F5F Stay Refreshed Software PC Gaming Is my RTX 3080 and Intel i7 9700k causing stuttering problems?

Is my RTX 3080 and Intel i7 9700k causing stuttering problems?

Is my RTX 3080 and Intel i7 9700k causing stuttering problems?

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MAGICALfalcon
Junior Member
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05-28-2026, 08:51 PM
#1
Hey guys. Currently running Gpu: Asus RTX 3080 Rog strix v2 OC Cpu: i7 9700k Motherboard: Z390-e 32gb Trident z g skill ram (8x4) 3 Samsung SSDs. Os is installed on 500gb ssd (Samsung 860) Psu: Asus Thor 1200w Aio: nzxt kraken z73 6 Lian Li sl 120 fans. Case: Asus Helios Monitor: Alienware aw3821dw So I just upgraded my PC from a 2080 to 3080, switched my psu from a 850 to 1200, and replaced a couple fans. I'm bummed that my games are stuttering a bit (witcher 3, tarkov, pubg, hunt showdown). It's like a massive fps drop. In pub g, my game was at 10fps for 3sec before it went back to normal. I did a ddu driver cleaner and that didn't work. My options are a complete windows re install, and maybe switch out my drives to 2 new nvme 970 plus. I'm really hoping I don't need a new cpu or motherboard but guys, what should I be looking at that would indicate this is a cpu issue. I know some people say the 9700k is fine for a 3080 but how would I know for sure if it is? I did have task manager open but it is saying my GPU is at 3 percent and cpu at 50-60 for pub g. When I used Nvidia overlay my GPU was at 98 percent and cpu at 50-60. My temps are really good so it's not thermal throttling. I get 70 degrees GPU max and 64 max for cpu. For witcher, if I load in and stand still the games seems to run fine, but as soon as I take a step the screen freezes for 0.8 sec then go back to normal fps. I'm at a complete loss. Could my GPU be the culprit? I do have quite a few RGB software applications in the background but my PC should be able to handle that. Idle cpu usage is roughly 9-15 (g skill Trident takes up 6 percent) Need any help I could get.
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M
MAGICALfalcon
05-28-2026, 08:51 PM #1

Hey guys. Currently running Gpu: Asus RTX 3080 Rog strix v2 OC Cpu: i7 9700k Motherboard: Z390-e 32gb Trident z g skill ram (8x4) 3 Samsung SSDs. Os is installed on 500gb ssd (Samsung 860) Psu: Asus Thor 1200w Aio: nzxt kraken z73 6 Lian Li sl 120 fans. Case: Asus Helios Monitor: Alienware aw3821dw So I just upgraded my PC from a 2080 to 3080, switched my psu from a 850 to 1200, and replaced a couple fans. I'm bummed that my games are stuttering a bit (witcher 3, tarkov, pubg, hunt showdown). It's like a massive fps drop. In pub g, my game was at 10fps for 3sec before it went back to normal. I did a ddu driver cleaner and that didn't work. My options are a complete windows re install, and maybe switch out my drives to 2 new nvme 970 plus. I'm really hoping I don't need a new cpu or motherboard but guys, what should I be looking at that would indicate this is a cpu issue. I know some people say the 9700k is fine for a 3080 but how would I know for sure if it is? I did have task manager open but it is saying my GPU is at 3 percent and cpu at 50-60 for pub g. When I used Nvidia overlay my GPU was at 98 percent and cpu at 50-60. My temps are really good so it's not thermal throttling. I get 70 degrees GPU max and 64 max for cpu. For witcher, if I load in and stand still the games seems to run fine, but as soon as I take a step the screen freezes for 0.8 sec then go back to normal fps. I'm at a complete loss. Could my GPU be the culprit? I do have quite a few RGB software applications in the background but my PC should be able to handle that. Idle cpu usage is roughly 9-15 (g skill Trident takes up 6 percent) Need any help I could get.

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bluemaxx06
Member
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195
05-29-2026, 05:40 AM
#2
Check HWINFO or Afterburner to see how each core and GPU are using power. Look at the temperatures for both parts. Make sure the CPU, GPU, and RAM don't get too hot. Check if the GPU's clock speed is dropping below its normal base rate. If that happens, look for a "Performance Cap Reason" message to find out why it can't go faster. There must be an actual reason preventing full boost power, even if there isn't one obvious issue. Even if everything looks okay so far, maybe something inside the game or in the NVIDIA Control Panel is stopping it from going up. Maybe both issues happened together with a 2080 GPU. I'm not sure about that last part yet.
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bluemaxx06
05-29-2026, 05:40 AM #2

Check HWINFO or Afterburner to see how each core and GPU are using power. Look at the temperatures for both parts. Make sure the CPU, GPU, and RAM don't get too hot. Check if the GPU's clock speed is dropping below its normal base rate. If that happens, look for a "Performance Cap Reason" message to find out why it can't go faster. There must be an actual reason preventing full boost power, even if there isn't one obvious issue. Even if everything looks okay so far, maybe something inside the game or in the NVIDIA Control Panel is stopping it from going up. Maybe both issues happened together with a 2080 GPU. I'm not sure about that last part yet.

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