I'm running out of steam - my system is freezing and crashing on the entire desktop and all games?
I'm running out of steam - my system is freezing and crashing on the entire desktop and all games?
This will be a long post but I will try to make it as condensed as possible.
More than a year ago I built a Ryzen 7800X3D system and ever since then I've been having some bad stutters across the whole desktop. Because of this, I moved back to Intel and it became much better, but I still have this stutter and I'm honestly close to losing my mind. To explain my issue simply: it's a combination of stutters and glitching. For example, if I scroll through a website, I can see a stutter, it's not fluid when scrolling up and down, and if I stop for 2-3 seconds and start scrolling again, it can skip a whole frame, like the whole page freezes and suddenly jumps to where I scrolled. Same goes for games, when I move my mouse around, it's jumpy/hitchy, feels like as if my mouse is dropping out/losing connection, but it's not it at all.
Videos showing the issue to some extent:
You can see when I'm moving my mouse and something on the screen is loading, mouse stops/skips. This is what happens in games as well.
Specs:
Mobo: MSI MPG Z790 Carbon WiFi
CPU: 14900K
GPU: Asus TUF 4070 Ti Super
RAM: Teamgroup T-Force 6400Mhz CL32, 1.35v
PSU: Asus Rog Strix Gold 1000W
SSD: iTB Samsung 990 Pro
CPU Cooler: Deepcool LT720 360mm
Monitor: ASUS PG27AQN 360hz G-Sync
Things I've tried:
Moving to a whole new system from AMD to Intel, as mentioned previously. All new parts, sold all old parts specifically to rule out a defective part, yet no change
Disabling XMP
Tried many different RAM kits ranging from Corsair to G.Skill to Teamgroup which I decided to stop at
Changed the mobo. I had a Gigabyte Aorus Elite AX before this one
Made sure my CPU and GPU are not throttling - they are not. CPU - 75C average in games, GPU 70-75C
Tried undervolting, disabling speed step, speed this and speed that, disabling/enabling rebar. Basically tried infinite amount of tweaks in BIOS, nothing helps. Always the same
Tried reinstalling Windows about million times and using without any programs, only drivers and games with programs required to run them. Tried different drivers, different Windows versions, doesn't matter
Tried different mice, also doesn't matter
Tried combination of G-Sync + V-Sync + FPS limit
You name it
My last system which was smooth had a 10850K CPU. There I went through different boards, RAMs as well and it always felt smooth regardless. Cyberpunk literally felt smoother and more enjoyable on that CPU than it ever did on 7800X3D or 14900K which I have now. BF2042 was also silky smooth on 10850K, yet stutters all over the place on these new processors.
I'm honestly at my wits end. I keep changing parts in my PC slowly to see if I just got a defective one, but it costs a lot and needs time. I have a suspicion that it might be a defective CPU in this case, but honestly I'm at loss and I don't know where to look anymore. My work laptop which has an i5 on it feels much smoother when scrolling through websites than my system and it's really jarring to the eye and kills the joy of using this computer in general. I would appreciate any help.
Stuttering results from a brief shortage of an essential component.
CPU is usually fine, but sometimes RAM becomes the issue.
There’s no problem with your CPU.
For a quick check, try the CPU-Z benchmark test.
Expect a score around 17387 with a single-thread score of 967:
https://valid.x86.fr/bench/utttjz
Are you running any background processes?
They often run with higher priority than regular tasks. Antivirus programs searching for viruses can consume many resources; Windows Defender is acceptable.
Certain drivers or applications may activate to check for updates. Close them if possible.
Review your program list for unfamiliar apps and examine startup entries.
Ensure you have enough RAM to handle your workload.
A hard fault halts your application completely.
When under load, use Task Manager or Resource Monitor.
Select the memory tab and observe the hard fault per second column.
Any value above zero indicates insufficient RAM.
The 13th and 14th Gen Intel CPUs have reported certain problems. Have you tried various mice or changed your HDMI cables? Also, consider using a different monitor or TV. Network stability, GPU and RAM load under idle and while working can affect performance. These observations helped me identify video stuttering issues, pixelation among other things. Geofelt provided useful tips to check.
different monitor? named it perhaps because you might be sensitive to changing frame speed or something. Like old black-and-white cameras used to have a slight horizontal flicker. It's all new technology at the very edge.
Has anyone else checked this and agreed?
..Or could it be the lighting in the room or reflections?
I just completed a CPU-Z benchmark test and achieved 16k multi and 903 single. I think this could be connected to me using Intel default configurations without any undervolting adjustments. If I lower the voltage on my CPU, I might approach 40k in Cinebench, but currently I'm only reaching 36k.
Concerning your other points:
1. I don’t run any background applications. Only the built-in MC Defender and Nvidia control panel are active. All other services are disabled. I tested several Windows versions with minimal third-party software installed, and nothing changed.
2. I attempted to install various drivers and disabled some via Device Manager, but there was no improvement.
3. After reinstalling Windows yesterday, the system appears clean, with no unfamiliar applications detected.
4. I have 32GB of RAM, yet my system lags when browsing websites that use over 20GB of memory.
5. The Event Viewer and Resource Monitor show no WHEA or hard fault errors.
These issues have been consistently present despite multiple adjustments to Windows settings and hardware changes. I plan to record a video demonstrating the problem.
Additionally, I should note that I recently changed my router and network cable just to eliminate any potential interference. No difference was observed.
I also tried various mice, switched through four different monitors, and used many different cables.
Could you provide more details about load idle and under-load readings? I’m not very familiar with those metrics and might need clarification.
I can admit I’m quite sensitive to certain factors, but this stuttering is noticeable to others. It’s something that happens when moving the mouse quickly—like when you’re about to shoot someone and the image freezes for a moment, or when the cursor feels jittery and unresponsive. This issue has occurred on my 10850k and even 4790k systems before. It seems like either faulty hardware or a background process, but even after replacing all components and using the purest Windows setup possible, the problem persists.
It looks like you've already tried several troubleshooting steps, so I recommend using LatencyMon to check for software or driver issues that might be causing the system to freeze. It's also important to confirm the type of monitor you're using—whether it's HDMI or DP—and to note the display specifications, as this will help determine the best connection method.
Thank you for the details. My monitor is actually PG27AQN, which can sometimes cause confusion when using ASUS names. Only DP supports full 360Hz, so I’m sticking with that... I also tested HDMI and other monitors without any improvement. This problem seems to originate from another source.
😕
About LatencyMon – it hasn’t been helpful for me lately. It mentions hiccups and mostly points to the Nvidia driver, but I noticed the same red warning on my older systems with no stutters. I’m not sure if that’s accurate now.
I thought a very high refresh rate would require HDMI 2.1 instead of 2.0, since DP can't reach 360Hz without DSC. It seems your system might be behaving oddly, but using HDMI 2.0 doesn’t have DSC support.
Nvidia’s drivers are known for poor latency performance. Of course, the issue isn’t necessarily with those drivers—they’re usually my worst too.
Another option is to disable Nvidia drivers via DDU and run the system without video drivers installed to check if the same problems appear when browsing the web. If they persist, it suggests a hardware-related cause.
It’s unclear whether the card is connected directly or through a riser cable, so I just asked that question for clarity.
I recently attempted to remove the Nvidia drivers and operated solely with the built-in graphics card – same problem persisted. The GPU remains connected directly to the PCIe slot. Part of me suspects a CPU-related issue, as I notice significant stuttering when interacting with CPU components. For instance, enabling adaptive voltage mode causes the system to become even more unstable. Reducing AC/DC loadline values from the default 110 to 50 also helps, but the problem persists. The main factor appears to be loading activities, such as webpage images or map shaders, which trigger stutters. This issue has occurred on my 7800X3D as well, despite having different hardware.
Another point I didn’t mention is the presence of white artifacts in games. After testing my GPU extensively, it remains stable and doesn’t produce artifacts outside gaming contexts. I found a Reddit post about someone with similar problems—artifacts and stutters on their 5800x, which resolved after replacing it. These observations lead me to suspect a CPU fault.
EDIT: I plan to upload a video demonstrating my mouse stuttering soon.