Gameplay FPS dropping all the way to zero
Gameplay FPS dropping all the way to zero
I get my FPS dropping to zero in online games sometimes. The crash lasts less than a second or so for a few seconds at a time. This happens every 5 to 10 minutes, roughly speaking. It seems random and I can freeze while typing in forums too. I dont know the real cause yet.
My computer setup is: CPU Ryzen 9 5900X, GPU Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti from EVGA, motherboard MSI X570 Gaming Plus with RAM Corsair Vengeance Pro 3600MHz (18-22-22-42), two sticks of 16GB each plus a new pair of two 16GB sticks I bought recently. The SSD is Intel 670P, and the power supply is Corsair RM750X.
Before all this stuff happened on Sunday, I installed some new RAM (two 16GB sticks that are exactly the same model as my old ones). I ran Memtest. Even though it passed, I had trouble booting at 3600MHz because the motherboard set it to 2133MHz instead of 3600MHz. I took out the new RAM and restarted the computer. Windows said it installed updates (probably not since a month ago).
On Monday, my first time hitting zero FPS in a game happened at least once while playing one specific game. I thought it might be a server glitch on the other player side.
On Tuesday, there were multiple times where zero FPS dropped. I started looking into why.
On Wednesday, I thought maybe my old RAM was loose after I installed new RAM. I moved my old RAM sticks to slots 2 and 4 instead of the usual ones. The problem stayed the same. Then I tried using slower RAM from my old computer (which wouldn't even boot) to see if it was a BIOS thing because XMP was still on, but that new RAM is much slower than mine. No luck there. I ran Memtest on the old RAM and it had no failures.
On Thursday:
I tried putting my new RAM sticks in slots 2 and 4 after passing Memtest. The issue kept coming back.
I checked temperatures of my CPU and GPU. Nothing was spiking or hot.
I ran Prime95 to test stability and there were no issues.
I ran Furmark to test the GPU stability too, but nothing dropped to zero FPS in those tests either (though I still cant reproduce it with normal games).
I did a 3DMark benchmark and stress test. My results stayed consistent with my original benchmarks from when I built the PC a year ago. In the stress test, my frame rate was stable at 98.7%. There were no drops to zero.
So I rolled back my Windows installation. It didn't fix it.
I ran DDU (a clean install tool). I updated Nvidia drivers. Still nothing.
I ran sfc /scannow and it said there were corrupted files but did not fix the issue.
I checked the power supply cables. They all look attached.
When the zero FPS happens, my Task Manager shows these two processes briefly spiking: "Service Host: Local Service (Network Restricted)" and "Service Host: State Repository Service." If I pay close attention to what is happening during those drops, I might not even notice them because they only show for a short time. So I guess it's not the issue.
I tested in single-player games too. The framerate would randomly drop from 180-200 frames per second down to about 30 fps. All this happened inside the same area of the game. Also, while doing online sessions during drops, I pinged google.com and saw no ping spikes. My in-game ping monitor stayed consistent right when the FPS dropped too.
I updated my BIOS from version 7C37vAH to 7C37vAI then swapped out my GTX 1070 for a new one (though it still had zero drops). I also reset my CMOS. I checked my CPU pins and reinstalled them properly. I even tested with a different power supply unit. I manually set the timings on my RAM so they were exactly what I wanted. Now I can get two 16GB sticks to boot up, but the intermittent FPS drops are still there.
It seems like both video cards and power supplies would help me find out if either of those makes a difference since I have an old GTX 1070 that works fine in single-player games and want to swap it out just to be sure. But I hate rerunning power supply wires one by one, so I'm worried about that.
I am still suspicious of the RAM at this point because given I've tried both pairs separately (one pair alone) and tried them in different slots, I dont think its the issue either. Especially since my old RAM was perfectly stable before everything started messing up. Have you ever had a case where old RAM got corrupted by new RAM? Something like STDs or compatibility issues between the two generations of sticks?
How old is the BIOS version that is running right now on your computer? Also, when you decided to change your graphics card software (the "GPU" part), did you remove all old driver files before installing the newest ones with DDU?
My computer has a BIOS version of 7C37vAI, but it started failing after I used the older version 7C37vAH. When I tried updating the BIOS myself, things got worse instead of better. Even after using DDU and reinstalling all the drivers, the issue still stayed.
Newest observation: 2x16 GB RAM boots fine at 3600MHz, but doesn't work with 4x16GB when set to 3600MHz. The MSI EZ Debug light for the CPU turns on (not from the RAM). I don't know if this is normal or not. It keeps rebooting until it loads the OS at 2133MHz. At that point, maybe I need to take the CPU apart and reinstall it.
(plus the 2x16GB recently bought) Are these two sticks the same make and model? For example, are they both Corsair + Vengeance? If yes, were you buy them at different times? Please check if there is a version or revision number on each stick. I'd try re flashing the BIOS and then clearing the CMOS after the BIOS update goes well with the latest version. It could be a problem with the board or the BIOS itself, or maybe the memory controller on your processor is broken. You might want to take your ram and processor over to another board and see if they work without any problems. If they do, it's possible that the board or BIOS is the issue. If they still have issues like your platform does, then the processor could be the problem, or different revision rams might be causing an anomaly.
I did a CMOS clear before I tried the CPU reinstall. Also tested a PSU swap without success (added to my main list). Regarding the RAM, yes, same make and model. The versions are different. I have confirmed that I can get both sets of RAM running separately at 3600 or together at 2133 (haven't tried anything in between yet). But FPS drops now for all scenarios. So I didn't have this issue before the RAM 4x16 install. Is it possible that could have messed up the memory controller? I am definitely leaning on it being either the mobo or cpu at this point, but I do not have any other AM4 CPU/mobo to swap with. Maybe I'll use this as an excuse to upgrade my home server and build a Ryzen setup for that so I have some parts to swap. I think that thing is still running on 1150 socket.
Yes, both RAM sticks are from the same make and model. The versions are different. I tested this by trying to run them separately at 3600 MHz or together at 2133 MHz (I haven't tried mixing the two yet). But now, the game drops frames in every situation. This means I didn't have a problem before adding these sticks to my PC. Since the platform works fine with either stick type, it's likely that having mismatched RAM kits broke something inside the memory controller. Please tell me which versions you used for each kit. Just because the computer runs okay with different pairs of RAM doesn't mean they are all safe together. The version numbers show what kind of chips (ICs) each stick has made by the manufacturer. Often, people swap out ICs in their factories just to get cheaper or easier-to-source materials. For now, try this: use only one specific kit of RAM, turn on your computer, and manually set the timings, frequency, and voltage exactly as written on the sticker side of that stick.
Head over to userbenchmark.com and do that test. You can find the link right there.
I haven't been able to get the same thing happening in any computer program I have made. It's not clear what this means yet, but I ran it three days ago here: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/57079446 This Time Spy stress test is also failing to show that behavior. Here is the link for that: https://www.3dmark.com/3dm/84428684 Even when I run it at 2x16 with my old sticks set to 2133, the FPS goes down to zero. Here is a sample of what happens (I've actually tried this in four different games including one that doesn't play online): The problem only shows up every three or five minutes, maybe more or less. I think it's related to my CPU and RAM right now, so I might need a CPU test that runs for about ten minutes to see if it happens. I've also tried Furmark but can't seem to get the same error there either.