Extreme and frequent frame rate fluctuations are occurring.
Extreme and frequent frame rate fluctuations are occurring.
Hello everyone: Please accept my sincere apologies for my unclear English. I’m trying to assemble a brand new PC so I can finally enjoy games in high resolution. My setup includes: CPU – Ryzen 5 3600, Motherboard – B550 Gaming Plus, GPU – GTX 1660 TI, 6GB RAM (2x8GB), DDR4 3200MHz, later upgraded to Corsair 2x8GB DDR4 3200MHz. Operating system is Windows 10 Pro 21H2. Storage: a 512GB M.2 SSD with DRAM, and a 2TB Samsung QVO. Installation was smooth.
Over the past month, I’ve noticed some random drops in frame rate lasting a few minutes, followed by sudden spikes back to normal. For instance, during a 30-minute session of Apex, I experienced stuttering with around 23 or 35 FPS for about three minutes, then it would jump back up to over 100 FPS. The FPS counter in Steam showed these fluctuations.
I’ve checked my GPU drivers and the latest NVIDIA version (511.79) is installed. My CPU driver is up to date, I ran AMD Ryzen Master to monitor temperatures and boost times – everything seems normal. I increased the fan speed manually; when FPS dropped, the fans slowed down and then sped up again once the issue passed. I also tried enabling XMP profile, but it didn’t help.
GPU temperatures stayed below 75°C. Some users suggested my RAM might be too low for the CPU, so I upgraded to Corsair RAM (2x8GB, 3200MHz). That didn’t resolve the problem.
When I tested on a second monitor, stuttering was more noticeable, but it disappeared when I switched monitors or turned off the second one. I unplugged it and still had issues. I ran nvidiaProfileInsepctor and adjusted multiple monitors settings, but nothing changed. I even removed the NVIDIA GeForce driver and reinstalled only the drivers – no improvement.
I’m running out of ideas online. Any suggestions or tips could really help me get this working?
Are you noticing these problems in any single-player or local games? Both concerns relate to network usage, and heavy reliance on the internet often leads to frame rate drops.
It functioned smoothly for a whole month without any performance issues?
The potential reasons include GPU driver problems. Yes, the latest version can sometimes be the culprit. Upgrading backward or reverting to an older release may resolve the issue. I avoid installing the newest updates; instead, update only when you encounter problems that drivers could address. Each update carries a risk of breaking functionality. Resource consumption is another factor—updates, virus scans, or background processes can cause performance drops when they interfere with storage or CPU/RAM usage. Overheating and power delivery issues are also worth considering. Thermal throttling often goes unnoticed until you track performance fluctuations alongside temperature data. Power delivery might play a role even if it doesn’t show obvious symptoms.
Thanks for sharing the details. After exploring my system settings, I found a clear overview of my motherboard components. For instance, when I looked at the M.2 drive, it provided information about its size and type. The PCI slot above displayed the GPU in the X16 slot (gen 4), while the one below showed the PCIe x4 slot (gen 3). After swapping the GPU into the X16 slot, the performance improved significantly—no more stutters. I’m still trying to understand why this worked, but it seems to have resolved the issue for me. Appreciate the guidance!
It's strange because issues only appeared after roughly a month of using the PC. I find it hard to grasp why problems would develop at that time.
I think it relates to how port signals and request priorities work. Often I've noticed chipsets and drivers behave unexpectedly when a fast component like a GPU is plugged into a slower connection slot, even though it should handle it smoothly.