Experiencing stuttering or hesitation with your new PC?
Experiencing stuttering or hesitation with your new PC?
I've recently assembled my initial PC about a month back. The construction went smoothly (thanks to Linus PC Building POV), but performance problems have emerged since. I’ve kept only the EVGA 750 GQ 80+ Gold and my 3060 ti, while all other components are brand new. Everything functioned well until I encountered minor stutters in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 + 2, dropping to 59 FPS for a brief moment. I attempted fixes like increasing the page file size to match RAM levels and adjusting CPU settings via msconfig, but these only worsened the issue. The game would stutter excessively, making it unplayable. I restored the system, which initially worked but then crashed with a BSOD after a restart. Eventually, I reinstalled Windows, which brought everything back to normal—except for occasional stutters in games and benchmarks. Today, all systems are inconsistent; even Shadow of Tomb Raider and Tony Hawk show minor hiccups despite smooth 60 FPS otherwise. Yesterday was flawless (benchmarks and playtests). Superposition also experiences occasional delays. I’ve tested everything possible: CPU temps stay under 40°C during gaming, GPU usage peaks around 64-74%, and I’ve shared videos of the stutters. Please help if you can. Crash Bandicoot runs best, though FPS dips randomly. I’m currently using the latest Nvidia drivers. My setup includes an i5 12600K CPU, Asus Prime Z690-A motherboard, 32GB DDR5 4800 MHz RAM, a Zotac 3060 ti GPU, and various cooling components.
I would try running in safe mode to limit services and programs in background just to make sure it is not a hardware problem. Also check before going into safe mode if stutter even happens in desktop, try moving your mouse in a linear direction and follow it with your eyes to confirm, if it stutters even in desktop then try safe mode which will help checking if problem still exists (no need to launch a game to test if it stutters on desktop). Side note: I've had this issue and Equalizer APO was the culprit if you have it installed try uninstalling it and restart to check if issue persists.
Everything operates smoothly during regular desktop tasks (I confirmed your idea of watching the cursor). Interestingly, my old PC had APO enabled, which sometimes led to loud audio distortion. I didn’t install it on this machine. I’ll test safe mode and share the outcome.
The displays connected to the GPU rather than the built-in graphics card?
My Bios is a modified setup since I'm a bit anxious about updating it (in case it breaks). It was working smoothly before but has started acting poorly lately, so I wasn't expecting it to affect performance much. Could it be that the monitors are connected through the GPU?
It's a significant step up from Bios 2xx to 3xx, especially with the new Intel ME version included. I’d consider updating. Bricking usually means releasing updates to fix issues or improve compatibility, which manufacturers wouldn’t do for non-functional systems. How are your temps handling it?
Not focused on the Bios issue with my board. The chance of a power cut during an update is possible. Temperatures are all within acceptable ranges—CPU stays between 28-30°C, never exceeds 62°C under stress, GPU around 30°C max, and motherboard VRM remains near 45°C in demanding games. Motherboard temps hover between 26-30°C, and everything stays safely below thermal limits.
What model does your SSD come with? Are the games stored on the SSD or HDD? If Windows is set up on the SSD, try taking out the HDD and running a game solely on the SSD. Based on how you installed Windows across two drives, it might not boot properly. Disconnect all USB devices except the mouse and keyboard to check if that helps. You could also use someone else's mouse and keyboard temporarily to rule out your device as the problem. Follow this procedure to reinstall your PC correctly (including the UEFI). If you haven't figured it out yet... I think the issue likely points to a failing drive. If you find any .dmp files in C:\Windows\Minidump, please update your original post with them so we can examine the crash details further.
I completed a memtest via the BIOS and everything passed, which means RAM problems are out. I also upgraded the BIOS to the newest release and it’s functioning properly so far. I’m counting on that lasting. If it continues to work, I’ll consider this the solution; otherwise, I’ll likely return here for another update.