Bad 1% and 0.1% FPS drops in games.

[ChronoWise]

Hello there!
Recently, I upgraded my gaming setup and started getting terrible 0.1% lows in every game I play. I’m not sure if the drops were there before and I didn’t notice them, or if they started after upgrading my GPU. I just got a high refresh rate monitor (maybe before, when I played at 60Hz without VRR, I didn’t notice).

My average FPS can be around 150-160, but I get bad drops to 20fps. The drops are instant, and the FPS gets right back up.

I play on a 3440x1440 ultrawide 175Hz monitor, usually using RT, but I tested without RT and it’s the same. I cap my FPS using RivaTuner. I’ll list all the games, settings, FPS caps, and drops below(after I finish with memtest86.

The drops are most common in game menus, and I assumed this is what PC gaming is like. But most games see drops to 1-10fps when I go in and out of the menu. After getting into the game, I restart FPS logs to check the performance in-game. 

One thing I noticed is that I’m getting drops to 1fps in Cyberpunk 2077 when it’s autosaving (not sure if that’s normal or not).

Maybe the 0.1% are normal? I just don't know what to expect, when I was gaming on 60Hz monitor without VRR I didn't notice them so much. 

 

System specs:
• Motherboard: ASUS X670E TUF GAMING WIFI PLUS (updated to the newest BIOS)
• RAM: G.Skill Flare X5, DDR5, 32GB, 6000MHz, CL32 (F5-6000J3238F16GX2-FX5) - EXPO enabled
• GPU: PNY RTX 4080 Verto (upgraded from Radeon RX 6800 XT) - drivers updated to the newest version
• CPU: Ryzen 7 9800X3D (negative all-core undervolt by 10) (just upgraded from Ryzen 5 7600)
• Cooling: Endorfy AIO 240mm
• PSU: Corsair RM1000e 1000W 80 Plus Gold
• SSD1: Kingston KC3000 1TB
• SSD2: Lexar NM620 2TB
• Windows 11 24H2

 

Games I play and get very low 1% and 0.1% FPS:

• Diablo IV (Steam) max settings, DLSS quality | cap 150 FPS | 49 FPS - 0.1%
• Cyberpunk 2077 (Steam) max settings, DLSS quality RT reflections only | cap 80 FPS | 70 FPS - 1%, 44 FPS - 0.1%
• Resident Evil 4 (Steam) max settings with RT | cap 120 FPS | 33 - 0.1% 
• Elden Ring (Steam) | max settings 2560x1440 with RT | cap 60 FPS | 56 FPS - 1% | 3 FPS - 0.1%
• Call of Duty BO6 (Game Pass) | Ultra preset, DLSS quality | cap 120 fps | 18 - 0.1 % 

 

What I did to troubleshoot:

• Ran Cinebench R24 - monitored temps and CPU clocks. The 7600 never got more than 75°C; the 9800X3D is getting a max of 85°C (it was getting 92°C before undervolting).
• Ran FurMark and monitored power draw and temps. Average temps are fine, clocks are staying high, but hotspot temp is reaching 100°C.
• Memtest86 - 4 passes, 0 errors. 
• Tried disabling HDR in Windows.
• Checked both SSDs using CrystalDiskInfo and tried running games from each of them to see if there is a difference (nope).
 

I used Display Driver Uninstaller when I switched my graphics card, but I used it after I put in the NVIDIA GPU. Not sure if that matters.

I really hope there’s someone who can help me find an answer to the stutters. I’m leaning towards doing a full Windows reinstall to see if that’s going to change anything.

EDIT:
I looks like 1% lows improved after I upgraded CPU from 7600 to 9800X3D, but 0.1% are still common enough that it feels like stuttering.

 

 

[PDifolco]

Bad framerates while in menu/saving/loading etc are totally normal, it has no effect on gaming experience

Do you have that bad lows while "really" gaming ?

[ChronoWise]

1 hour ago, PDifolco said:

Bad framerates while in menu/saving/loading etc are totally normal, it has no effect on gaming experience

Do you have that bad lows while "really" gaming ?

They are not that bad. But while playing D4 drops from 140 FPS to 56 FPS feel terrible. It's just a stutter.  I added FPS and screenshots to original post. 
All are taken from in game, without menus.

[PDifolco]

19 minutes ago, ChronoWise said:

They are not that bad. But while playing D4 drops from 140 FPS to 56 FPS feel terrible. It's just a stutter.  I added FPS and screenshots to original post. 
All are taken from in game, without menus.

Mmm your scores don't seem that bad in SP games and benchmarks, you do have some low performance in MP games, but that can happen due to servers or internet traffic

[ChronoWise]

2 hours ago, PDifolco said:

Mmm your scores don't seem that bad in SP games and benchmarks, you do have some low performance in MP games, but that can happen due to servers or internet traffic

I played some more of RE4, I keep getting bad stutters. 1-4 FPS (0.1% lows). Resident Evil 4 just runs like that? It's weird I'm getting locked 120 FPS, 75% GPU usage, 20-30% CPU usage and than big stutter. Sometimes it's like 1 frame, sometimes it freezes for half a second. 

[PDifolco]

6 minutes ago, ChronoWise said:

I played some more of RE4, I keep getting bad stutters. 1-4 FPS (0.1% lows). Resident Evil 4 just runs like that? It's weird I'm getting locked 120 FPS, 75% GPU usage, 20-30% CPU usage and than big stutter. Sometimes it's like 1 frame, sometimes it freezes for half a second. 

Definitely not normal here...

Are you on latest BIOS ? GPU drivers installed after DDU ? VBS security disabled ?

Could try a WIndows reinstall, especially on Win11 that was bugged for years for AMD CPUs

[ChronoWise]

34 minutes ago, PDifolco said:

Definitely not normal here...

Are you on latest BIOS ? GPU drivers installed after DDU ? VBS security disabled ?

Could try a WIndows reinstall, especially on Win11 that was bugged for years for AMD CPUs

Latest BIOS (updated today), Drivers GPU installed after DDU, VBS enabled. I'll give it a try. 
I hope that's not normal. I'm used to playing on the console, more frames and higher settings are nice on the PC, but if every game I play here will stutter like that - what's the point?

[PDifolco]

5 minutes ago, ChronoWise said:

Latest BIOS (updated today), Drivers GPU installed after DDU, VBS enabled. I'll give it a try. 
I hope that's not normal. I'm used to playing on the console, more frames and higher settings are nice on the PC, but if every game I play here will stutter like that - what's the point?

VBS should be *disabled* - shouldn't make that much effect but who knows ..

Your stuttering isn't normal, there's definitely something ruining your FPS in some cases, but for example Furmark has consistent performance

Also your GPU runs a bit high, at 80C/100C hotspot; it's below max temp but still high, you could ramp fans speed up a bit

Also, what's your CPU temps when gaming ?

[ChronoWise]

39 minutes ago, PDifolco said:

VBS should be *disabled* - shouldn't make that much effect but who knows ..

Your stuttering isn't normal, there's definitely something ruining your FPS in some cases, but for example Furmark has consistent performance

Also your GPU runs a bit high, at 80C/100C hotspot; it's below max temp but still high, you could ramp fans speed up a bit

Also, what's your CPU temps when gaming ?

70-80C, but hotspot still reaches 90-95. The card is loud as hell if I increase RPM. And temps are not much lower. I can go from 40%-80% speed and lose 4-6C but the card sounds like a jet. I do not recommend the cheapest PNY card :D. I have a good airflow. Fractal North with 3 intake fans, 2 exhaust (CPU AIO), 1 pure exhaust. Never had any issues with 6800 XT sapphire nitro, which had a much smaller cooler. Did I get a bad card? 

I turned off VBS and Game Bar and it got better (not sure what helped). After 30 min of gaming I got few drops but to 40-60 range. It's no longer a big stutter. 
Are there any other Windows settings I should change?

I keep an eye on the performance now. 

[PDifolco]

23 minutes ago, ChronoWise said:

70-80C, but hotspot still reaches 90-95. The card is loud as hell if I increase RPM. And temps are not much lower. I can go from 40%-80% speed and lose 4-6C but the card sounds like a jet. I do not recommend the cheapest PNY card :D. I have a good airflow. Fractal North with 3 intake fans, 2 exhaust (CPU AIO), 1 pure exhaust. Never had any issues with 6800 XT sapphire nitro, which had a much smaller cooler. Did I get a bad card? 

I turned off VBS and Game Bar and it got better (not sure what helped). After 30 min of gaming I got few drops but to 40-60 range. It's no longer a big stutter. 
Are there any other Windows settings I should change?

I keep an eye on the performance now. 

Temps are ok, I was still surprised that a 4080 can have worse temps than my 7900XTX (with fans at around 2200rpm, quite noisy also, I got 70C/95C, hotspots are a b*tch on those cards)

Maybe have a look at all your background programs, some may really take too much CPU (some antivirus, ICue...)

[ChronoWise]

8 hours ago, PDifolco said:

Temps are ok, I was still surprised that a 4080 can have worse temps than my 7900XTX (with fans at around 2200rpm, quite noisy also, I got 70C/95C, hotspots are a b*tch on those cards)

Maybe have a look at all your background programs, some may really take too much CPU (some antivirus, ICue...)

I was surprised as well. Every review said these cards run 60-70°C without an issue. Maybe mine has a bad paste application or something.

I keep my PC rather clean; the only programs I have running are MSI Afterburner, HWiNFO, RivaTuner, Q-Fan, and Windows Defender.

Turning off Windows Game Bar and VBS seemed to help. I’ll give it a few days to see how it’s working. If the stutters keep happening, I’ll do a clean Windows install.

Thanks for the help, you have a good weekend sir!

[PDifolco]

2 hours ago, ChronoWise said:

I was surprised as well. Every review said these cards run 60-70°C without an issue. Maybe mine has a bad paste application or something.

I keep my PC rather clean; the only programs I have running are MSI Afterburner, HWiNFO, RivaTuner, Q-Fan, and Windows Defender.

Turning off Windows Game Bar and VBS seemed to help. I’ll give it a few days to see how it’s working. If the stutters keep happening, I’ll do a clean Windows install.

Thanks for the help, you have a good weekend sir!

Tyvm!

Just thought about something we didn't talk about: did you update chipset drivers so you get the 3d cache one, that you need now?

[ChronoWise]

11 hours ago, PDifolco said:

Tyvm!

Just thought about something we didn't talk about: did you update chipset drivers so you get the 3d cache one, that you need now?

I didn't! Where to get chipset drivers? Motherboard manufacture website? 

EDIT:
Found it. Oh boy I feel dumb now. Had no idea I'm supposed to install AMD chipset drivers. 
I thought that drivers from motherboard support website were enough. 

Didn't have 3D V-Cash optimizer and bunch of other drivers.