Microstuttering during gaming on MSI GS65 Stealth 8RF laptop
Microstuttering during gaming on MSI GS65 Stealth 8RF laptop
Hello, I’ve been experiencing micro stutters on my laptop for a while now. After some time, I finally started investigating the issue until recently. I even visited a local IT tech team last week, who informed me about possible corruption in my OS drivers. They mentioned the hardware was fine and suggested it might be software-related, possibly malware that they detected and removed. I’m glad my laptop is now clean of any threats, but the stuttering still continues.
For instance, when playing BF1 campaign, I need to lower the settings to prevent stutters at higher levels. If I switch to ultra or high settings, I’d have to set my refresh rate to 60Hz in-game. I think I should be able to run it smoothly at my native 144Hz resolution with high settings since it’s a high-end gaming machine.
You either handle micro stutter without vsync/gsync or use one of them.
The reason for micro stutter without these technologies lies in how frames are handled and displayed on your screen. Some frames arrive slightly before the refresh rate, while others come a bit later. This was the main goal of vsync. Now gsync still introduces a small delay, but it’s much less severe than with vsync. You can either choose one or the other, or accept micro stutter. There’s no perfect solution. Reducing graphics settings only slightly eases micro stutter because frame rate fluctuations decrease, and the actual frame rate tends to be higher. More frames mean less micro stutter.
I’m sure you’re not pushing 144fps or above in most games when using a 1070 and an i7, unless you’re playing older titles. To get the best performance from your monitor, you’ll need better hardware.
You're asking if saying you still experience microstutter when vsync is on is accurate. Vsync fixes both microstutter and screen tearing. Your game will always appear choppy without it, with no other solution. Vsync/gsync is the correct fix. If you're still having issues despite vsync, it might be the GPU itself, but your tech support confirmed the hardware is fine.
Yes, I still experience stutters even with vsync, though they seem unpredictable and don’t interfere with my gameplay. It might be subtle for others, but it’s definitely noticeable for me. Probably just a matter of personal tolerance—I’m accepting it since the reviews I’ve read never mentioned this issue, and they tested it at maximum settings with 144 fps.
Is there a method to check if the GPU is the issue? I considered running a benchmark test, but I’m very new to PC gaming and learning on the spot. I remember the CPU getting hot to 90°C during games. I adjusted the battery power for the processor to 98% max and 98% min to lower the temperature to 70°C.
What games are you actually playing? The hardware is quite old. The 1070 achieving 144fps in current titles doesn’t seem correct to me. Unless on low graphics settings maybe. I use a 2060 that’s overclocked for maximum and don’t reach 144fps even at max settings (like rdr2), and I have an R7 3800x CPU. If you’re not seeing consistent performance, and I mean it all the time, stuttering on your screen isn’t just micro stuttering. Is there a way to track your FPS while playing? I’d recommend installing Afterburner with RTSS and using benchmark mode to observe these drops and check the actual FPS numbers. Enabling benchmark mode lets you set thresholds for low FPS, such as 1% and 0.1%, which are considered stutters. The 90c might be the problem. Your CPU is getting too hot and throttling itself. You can also use Afterburner/RTSS to keep an eye on your CPU temperature while gaming. It just overlays the data during the game.
I’m playing BF1 and Mafia definitive edition (remake), and I see the stutter mainly in mafia. Honestly, I’m not sure if “stutter” fits well, but when I look around the environment I notice small, subtle jumps, especially where activity is higher. The game runs at 60 fps, which is why you can’t increase the frame rate.
I’m using MSI and RTT, and I have the GPU and CPU clock speeds and temperatures, along with frame time data. I’ll try running the built-in benchmark test. I did adjust the CPU temperature with that battery setting, but the clock speed remains at 2108 MHz instead of the expected 3914 MHz.
As you mentioned, the "skips" decrease as you lower the graphics settings in a game, correct? Are you certain you're not relying on the built-in GPU that comes with your CPU? If you're using a dedicated 1070 and still experiencing poor skips—especially when viewing crowds or similar scenes—that suggests a potential CPU problem. Either the CPU isn't performing well enough for the games you play, or the temperatures are too high causing throttling. Reducing the CPU's power settings will also lower its performance, often locking it at a lower clock speed to save battery.
The laptop was fine five years ago, but today it feels less than ideal. You're likely to face FPS issues regardless of the situation. Since it's a laptop, cooling options are limited.
Here’s a video showing benchmarks on current games using the 1070 and i7 8750H. As you can see, performance will be affected. And reaching 144fps at max is unrealistic... forget about it. In modern titles, you should expect a stable 60fps.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Beju6jOXUZE