Extreme stuttering occurs in games following the installation of an M.2 SSD (WD Black SN 750)
Extreme stuttering occurs in games following the installation of an M.2 SSD (WD Black SN 750)
I received my new SSD recently.
I installed it right away, replacing the previous cheap Kingston 240 gb model. I started playing Cyberpunk 2077 immediately.
Before that (about 25 minutes prior), the game was running smoothly with consistent frame rates around 60 fps on medium settings.
Now it’s extremely choppy, especially when I try to scan quickly. This isn’t the typical stutter from an unoptimized game.
My FPS dropped noticeably between 20 and 30.
However, my desktop performance remains perfect—the new SSD works without issues (except during gaming).
Here’s what I’ve tried:
- Reviewed temperatures and overall performance via WD Dashboard (software): everything normal.
- Tested installing the game on an HDD instead: it ran perfectly, even better than on the new SSD. The menu was very choppy and had bugs, causing strange messages to appear.
- Disconnected all other storage devices connected to my PC: no improvement.
- Verified BIOS settings (up to date): under the NVME SSD menu, no options available.
Interesting fact: I bought a fresh SSD because the previous one was failing, yet games still worked flawlessly.
Any suggestions?
My system specs:
- Motherboard: Asrock B250M Pro 4
- GPU: GTX 1660Ti
- CPU: i7 6700k
- RAM: Team Group 2x8 gb @ 2133Mhz
- New SSD: Western Digital Black SN750 250gb
- PSU: Be Quiet Pure Power 600W silver
Don't encounter these issues with the game on my Samsung 970 NVMe.
A few points to keep in mind regarding solid state drives and your specific drive.
Ensure TRIM is activated and functioning properly.
Install the most recent firmware update.
When gaming, use the drive's built-in Game mode.
Avoid using more than 85% of the drive's capacity, whether it's an HDD or SSD.
If you run a defrag tool, particularly one that operates in the background, configure it to disregard your solid state drives.
Don't encounter these issues with the game on my Samsung 970 NVMe.
A few points to keep in mind regarding solid state drives and your specific drive.
Ensure TRIM is activated and functioning properly.
Install the most recent firmware update.
When gaming, use the drive's built-in Game mode.
Avoid using more than 85% of the drive's capacity, whether it's an HDD or SSD.
If you run a defrag tool, particularly one that operates in the background, configure it to disregard your solid state drives.
I'm facing a similar problem with my S70 2TB drive just bought. When a game needs to load or write to the disk, I notice a noticeable delay (causing dropped frames). This issue appears in almost any game, no matter how complex the graphics are—like when osu! hangs while loading songs. Interestingly, I also have an ASRock motherboard (Z390), and there are no specific options in the boot menu for this drive. Have you found a solution?
Yes, I did. It's actually a bit embarrassing and likely won't assist you. It didn't involve anything with the SSD. While installing, I had to take out the graphics card, and when I reinstalled it, the power cables weren't connected correctly (the two-pin ones were missing). The interesting part is that the stuttering seemed less noticeable in games that were already on my hard drive.