Performance issues such as stuttering and frame rate drops occurring within specific video games.
Performance issues such as stuttering and frame rate drops occurring within specific video games.
My computer is approximately three months old.
I recently acquired Dark Souls III and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice; however, the games are largely unplayable due to intermittent frame rate fluctuations. Despite maintaining a consistent 60 frames per second, the FPS frequently plummets to zero, causing momentary freezes followed by a return to 60 FPS as if the issue were nonexistent. I have also observed infrequent dips in performance within League of Legends. Furthermore, all drivers are current.
Following testing with HWiNFO, I identified that these fluctuations coincide with elevated CPU utilization (rising from approximately 35% to 60-70%) and reduced GPU usage (decreasing from roughly 60% to 10-20%), although the specific values vary depending on the game.
The system specifications are as follows: MSI TOMAHAWK MAX B450, Ryzen 5 2600, GTX 1660 6GB, and 8GB of RAM, running Windows 10 Pro.
A significant period has elapsed. It became evident that my Realtek driver was creating conflicts with my sound card—a purchase made due to prior audio problems—resulting in performance fluctuations. By simply disabling the Realtek drivers, all games are now operating without interruption.
These frame rate fluctuations seem to coincide with transitions into novel environments and the subsequent loading of those surroundings, perhaps? Or do they manifest without discernible cause? I possess similar experiences with these excellent titles, having noted comparable instances. Both games were initially developed with console performance in mind, resulting in a fixed 60 frames per second target, which could potentially introduce minor instability when running on PC hardware.
What justification exists for limiting frame rates? The current cap is already set to sixty frames per second, and implementing versusync would be superfluous given the game’s fixed rate. Furthermore, additional memory presents an unnecessary investment, particularly since existing resources are underutilized; a minimum of eight gigabytes is generally advised.
Current processor and graphics card temperatures may be elevated, potentially leading to reduced performance due to heat limitations.
Addressing potential CPU limitations, adjusting graphics card workload can resolve performance problems. A V-Sync mechanism operates on a similar basis by restricting the GPU’s processing capacity. Similarly, increasing system memory to 16GB, particularly with faster speeds, may offer a noticeable improvement. Confirming XMP profiles in the BIOS is advisable, as running RAM at its default 2133MHz clock speed can be suboptimal. It's important to recognize that “recommended” settings are often developer-specific and vary considerably between games.
Thermal readings appear satisfactory, approximately 60 degrees Celsius on average. Nevertheless, following investigations utilizing HWiNFO, I observed that during periods of fluctuation, the central processing unit’s workload increases significantly (ranging from roughly 35 percent to around 60 to 70 percent), while graphics card utilization decreases substantially (typically declining from approximately 60 percent to levels between 10 and 20 percent), although these figures fluctuate somewhat depending on the specific application.
Following an extended period, it became evident that my Realtek driver was negatively impacting my sound card—a purchase made to address prior audio problems—resulting in performance fluctuations during gameplay. Disabling the Realtek drivers resolved this issue, allowing for seamless gaming experiences.