Stutters/Fps Drops in nearly every Unreal Engine game I've played

[Billyboy]

Hello all, I'm sorry if this is a very common type of post but I'm just sick of it really. Nearly all the Unreal Engine titles I've played (Dishonored 1, Rocket League, Outlast 1 and 2, Insurgency Sandstorm, Bioshock Infinite) has a stuttering/fps drop issue. For example, in Rocket League I usually get locked 60 or more if unlocked, however there are moderate drops in to 55-58 and since its such an instant drop, its very noticable. Dishonored is the same, I can kill 50 guards in front of me without a hiccup but I get drops in to 58 every once in a while. Insurgency Sandstorm is worse, more frequent drops to low 50s. Outlast is the worst of them all. Major drops in to low 50s-high 40s from 60fps. These drops are instant and not progressive, so they are really noticable. I don't have any other issues like this, even in demanding titles (Shadow of The Tomb Raider, Dishonored 2, AC: Origins). I've tried changing pool sizes in config files, disabling full screen opt. and disabling the exploit protection thing, nothing works. I suspect it is my single channel ram that is causing all this but seeing how I have no problems in more demanding games, it is weird. Any help is appreciated. (I posted this on reddit and since I didn't get any replies there, I'm trying my luck here)

 

EDIT: Installing the games on the ssd didn't change anything.

 

[UserBenchmarks: Game 26%, Desk 78%, Work 24%](https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/33978707)

||Model|Bench

:----|:----|:----|

**CPU**|[AMD Ryzen 5 1600AF](https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/563877/AMD-Ryzen-5-1600-Six-Core-Processor)|77%

**GPU**|[Nvidia GTX 1050](https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Nvidia-GTX-1050/Rating/3650)|29.1%

**SSD**|[WD Green 240GB (2018)](https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/377351/WDC-WDS240G2G0A-00JH30)|53.3%

**HDD**|[Seagate ST3500414CS 500GB](https://hdd.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/15340/ST3500414CS)|51.4%

**RAM**|[G.SKILL Aegis DDR4 2400 C15 1x8GB](https://ram.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/123163/GSKILL-F4-2400C15-8GIS-1x8GB)|44.4%

**MBD**|[Asus PRIME A320M-K](https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Asus-PRIME-A320M-K/55401)|

[Alex Atkin UK]

7 minutes ago, Billyboy said:

Hello all, I'm sorry if this is a very common type of post but I'm just sick of it really. Nearly all the Unreal Engine titles I've played (Dishonored 1, Rocket League, Outlast 1 and 2, Insurgency Sandstorm, Bioshock Infinite) has a stuttering/fps drop issue. For example, in Rocket League I usually get locked 60 or more if unlocked, however there are moderate drops in to 55-58 and since its such an instant drop, its very noticable. Dishonored is the same, I can kill 50 guards in front of me without a hiccup but I get drops in to 58 every once in a while. Insurgency Sandstorm is worse, more frequent drops to low 50s. Outlast is the worst of them all. Major drops in to low 50s-high 40s from 60fps. These drops are instant and not progressive, so they are really noticable. I don't have any other issues like this, even in demanding titles (Shadow of The Tomb Raider, Dishonored 2, AC: Origins). I've tried changing pool sizes in config files, disabling full screen opt. and disabling the exploit protection thing, nothing works. I suspect it is my single channel ram that is causing all this but seeing how I have no problems in more demanding games, it is weird. Any help is appreciated. (I posted this on reddit and since I didn't get any replies there, I'm trying my luck here)

 

EDIT: Installing the games on the ssd didn't change anything.

 

[UserBenchmarks: Game 26%, Desk 78%, Work 24%](https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/33978707)

||Model|Bench

:----|:----|:----|

**CPU**|[AMD Ryzen 5 1600AF](https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/563877/AMD-Ryzen-5-1600-Six-Core-Processor)|77%

**GPU**|[Nvidia GTX 1050](https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Nvidia-GTX-1050/Rating/3650)|29.1%

**SSD**|[WD Green 240GB (2018)](https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/377351/WDC-WDS240G2G0A-00JH30)|53.3%

**HDD**|[Seagate ST3500414CS 500GB](https://hdd.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/15340/ST3500414CS)|51.4%

**RAM**|[G.SKILL Aegis DDR4 2400 C15 1x8GB](https://ram.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/123163/GSKILL-F4-2400C15-8GIS-1x8GB)|44.4%

**MBD**|[Asus PRIME A320M-K](https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Asus-PRIME-A320M-K/55401)|

Firstly, please use paragraphs that is REALLY hard to read.

 

Secondly, we need way more details.  What resolution are you using?  Any overclocks on that GPU?  How much RAM does that model have?  Are you monitoring the GPU usage when these problem occur?

Single channel RAM certainly wont help, especially as its only 2400Mhz too rather than the usually recommended 3200Mhz.

 

I'd also not recommend userbenchmark for comparisons, it generalises way too much and doesn't IMO give a very accurate picture.

[Billyboy]

23 minutes ago, Alex Atkin UK said:

Firstly, please use paragraphs that is REALLY hard to read.

 

Secondly, we need way more details.  What resolution are you using?  Any overclocks on that GPU?  How much RAM does that model have?  Are you monitoring the GPU usage when these problem occur?

Single channel RAM certainly wont help, especially as its only 2400Mhz too rather than the usually recommended 3200Mhz.

 

I'd also not recommend userbenchmark for comparisons, it generalises way too much and doesn't IMO give a very accurate picture.

Sorry about the formatting.

 

I play all of these games at 1080p, however, for the sake of testing the performance, I've also tried some of them with lower resolutions such as 900p and 720p. This did not seem to affect the stuttering. 

 

I don't have any OC on my gpu, and it is a 2GB model. Changing the Texture Detail didn't help with these games. I did monitor the usage while playing Dishonored 1. The cpu usage, usually sitting at %12, jumps for half a second to %32 usage when the drop occures. I didn't do a very extensive test however, only 3 instances. I've used MSI Afterburner for monitoring. Gpu usage, or the clock and memory speeds, didn't change when the drop occured. 

 

Also sorry about userbenchmarks, the subreddit I originally posted this to required these as a strict rule, that's why they are in there. 

 

About RAM; I realize that 2400MHZ is bare minimum, but seeing how most of these games are relatively old games that use UE3, I didn't think it would be a problem, especially seeing how way more demanding games run without issues. 

 

Thanks for replying, I'll be happy to provide any other detail that can be required

[Mark Kaine]

Tbh, that is a pretty weak PC , I'm not surprised it doesn't run games smoothly.

 

Generally. Overclocking the GPU and maybe also the CPU and also having 8GB DDR4 RAM in *dual channel* at 3000mhz as the bare minimum would probably help some.

 

 

btw the RAM is not a suggestion, it's a "requirement" by AMD.

 

 

other than that you can try playing around with settings, but I think that's not looking too rosey before you don't try the aforementioned things, especially proper  RAM configuration and a GPU OC...  

 

 

5 hours ago, Billyboy said:

I realize that 2400MHZ is bare minimum

 

To repeat, that's incorrect. 8GB dual channel DDR4 RAM at 3000mhz is the "bare minimum" for RYZEN CPUs.

 

[Billyboy]

33 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

Tbh, that is a pretty weak PC , I'm not surprised it doesn't run games smoothly.

 

Generally. Overclocking the GPU and maybe also the CPU and also having 8GB DDR4 RAM in *dual channel* at 3000mhz as the bare minimum would probably help some.

 

 

btw the RAM is not a suggestion, it's a "requirement" by AMD.

 

 

other than that you can try playing around with settings, but I think that's not looking too rosey before you don't try the aforementioned things, especially proper  RAM configuration and a GPU OC...  

 

 

 

To repeat, that's incorrect. 8GB dual channel DDR4 RAM at 3000mhz is the "bare minimum" for RYZEN CPUs.

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

My complaint was more towards; i can run games like Assassins's Creed Odyssey stable, then why can't I run this game from 2012 without dropping frames. I realize that different engines act differently but it just seems weird. I've also found people online suffering from similar problems (not saying that the issue is completely dependent on the software or the engine), that's why I decided to post on here and on reddit.

 

I've tried overclocking the gpu (+100 core clock, +200 memory clock in msi afterburner). The gpu is a single fan gpu and it doesn't require any additional power connector (is that what they are called?) so I'm hesitant towards overclocking it further.

 

By the way, my issue is towards the games' instability, not its overall performance. I hold a stable 60fps %95 of the time in these games, but the drops are getting annoying, seeing how they are all in the games made by UE3/UE4. 

 

Again, thanks for the reply, means a lot when no one on reddit bothered

 

 

[Mark Kaine]

15 minutes ago, Billyboy said:

Thanks for the reply.

 

My complaint was more towards; i can run games like Assassins's Creed Odyssey stable, then why can't I run this game from 2012 without dropping frames. I realize that different engines act differently but it just seems weird. I've also found people online suffering from similar problems (not saying that the issue is completely dependent on the software or the engine), that's why I decided to post on here and on reddit.

 

I've tried overclocking the gpu (+100 core clock, +200 memory clock in msi afterburner). The gpu is a single fan gpu and it doesn't require any additional power connector (is that what they are called?) so I'm hesitant towards overclocking it further.

 

By the way, my issue is towards the games' instability, not its overall performance. I hold a stable 60fps %95 of the time in these games, but the drops are getting annoying, seeing how they are all in the games made by UE3/UE4. 

 

Again, thanks for the reply, means a lot when no one on reddit bothered

 

 

no problem... and the 1050 overclocking abilities are limited so I think your OC is pretty ok... even if you could get it higher the gains would be minimal... don't get me wrong it's a good GPU, but it's still rather weak comparatively and 2gb doesn't really help either.

 

my recommendation would still be to invest in better RAM so you at least fullfil AMDs minimum requirements...

 

 

Other than that like I said even if you may not believe it right now you can achieve a lot with the proper settings, and also fact checking with a monitoring program (like MSI Afterburner)

 

because when your games drop... there is something, they don't do that"just because".

 

you have to figure this out, pretty much impossible to tell you over the internet without being physically at your location, also this will vary for each game.

 

Generally you want to start with really low settings... you gotta find that sweet spot where it doesn't "drop" and then go from there...

 

 

[Billyboy]

22 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

no problem... and the 1050 overclocking abilities are limited so I think your OC is pretty ok... even if you could get it higher the gains would be minimal... don't get me wrong it's a good GPU, but it's still rather weak comparatively and 2gb doesn't really help either.

 

my recommendation would still be to invest in better RAM so you at least fullfil AMDs minimum requirements...

 

 

Other than that like I said even if you may not believe it right now you can achieve a lot with the proper settings, and also fact checking with a monitoring program (like MSI Afterburner)

 

because when your games drop... there is something, they don't do that"just because".

 

you have to figure this out, pretty much impossible to tell you over the internet without being physically at your location, also this will vary for each game.

 

Generally you want to start with really low settings... you gotta find that sweet spot where it doesn't "drop" and then go from there...

 

 

it happens even at 720p. So I'm doubtful on that. I was thinking of buying another 8gb stick next month so I'll see how that goes. Thanks for the help. 

[Alex Atkin UK]

On 10/11/2020 at 9:15 PM, Billyboy said:

it happens even at 720p. So I'm doubtful on that. I was thinking of buying another 8gb stick next month so I'll see how that goes. Thanks for the help. 

If the CPU is bottlenecking on the RAM then it certainly would explain it happening at all resolutions, if anything lowering the resolution will make it worse.

If you upgrade the RAM, you'll need two stick at 3000Mhz ideally a dual-channel 3200Mhz kit (I believe 3200Mhz is still the best value for money?).  When you're trying to solve problems like this, you really don't want to be skimping on the essentials.

[Mark Kaine]

On 10/11/2020 at 10:15 PM, Billyboy said:

it happens even at 720p. So I'm doubtful on that. I was thinking of buying another 8gb stick next month so I'll see how that goes. Thanks for the help. 

Resolution ≠ framerate necessarily

 

Ram could definitely help, otherwise as I said , lower settings, disable effects, etc should be an obvious solution too.

[RyukoM4701]

On 10/11/2020 at 9:50 PM, Mark Kaine said:

Tbh, that is a pretty weak PC , I'm not surprised it doesn't run games smoothly.

 

 

Tbh, you should be surprised if that pc doesn't run those games mentioned above, because what I have is:
RX 560 Sapphire Pulse 4GB

FX 6300 Overclocked to 4.2GHz

8+4 GB's of RAM running at 1433Mhz (215 FSB that's why it's not 1333)

and I run my games at 900p because that's what my monitor supports, going up to 1440p only in one game because it can handle and my GPU is flexing in that game

 

And it ran Dishonored 1, Rocket League (until it moved to Epic though, I started to have fps drops after that somehow.) and Outlast pretty well and even on old PC (AMD Athlon II X4 645, 6GB[2+2+1+1] 667MHz, GT 545) I had once before, Dishonored 1 was running smoothly at 1280x1024 resolution, so I don't think the PC is a problem here. Not to throw shit at Windows but I think Windows 10 could be causing problems in UE titles. 

[Mark Kaine]

17 minutes ago, RyukoM4701 said:

 

Tbh, you should be surprised if that pc doesn't run those games mentioned above, because what I have is:
RX 560 Sapphire Pulse 4GB

FX 6300 Overclocked to 4.2GHz

8+4 GB's of RAM running at 1433Mhz (215 FSB that's why it's not 1333)

and I run my games at 900p because that's what my monitor supports, going up to 1440p only in one game because it can handle and my GPU is flexing in that game

 

And it ran Dishonored 1, Rocket League (until it moved to Epic though, I started to have fps drops after that somehow.) and Outlast pretty well and even on old PC (AMD Athlon II X4 645, 6GB[2+2+1+1] 667MHz, GT 545) I had once before, Dishonored 1 was running smoothly at 1280x1024 resolution, so I don't think the PC is a problem here. Not to throw shit at Windows but I think Windows 10 could be causing problems in UE titles. 

That's fine and all but I had a 1050ti, it's a great little card for what it is (super cheap entry class) but it does have its limits... I couldn't even run Tekken 7 *stable* at medium settings... 

 

My 1060 runs it at 1440p "maxed out" (one of the very few games I tried where the 1060 is not too weak to do that) 

 

And exactly the fact those are UE games doesn't help, it's a cheap all purpose engine with issues.