Many stutters and low frame rates appear during gaming on my PC.
Many stutters and low frame rates appear during gaming on my PC.
IMG_2979.mp4 BattlefieldTM_V_2021-08-11_15-45-21 (1).mp4 Greetings all, I’m really upset about my computer’s condition now. It’s pushing me to stop gaming completely because I can’t enjoy it anymore. My system keeps facing problems while playing every single game I own—hundreds of titles in my collection tried to be tested for stuttering or crashes. Surprisingly, none worked; even the most popular ones like Red Dead Redemption 2, All AC games, Witcher, GTA, and Battlefield all have the same issue. It’s not just one game—it’s a consistent problem across the board.
I’ve been trying to fix it for ages, but nothing seems to help. Whenever I play, I stay still and notice no frame rate drops, yet my performance plummets when I move the camera or change positions. FPS stays steady at what my rig should be, but then it dips sharply during movement, sometimes freezing the screen entirely. The screen flickers, pings, and loses packets, making every game feel unplayable.
DirectX12 games seem worse, especially when they freeze for a second or two. In Battlefield 5, I freeze for a few seconds, teleport me to the map, and see my FPS drop from 120 to 5-20. Even in Hitman 3, I get around 75 FPS (capped), but moving the camera makes it worse, dropping to 50 or lower. It’s hard to describe exactly what’s happening, but it’s clearly affecting my experience.
I’ve searched online for solutions, but most advice is generic—turning off Vsync, adjusting settings, resetting drivers, etc.—none of which work. I’ve tweaked graphics settings, changed RAM and GPU timings, overclocked, used different drivers, even swapped to SSDs. Still nothing. I’ve reset Windows multiple times, tried new versions, tested underclocking, and moved games to faster drives.
The only thing that matters is upgrading my PC. I’ve heard it could solve everything. I also noticed some games show high frame time spikes depending on the game or system load. From what I’ve gathered, it might be related to frame timing issues.
I use this machine for both gaming and work, but productivity isn’t affected. My 21:9 ultrawide has G-Sync, but it keeps flickering in games—probably another sign of stuttering. Benchmarks show my computer is usually good, but stressing it out makes things worse.
I’ve tried everything from BIOS tweaks to hardware changes, but nothing sticks. I’m running out of options. If you have any tips or know a fix, I’d really appreciate it. This frustration is affecting my passion for gaming and Esports.
Please check the attached video(s). Sorry about the low quality—every detail matters, from screen flickers to lag spikes. Recording in-game would’ve helped a lot.
The Cx 450 is a bit underpowered but it works fine as long as it isn’t the green label model. It’s strange that your CPU is running so smoothly during demanding games—do you have another cooler installed? Also, did you overclock it? If yes, undo the overclock immediately. Regarding RAM, just install everything in stock first and test it. After that, share your observations.
Before attempting the PSU swap, take a few precautions. Verify your current BIOS version; recent updates may improve performance. Ensure you have the most up-to-date AMD chipset drivers from the official site. Follow these steps: check your BIOS settings and reset everything to defaults, confirming no unusual over/underclocking. If you use a second monitor, open Task Manager and sort by CPU usage to identify background processes. Consider a clean Windows installation if nothing changes. Replacing the PSU is unlikely to cause problems, though power-related issues might show differently.
After some trials, resetting the BIOS really helped a lot. I noticed during stuttering my GPU usage fell by about 20% before rising again, while CPU stayed the same. The PSU works fine without testing it, and I haven’t experienced any problems. It’s surprising to learn a power supply could impact game performance—I usually only update GPU drivers, not BIOS. I’ll check it out now.
It largely depends on how outdated your BIOS version is, but given the performance improvements ASUS highlights, it could be worthwhile. Also remember to verify your chipset driver, as it can significantly affect performance. Regarding GPU drivers, as I previously noted, clearing old settings with DDU might help if you suspect driver-related issues. Updating GPU drivers alone isn't always sufficient; sometimes power constraints play a role. Your GPU may struggle to draw power and then reduce performance to stay within limits, which could indicate a power problem. If this seems likely, consider checking your PSU and possibly replacing it.