Windows 10 micro-stutters with Ryzen.

[Neutraliz]

Hi !

I'd this issue for more than 2 years, and i'm a bit tired of it. It make no sens. Found no fix, nothing. I've really weird random stutters at a system level. And when I say, it's random, it can be totaly fine few hours, and then it rebegins again. Or right at the start. All the system stutter for half a second, including the audio. The audio is very similar as if it's gonna BSOD. But it never does actually BSOD. It seems to not happen as often when the CPU is under heavy load and more when it's idling. But it still doing it here and there while gaming with no specific paterns to trigger the issue. Don't get me wrong, I love Ryzen. But this only happens with Ryzen's systems, and it's REALLY annoying.

 

System Configuration: 

1/

• AMD Ryzen 5 3600.

• MSI B450 Tomahawk.

• DDR4 G.SKILL Trident Z Neo 3600mhz CL 16 , X2 ( 32go ).

• Alphacool Eisbaer Extreme, w/ Noctua NF-A14 PWM chromax.black.swap.

• Gigabyte AORUS GeForce GTX 1080 Xtreme edition 8G, w/ NZXT G12 + NZXT X62, w/ Noctua NF-A14 PWM chromax.black.swap.

• Western Digital Red 4TO, 5400 rpm.

• Crucial MX300, 525 Go, SATA III.

• Be Quiet ! Dark Base Pro 900, Noir/Orange.

• Be Quiet ! Dark Power Pro 11, 750W, 80+ Platinium.

• OS: Windows 10 x64 (18363.720 - 1909)

Troubleshooting / observation :

 

- Chipset drivers updated.
- BIOS updated.
- Tried many parameters in BIOS, but I'm open to suggestions.
- Tried to change RAM kit and memory type.
- Emptying standby memory. ( doesn't matter )
- Zen, Zen+ and Zen 2 are affected. ( 2200G - Zen -, 2600 - Zen+ -, 3600 & 3700X - Zen 2 ) 
- MB swapped.
- CPUs upgrades ( Including new architecture )
- Windows reset / fresh install. ( Even when windows have no modification, nothing installed, it still happen )
- Power plans in windows 10 have no impact on the issue.
- No overclock.
- Graphics cards doesn't matter as far as I can see.
- My mother have a 2200G. It also happen, but less frequently. I'd a 2600 in the 2nd system with the same issue.
- It's way more noticeable when I look at streams or videos.
 

It seems that it's an issue with the ram and particular combo of CPU and MB. I could be wrong but for a time, i'd a Ryzen 5 2600 in the 2nd system, with the same issue. I upgraded it the 3700X and I swapped the 2600 the 1st system, that was based on X99 ( intel ) previously ( It had no similar issues ). So I got myself a MSI B450 Tomahawk, stick my 32gb Corsair vengeance LPX 3000mhz that I had with my X99 system on it. This combo had no issues what so ever. Nothing. No sutters, buttery smooth. But as soon as I upgraded the 1st system with the 3600, it appears again, and it was worst, like the system was not even usable because of really bad stuttering. It got better with the actual kit of Trident Z Neo, but it still have theses weird stutters every X times.

To be clear, I've nothing against Ryzen. But if I can get rid of theses stutters, that could be a much better experience.

Edit 15/04 :
I find similair issues on older topic :
 

 

 

Thank you all.

[Entropy.]

18 minutes ago, Neutraliz said:

 

So you tried a fresh install of windows? IDK but I'm not sure its about the hardware at this point. dont take my word for it, though

[Neutraliz]

16 minutes ago, InnerBeast Gaming said:

So you tried a fresh install of windows? IDK but I'm not sure its about the hardware at this point. dont take my word for it, though

Yes, I tried. But like I said :
 

Quote

Even when windows have no modification, nothing installed, it still happen

 

[0x1e]

1 hour ago, Neutraliz said:

- Power plans in windows 10 have no impact on the issue.

You're using the specific Ryzen built power plan?

[Neutraliz]

Yup

[Neutraliz]

Update :

2nd pc :
I retired my 2nd build since it doesn't seems to really have the problem anymore. It's a bit weird, but I don't use it as oftenly as the my first rig. If the issue re-appear, I'm gonna keep you updated. I'm probably gonna use it a bit more often, just to test it.

1st pc :
It is probably an excessive reponse to that issue, but i'm tired of it.
I'm probably gonna switch / sidegrade my motherboard in early may. I checked many QVLs list on AM4 motherboards, and my specific kit is supported with the ROG X470 STRIX. I'm not a fan of ASUS, specially their pricies and values, but they still have much better BIOS and more testing in QVL for now. So...
And because of my experience with my R5 2600, MSI B450 Tomahawk, and my previous 32gb Corsair vengeance LPX 3000mhz which was actually in the Pinnacle Ridge's QVL for my tomahawk. And I'm pretty sure, my issues are related to ram and support. And I can't be ask to buy an other kit of ram instead, since it would be way pricier.

[Kennoi]

I have a Ryzen 5 3600, MSI B450 Tomahawk and RTX 2070 Super and sometimes also notice sound tear for a split second once every hour or so.

[Neutraliz]

15 minutes ago, Kennoi said:

I have a Ryzen 5 3600, MSI B450 Tomahawk and RTX 2070 Super and sometimes also notice sound tear for a split second once every hour or so.

Keep yourself updated on this topic then. That might help you. You never know. I want to get over and done with this issue.

[BlackManINC]

@Neutraliz

 

 Where are your games and operating system installed? On your SSD or HDD? One thing you can check in your "resource monitor" screen is exactly how much free system memory you actually have left. You have 32 gbs of ram, but there is still a chance the standby/cache memory is swallowing it whole. Preferably, you'll want it to look more like mines below, although mines stays this free mainly because I use an algorithm that erases it every minute using software called 'Process Lasso'. Before this, I recall the standby memory using up almost all the rest of the free space I had left, and I think it was even when I had 16 gbs of ram on my old computer. The standby memory using up space has been a known issue across the internet. 

 

 

[Neutraliz]

Of course my OS is on the SSD and few games like idk... RDR2, PUBG... That type of long to load / massivly multiplayer games, you know. Solo games are on my HDD.

 

Ya, I already knew this issue, even back when I add my very first build on my previous X99 plateform. I was rocking an i7-6850k and the previous 32gb vengeance LPX 3000mhz quoted in the first post. And since i'm a PUBG player, that game doesn't like at all when cache memory is high in utilisation. It stutters. I used EmptyStandbylist.exe that I make run automaticly via windows task scheduler. It solved the issue. And since, I always put ESL.exe on every build I have. But the stuttering issue that have here, is not only while gaming like the PUBG issue, that sutters that i'm talking about is freezing the ENTIRE system of half a second. Windows included. And it's also freezing the audio. That's how i recognize it. Any stutters I had previously while gaming isn't freezing the audio like that. "Regular" stutters doesn't have any effects on sound or you just have no sound at all while it's stuttering. 

 

But for this issue, like I said :
 

Quote

- Emptying standby memory ( doesn't matter )

It doesn't matter, it still stuttering, even if cache memory is really empty. ( Like few mb ) Unfortunatly. @BlackManINC

[BlackManINC]

3 minutes ago, Neutraliz said:

Of course my OS is on the SSD and few games like idk... RDR2, PUBG... That type of long to load / massivly multiplayer games, you know. Solo games are on my HDD.

 

Ya, I already knew this issue, even back when I add my very first build on my previous X99 plateform. I was rocking an i7-6850k and the previous 32gb vengeance LPX 3000mhz quoted in the first post. And since i'm a PUBG player, that game doesn't like at all when cache memory is high in utilisation. It stutters. I used EmptyStandbylist.exe that I make run automaticly via windows task scheduler. It solved the issue. And since, I always put ESL.exe on every build I have. But the stuttering issue that have here, is not only while gaming like the PUBG issue, that sutters that i'm talking about is freezing the ENTIRE system of half a second. Windows included. And it's also freezing the audio. That's how i recognize it. Any stutters I had previously while gaming isn't freezing the audio like that. "Regular" stutters doesn't have any effects on sound or you just have no sound at all while it's stuttering. 

 

But for this issue, like I said :
 

It doesn't matter, it still stuttering, even if cache memory is really empty. ( Like few mb ) Unfortunatly. @BlackManINC

Ok, well at this point it has to be a software related issue. Its either something you installed that you have running in the background (could even be EmptyStandbylist), or its malware, software you didn't invite on your computer. Have you tried running a virus scan at all? If you haven't, try using malwarebytes along with running a boot time scan using 'Windows Defender Offline'. 

 

[Neutraliz]

5 hours ago, BlackManINC said:

Ok, well at this point it has to be a software related issue. Its either something you installed that you have running in the background (could even be EmptyStandbylist), or its malware, software you didn't invite on your computer. Have you tried running a virus scan at all? If you haven't, try using malwarebytes along with running a boot time scan using 'Windows Defender Offline'. 

 

Don't think so. I'm not that much of a beginner in the pc world. I don't install junkware, 300 anti-virus or cracks. So, I don't think it's related to software or malware.

Things that convinces me the most saying that :
1/ How can it happen even when windows is just freshly intalled ? Disk formated. Nothing on it. Still happen.
2/ If it is because of my usual softwares, why my previous combo R5 2600, MSI B450 Tomahawk, and my previous 32gb Corsair vengeance LPX 3000mhz worked without any stuttering issue like that ? 

The more I dive into it, the more I really think it's just a memory compatibility issue between my motherboard and my specific kit that I use. Ryzen is really picky with ram.

 

This is why I had this idea :

13 hours ago, Neutraliz said:

1st pc :
It is probably an excessive reponse to that issue, but i'm tired of it.
I'm probably gonna switch / sidegrade my motherboard in early may. I checked many QVLs list on AM4 motherboards, and my specific kit is supported with the ROG X470 STRIX. I'm not a fan of ASUS, specially their pricies and values, but they still have much better BIOS and more testing in QVL for now. So...
And because of my experience with my R5 2600, MSI B450 Tomahawk, and my previous 32gb Corsair vengeance LPX 3000mhz which was actually in the Pinnacle Ridge's QVL for my tomahawk. And I'm pretty sure, my issues are related to ram and support. And I can't be ask to buy an other kit of ram instead, since it would be way pricier.

 

[BlackManINC]

5 hours ago, Neutraliz said:

Don't think so. I'm not that much of a beginner in the pc world. I don't install junkware, 300 anti-virus or cracks. So, I don't think it's related to software or malware.

Things that convinces me the most saying that :
1/ How can it happen even when windows is just freshly intalled ? Disk formated. Nothing on it. Still happen.
2/ If it is because of my usual softwares, why my previous combo R5 2600, MSI B450 Tomahawk, and my previous 32gb Corsair vengeance LPX 3000mhz worked without any stuttering issue like that ? 

The more I dive into it, the more I really think it's just a memory compatibility issue between my motherboard and my specific kit that I use. Ryzen is really picky with ram.

 

This is why I had this idea :

 

Well hell, I I would just stick with your previous Corsair ram since you had no issues with it. I have no idea what else you can do beyond tweaking the ram settings in the bios. 

[Neutraliz]

20 hours ago, BlackManINC said:

Well hell, I I would just stick with your previous Corsair ram since you had no issues with it. I have no idea what else you can do beyond tweaking the ram settings in the bios. 

Not even ahah !
 

On 4/14/2020 at 2:45 AM, Neutraliz said:

I got myself a MSI B450 Tomahawk, stick my 32gb Corsair vengeance LPX 3000mhz that I had with my X99 system on it. This combo had no issues what so ever. Nothing. No sutters, buttery smooth. But as soon as I upgraded the 1st system with the 3600, it appears again, and it was worst, like the system was not even usable because of really bad stuttering. It got better with the actual kit of Trident Z Neo, but it still have theses weird stutters every X times.

Nah, I think I'm gonna try a mb swap with the X470 strix, since my ram are on its QVL. Will see. 

[Neutraliz]

Update : B550 were announced for 16th of june by AMD. I will probably wait until then to switch my motherboard. I'm kind of interested because of pcie 4.0 and my use-case.

[Neutraliz]

Update : I definitly confirm, my second system isn't affected anymore. I didn't see any weird stutters, and i've used it a lot theses past days.
At least, it's only one system, not both.

Next update will probably be in 1 or 2 months with my new B550.

[BlackManINC]

1 minute ago, Neutraliz said:

Update : I definitly confirm, my second system isn't affected anymore. I didn't see any weird stutters, and i've used it a lot theses past days.
At least, it's only one system, not both.

Next update will probably be in 1 or 2 months with my new B550.

So the stuttering stopped when you switched motherboards?

[Neutraliz]

4 minutes ago, BlackManINC said:

So the stuttering stopped when you switched motherboards?

I think you are confusing my first system with my second system. I never change this MB. I only changed my ram and CPU to this system.
But I'm not blaming you, I did some weird switch between thoses systems. And I could very well be not that clear to what I've done.

[Neutraliz]

Update : I got a good deal for a X570 TUF. I ordered it yesterday, but it's out of stock atm. 
My ram is tested on it memory QVL list.

Yes, X570 is dumb for a R5 3600, period. But honnestly, the price was ok, and I'm just sick and tired of this issue. 

I'll keep you all updated.

[BlackManINC]

3 hours ago, Neutraliz said:

Update : I got a good deal for a X570 TUF. I ordered it yesterday, but it's out of stock atm. 
My ram is tested on it memory QVL list.

Yes, X570 is dumb for a R5 3600, period. But honnestly, the price was ok, and I'm just sick and tired of this issue. 

I'll keep you all updated.

Well, I don't consider it a dumb move at all. You won't be able to upgrade any pre-500 series motherboards to the 4000 series chip set anyway. One thing I didn't suggest you do was simply reinstalling the games themselves. That worked for me sometimes. 

[Neutraliz]

I do consider it like dumb most of the time. It don't make sens for me.
This type of stuff when you say "Don't do what I do, do what I say.". 

Games are nothing to see when theses stutters. Like I said, it's at a system level. I happen even more when I'm just chilling on youtube. ( On LTT : Obviously, where else ? )

[Neutraliz]

Update : I received my X570.
Unfortunatly, their is still few stutters, but there are less. Maybe once every boot. 

I have some leads since tho, I spoke to few enthusiasts with way greater knowledge than me, specifically one that reach out to bullzoid ( Actually hardcore overclock / Gamer Nexus )  for that issue. It seems that I have Hinyx DJR, and that's not that amazing. And samsung bdie are way more stable with Ryzen apparently. 
Which is annoying because my ram is probably my part that is one of the most expensive thing of this rig. But I'm probably gonna try to reach to amazon or to G.Skill to see what I can do. 

[Neutraliz]

Update : I ordered, received and tested a kit of samsung b-die, with no success unfortunatly... 

I'm really tired of that issue, and I don't know where to look at now...

[BlackManINC]

2 hours ago, Neutraliz said:

Update : I ordered, received and tested a kit of samsung b-die, with no success unfortunatly... 

I'm really tired of that issue, and I don't know where to look at now...

So to reiterate, this happens only while gaming or during other activities?

[Neutraliz]

@BlackManINC
It can happen at anytime. It's not specific to an activity that I'm doing. 
It's a stutter that is at a system level, so litteraly windows itself is stuttering.

It can happen while gaming, while watching youtube, while watching a local video, while watching youtube, ... Anytime really. And it's just for half a second. It's very annoying.