Stuttering while playing games (frequent)

[MAV2ICK]

Hi All - 

 

I built my computer in Dec 2021 and really have had this issue since I built the machine. Basically what I've been experiencing is intermittent stuttering, most notably when playing games which is super frustrating. (video of this happening: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/752251235 ... you can see during the skill check the stutter. I notice it most when sometimes turning quickly or when a skillcheck happens) 

 

PC Build:

Windows 11

CPU: Ryzen 9 5950X

Motherboard: ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero

GPU: ASUS ROG Strix 3090

RAM: 128GB G.SKILL TridentZ 4266

PSU: 1200 Watt Platinum Rated Seasonic

 

Here is what I have tried thus far:

- test parts individually

- benchmarks (clean)

- swapped PSU

- Upgraded BIOS to version with Ryzen fTPM 2.0/AGESA issue fix.

- Downgraded TPM to version 1.2. (if i turn off lots of stuff breaks)

- Video / chipset drivers are latest.

 

Any thoughts of things to try? Temps are low so its not that either.

 

[Bombastinator]

42 minutes ago, MAV2ICK said:

Hi All - 

 

I built my computer in Dec 2021 and really have had this issue since I built the machine. Basically what I've been experiencing is intermittent stuttering, most notably when playing games which is super frustrating. (video of this happening: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/752251235 ... you can see during the skill check the stutter. I notice it most when sometimes turning quickly or when a skillcheck happens) 

 

PC Build:

Windows 11

CPU: Ryzen 9 5950X

Motherboard: ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero

GPU: ASUS ROG Strix 3090

RAM: 128GB G.SKILL TridentZ 4266

PSU: 1200 Watt Platinum Rated Seasonic

 

Here is what I have tried thus far:

- test parts individually

- benchmarks (clean)

- swapped PSU

- Upgraded BIOS to version with Ryzen fTPM 2.0/AGESA issue fix.

- Downgraded TPM to version 1.2. (if i turn off lots of stuff breaks)

- Video / chipset drivers are latest.

 

Any thoughts of things to try? Temps are low so its not that either.

 

“Mostly when playing games” sounds like a heat issue.  Especially with all those high end parts.  They’re all hot. What do you have for a case, how are you cooling stuff, and what do your temps look like?

the problem with stutter is it can have vast numbers of causes and they aren’t always obvious.

[MAV2ICK]

15 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

“Mostly when playing games” sounds like a heat issue.  Especially with all those high end parts.  They’re all hot. What do you have for a case, how are you cooling stuff, and what do your temps look like?

the problem with stutter is it can have vast numbers of causes and they aren’t always obvious.

CPU is cooled with the 'be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4' and my case is the Thermaltake Tower 900. I'll run temps tonight under load and post results. Temps were my initial thought too when i first noticed the issue, but haven't checked again once i solved the other issues (ie. with the TPM2.0 / Ryzen bios update, etc.)

[Bombastinator]

14 minutes ago, MAV2ICK said:

CPU is cooled with the 'be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4' and my case is the Thermaltake Tower 900. I'll run temps tonight under load and post results. Temps were my initial thought too when i first noticed the issue, but haven't checked again once i solved the other issues (ie. with the TPM2.0 / Ryzen bios update, etc.)

That case has a bunch of versions because it was initially sold as having chimney effect capacity it did not have.  It is often used for watercooling setups. I don’t even know how to open it.  One thing that might be tried if it opens easily is a “flood the zone” sort of cooling test.  You push a whole lot of high velocity air through the entirety of the system.  I normally do this by pulling the side panel and pointing a window box fan at the open side. If it’s a cooling problem such at thing often fixes it at which point you know that something somewhere is getting too hot. 

[MAV2ICK]

On 9/21/2022 at 4:34 PM, Bombastinator said:

That case has a bunch of versions because it was initially sold as having chimney effect capacity it did not have.  It is often used for watercooling setups. I don’t even know how to open it.  One thing that might be tried if it opens easily is a “flood the zone” sort of cooling test.  You push a whole lot of high velocity air through the entirety of the system.  I normally do this by pulling the side panel and pointing a window box fan at the open side. If it’s a cooling problem such at thing often fixes it at which point you know that something somewhere is getting too hot. 

So i did a variety of testing with this. The 3 glass panels in the front and side do come off easily. I tested the following:
- tested normal, issue remained.

- tested with glass off issue remained with 'comparable temps'

- tested with glass off and AC unit flooding system with 35degree air, issue persisted

 

Temps were a 'little lower' with the AC but nothing drastic.

[MAV2ICK]

BUMP -

 

I just don't get what the problem is here... This computer should be a powerhouse, but instead its annoyingly bad at times and seemingly ok at others. There always is a stutter, but sometimes its unplayable. Any other thoughts, diagnostics i can run, etc.?

[Bombastinator]

On 9/27/2022 at 1:53 PM, MAV2ICK said:

So i did a variety of testing with this. The 3 glass panels in the front and side do come off easily. I tested the following:
- tested normal, issue remained.

- tested with glass off issue remained with 'comparable temps'

- tested with glass off and AC unit flooding system with 35degree air, issue persisted

 

Temps were a 'little lower' with the AC but nothing drastic.

Well that knocks the hot case theory on the head.  We now know it’s not that.  
This is the problem with stutter issues.  They can be caused by many things and they’re frequently small weird changes.  
A few more ideas that may or may not come up as dry as the first one:

Are all the games that do this online games that need low lag internet? And it only happens sometimes?  If it’s only multiplayer stuff there was a video about buffer bloat on LTT.  I don’t know much about it but there was a test for it linked in the video description.  
Could also be background apps. Running anything else in the background that is heavy?  It’s not likely to bother a 32 thread chip all that much.  It would have to be a rather unusual program.

One standard one with ryzen stuff is bios not being up to date.  Bios updates can do all sorts of weird magic with AMD CPUs. 

[MAV2ICK]

The Buffer bloat issue sounds interesting, background apps was a concern for me to so I ruled that out and i updated the BIOS to the latest.

 

I will check out the buffer bloat stuff and if that fails i may reimage and try from a fresh build just to see if there are any ghosts that need to be eliminated...

[Bombastinator]

26 minutes ago, MAV2ICK said:

The Buffer bloat issue sounds interesting, background apps was a concern for me to so I ruled that out and i updated the BIOS to the latest.

 

I will check out the buffer bloat stuff and if that fails i may reimage and try from a fresh build just to see if there are any ghosts that need to be eliminated...

The problem with stutter is there are just so many things that can cause it.  Temps for example can be hot but look normal because probes can only check the area they are in. There’s a bajillion things though.  Just have to go through them one by one until the problem goes away

[MAV2ICK]

as weird as this sounds, the issue appears to have resolved. (for the most part) I have a 3440x1440 ultrawide, and some games i need to resolution down to 16:9 ratio to not get the stretch effect. I found that only when i change my screen resolution through windows down does the stutter issue occur. Any UW game or game that auto black bars the screen ran fine.

 

Not sure the root cause of it, but havent had the issue for 2 weeks.