huge lot of forums and support places, for like MONTHS, and I just can't find a solution. Please, anyone, help me somehow with a suggestion. Last place where I posted was CNET, and a guy from there suggested me this place to ask. Anyway, since it is quite a lot to write, I will just copy paste what I wrote in my last thread on CNET, and also copy the updates I have provided there. Thanks a lot to all of you for trying to help me!

"Hello!

I got an issue I just can't seem to find a way to fix. I am open to anything. I just freaking want to get rid of this. I got stuttering in nearly all video games (not all). Like, a video game running in DOSBox has no stuttering, but any 3d game out there is full of them.


What kind of stuttering? Here are two examples, both of them recorded a while ago by me, today being the same way as then:


1.

View: https://youtu.be/DzBjLyfu8Kg


2.

View: https://youtu.be/1Rh-ITGAz28



So, there is a very long story behind this issue, a really huge one, but I will try to say it as short as possible. This issue is for like months of months. Used to have 1SSD with 120GB on which I only had my Windows installed, a HDD with 1TB on which I only had my programs installed, and a 4TB HDD on which I had all my video games installed. After posting on a forum about my issue, some dudes kept saying it is because of the 2 HDDs, somehow they said they are faulty because they found something written in Speccy. But what are the odds both of them to have issues? Anyhow I tried reinstalling the windows and changing the sata cables to the HDDs, no result. Scanned both of them and the SSD for errors with HDDTune, no errors. Changed the install folder of a game from the 4TD HDD to the 1TD HDD and then the 120GB SSD, stuttering on all of them. I ran out of ideas so I went to an IT repair shop or however it was called, and gave 108 freaking euros to have my PC tested. They said that both HDDs are fine, but the SSD showed issues when tested. Alright, went home and took out the SSD and installed the Windows and all my programs on the 1TB HDD, and all my video games still on the 4TD HDD. Now the PC was way slower (obviously because there was no SSD anymore), but not only slower, but everything kept freezing and stuff. That showed me that the 1TB HDD had something for sure, but before doing AGAIN anything rushed and losing money again, I remembered that my video card still had warranty, so I sent it back to the place where I bought it from, and received a new one in its place. Yes, no change. Ran out of options so I stayed like that for a while, until some days ago when I finally had the money to buy a new SSD. A 1TB one. Bought it, put it inside and installed windows and all of my programs on it, took out the 1TB HDD, and left the 4TB HDD to have all my video games installed on it. Aight, So I went and installed all of my video games on the 4TB HDD again, the programs, made the pc settings and whatever and guess what, tried to run CS:GO and the stuttering is still there, but way more rare, like before I had it 10 times in a round, now I had once in 2 rounds or something. Oh, but the PC is faster as it ever was, and everything runs amazingly smooth, just that I still got stuttering. After testing with CS GO, I went and made my steam grids and added all of my games on steam, then ran a HDDTune errors scan on my new SSD, ofc no errors, and after I was done with everything, I went and took my pc to take the dust. (I know the time sounds funny, but I just received my comprimate air thingy so yeah) After being done with that, I've put my PC back and tried to run Assassin's Creed Syndicate... aaaannd.. whoa what, got a huge lots of stuttering, the same as in the video, also the same as I used to have at the very beginning of this adventure. Then I run CS:GO, lolwut, all of my 10 stuttering per round are back. Changed the install location of CS GO to the SSD, exatly the same.


So, that was all, I literally feel like crying for wasting so much money, time, effort, and everything, and I still have no solution. It feels like I will never find my way out of this issue ever, only by buying a new pc. So, please, I beg you all from the bottom of my broken heart.... help... me... I can't play one freakin game without stuttering, only if the game is a visual novel or a 20 years old pixelated game for DOS...

http://speccy.piriform.com/results/RfrdqOhImaYw8f74fAoK7g4 "

UPDATE 1&2 after someone told me to just completely take out the HDD:

"As an update, I just tried without the HDD, only with the SSD connected, and I still have stuttering. Tried using CS:GO.

So, it seems the HDD is not the real problem here...

I'll also try the other solutions either later today or tomorrow. Though I am 100% not hoping for any miracle, I... have no hope left after all I tried so far.."

"So, we can ignore all your tips for the HDD and everything you posted below that is windows/software related. I ran in safe mode, no use, and then I just took out the 4TB HDD completely from the pc and only let the 1TB SSD, and changed the Sata Cable and the slot where the sata cable was inserted, and then did a complete windows reset. After the reset, the first thing I made sure was that I have the latest windows updates (it only updated some malware definitions), and then updated the video card with geforce experience, made sure there was no issue displayed in the device manager (did not install any other driver than the video card, because before when I reinstalled the windows, everytime I first updated all drivers and then tested for stuttering, thought maybe if I do it this way I will have no more stuttering, was hoping for a driver to be the issue) and then installed Steam and CS:GO. As you can guess, I still have stuttering.


We can now completely "delete" some stuff from the possible reasons for my issue:


- HDD/SSD (HDD because I took it out and I reset the windows, SSD because it is new and I had stuttering before it as well)

- anything software/not hardware related (because I just restarted the windows after a hundred thousand times, and tested without having anything else installed)

- SATA cable (just changed it for the third time)

- GPU (even though you tell me to test it, I am 100% sure it is not the issue, since I had it replaced, and had the same stuttering with the old one, as much as I have now with the new one)

- HDMI cable (forgot to mention I tested that out as well, tested with 2 different hdmi cable, and a dvi one)


What's left to test out? Just tell how and what to test, and I will. Can it be from the monitor? Motherboard? PSU? CPU? RAM? I also tested all four rams I have half a year ago I think, and they were alright, but I will gladly test them again, if you think that can be a cause."

Best regards to all of you!

 

[Frag Maniac]

It would help if you'd at least mention what spec you're running, how old it is, and what background programs you run if any while gaming (include startups)? Also whether your GPU and audio drivers are updated? You also need to make sure the redist files in each game directory are installed (DirectX, Visual Studio).

I'm especially curious what audio device and driver you're using because I noticed in both videos at certain points when it hitches, the audio cuts out as well.

I would also suggest running MSI Afterburner and set GPU and CPU usage to show onscreen while playing. Then upload a short video of one of your more demanding games. This will show if you have a balanced system. Often times people keep their core system for many years and just keep upgrading the GPU. This eventually leads to a severe enough bottleneck where the GPU has to frequently wait for the CPU to send it rendering data, which can cause hitching or stutter.

Another thing you can try if on an Nvidia GPU is downloading the latest PhysX, to make sure any games you play that use it have the latest version. In some games, like ACIV for instance, you actually have to disable it or set it to Low, as it's broken in some games and can cause stutter. Same with Nvidia Gameworks, when having problems like this, try disabling it.

If by chance you're running SLI, definitely install the latest Nvidia Inspector, which can vastly improve and smooth SLI performance in some games. https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/nvidia-inspector-download.html

What you have is a single severe hitch every now and then which is a brief freeze. I can tell by your first video you're running a 4K display, but I'd like to know what the guts of your spec are comprised of.

 

[cioco.dany]

It would help if you'd at least mention what spec you're running, how old it is, and what background programs you run if any while gaming (include startups)? Also whether your GPU and audio drivers are updated? You also need to make sure the redist files in each game directory are installed (DirectX, Visual Studio).

I'm especially curious what audio device and driver you're using because I noticed in both videos at certain points when it hitches, the audio cuts out as well.

I would also suggest running MSI Afterburner and set GPU and CPU usage to show onscreen while playing. Then upload a short video of one of your more demanding games. This will show if you have a balanced system. Often times people keep their core system for many years and just keep upgrading the GPU. This eventually leads to a severe enough bottleneck where the GPU has to frequently wait for the CPU to send it rendering data, which can cause hitching or stutter.

Another thing you can try if on an Nvidia GPU is downloading the latest PhysX, to make sure any games you play that use it have the latest version. In some games, like ACIV for instance, you actually have to disable it or set it to Low, as it's broken in some games and can cause stutter. Same with Nvidia Gameworks, when having problems like this, try disabling it.

If by chance you're running SLI, definitely install the latest Nvidia Inspector, which can vastly improve and smooth SLI performance in some games. https://www.guru3d.com/files-details/nvidia-inspector-download.html

What you have is a single severe hitch every now and then which is a brief freeze. I can tell by your first video you're running a 4K display, but I'd like to know what the guts of your spec are comprised of.

You should really reread my post. Most of what you said shows that you did not really read more than 10% of what I wrote.

Also, for some reason my stuttering... disappeared. Suddenly, without me doing anything. The only thing that changed is that I got some windows updates over night 2-3 days ago, and then next day I have no stuttering anymore. Been testing lots of games I own, and there's no damn stuttering. I can't explain how happy I feel. After nearly 1 year of struggling with this thing. My guess is that either was because of the HDD, and my PC needed a little while to get rid of its cancer after removing it (even though I also reinstalled the windows and I still had stuttering even so, so it makes no sense, but WHO CARES?!) so I can play without stuttering, or that windows update fixed something. I'm so damn happy!!

 

[nicholas70]

Based on what you are describing it sounds like you were having trouble with a known issue whereby windows 10 was not properly clearing standby memory automatically resulting in excess memory being used which lots of people report would cause stuttering in games. I'm glad to hear MS seems to have finally corrected the problem.

 

[Frag Maniac]

You should really reread my post. Most of what you said shows that you did not really read more than 10% of what I wrote.

Also, for some reason my stuttering... disappeared. Suddenly, without me doing anything. The only thing that changed is that I got some windows updates over night 2-3 days ago, and then next day I have no stuttering anymore. Been testing lots of games I own, and there's no damn stuttering. I can't explain how happy I feel. After nearly 1 year of struggling with this thing. My guess is that either was because of the HDD, and my PC needed a little while to get rid of its cancer after removing it (even though I also reinstalled the windows and I still had stuttering even so, so it makes no sense, but WHO CARES?!) so I can play without stuttering, or that windows update fixed something. I'm so damn happy!!

I tend to skim through posts when they look over cluttered and unnecessarily long, and poorly structured (lack of paragraphs). It's a lot easier if you just get to the point with a brief outline, rather than copy and pasted a wall of text. That's also why a lot of request for help threads get ignored.

The fix may have come via either a MS update as mentioned above, and/or a microcode update for your CPU, as there have been many lately where security breaches were found. The initial patches caused performance loss, but lately there's been some damage control on that with more updates. I have the latest build of W10 Pro x64, with the latest updates though, and have not noticed any difference with the latest updates regarding smoother performance, though was not having the periodic hitches shown in your video prior to getting those updates.

It would be easier to tell if a microcode patch was the cause had you just added a brief list of your core components (as most do when submitting such a thread), because it affects older CPU models more. I take no offence to what you said about my lack of reading your thread entirely, because it could have been done WAY better. Just a heads up should you ever need to submit another one.

In my skimming though I did get the gist of it, which was mostly about install locations, drives used, hardware replacements, cables. It was pretty vague, nothing about actual spec, what drivers you're using, only "reset" (format?) of Windows. I also gave some sound advice in reply, and if anything was ignored, it was that.

 

[cioco.dany]

I tend to skim through posts when they look over cluttered and unnecessarily long, and poorly structured (lack of paragraphs). It's a lot easier if you just get to the point with a brief outline, rather than copy and pasted a wall of text. That's also why a lot of request for help threads get ignored.

The fix may have come via either a MS update as mentioned above, and/or a microcode update for your CPU, as there have been many lately where security breaches were found. The initial patches caused performance loss, but lately there's been some damage control on that with more updates. I have the latest build of W10 Pro x64, with the latest updates though, and have not noticed any difference with the latest updates regarding smoother performance, though was not having the periodic hitches shown in your video prior to getting those updates.

It would be easier to tell if a microcode patch was the cause had you just added a brief list of your core components (as most do when submitting such a thread), because it affects older CPU models more. I take no offence to what you said about my lack of reading your thread entirely, because it could have been done WAY better. Just a heads up should you ever need to submit another one.

In my skimming though I did get the gist of it, which was mostly about install locations, drives used, hardware replacements, cables. It was pretty vague, nothing about actual spec, what drivers you're using, only "reset" (format?) of Windows. I also gave some sound advice in reply, and if anything was ignored, it was that.

Uhm, SPECCY link provided?

 

[Frag Maniac]

I don't know if that was there before or just added, but it's a typical example of over complicating something that could be much simpler. You only need provide CPU, GPU, RAM, OS for the most part, and most don't want to wade through a DxDiag type list just to find what drivers, OS build, etc, you're using. Maybe get used to presenting such things the way most do, rather than just copying and pasting. It goes a long way toward getting more responses.