Problem still not fixed with stuttering and freezing issues
Problem still not fixed with stuttering and freezing issues
I previously discussed this issue a few months back, but I haven’t managed to resolve the problems I’m facing with my PC. In brief, I finished setting up my first system last summer, and from the very beginning it has experienced occasional stuttering episodes that appear and disappear unpredictably. Both Chrome and Edge sometimes freeze while I'm streaming videos on them.
The freezing happens suddenly—sometimes within minutes, sometimes over hours or days—and only occurs during video streaming sites such as YouTube, Netflix, Twitch, etc. The browser freezes completely for about a minute before returning to normal, though the rest of my PC remains functional. Occasionally, audio plays briefly before stopping on its own. I’ve learned that I can manually unfreeze it by performing specific actions: adjusting the window where the video is playing, launching a video in my media player, changing taskbar settings, or pressing WIN+CTRL+SHIFT+B. In rare cases, watching streaming while browsing can cause brief pauses during scrolling or when opening new tabs.
So far, neither issue has led to a BSOD, app crashes, or full system lockups. I’m uncertain if these problems are connected, but I’ve noticed that the File Explorer window sometimes fails to load completely, then restores after a few seconds, resetting everything except the Nvidia Control Panel from the hidden icons section.
Over the past months, I’ve carried out numerous troubleshooting steps—using DDU to uninstall and test drivers, clearing CMOS, disabling browser extensions, enabling/disabling XMP, ensuring proper component connections, running memtest86, checking for disk errors, scanning for viruses/malware, performing DISM and SFC checks. I haven’t overclocked, installed no background programs, and all my BIOS and drivers are up to date from the motherboard’s website.
I initially suspected a RAM issue, so I tested each RAM stick individually by booting with just one in the A2 slot. The first stick worked well at first, but after a few days the browser would freeze while watching YouTube. The second stick also caused freezing on the same day. Once both were reinstalled, I didn’t experience any issues for nearly a week before stuttering returned and the browser froze twice within minutes of watching Twitch. The stuttering intensified the next day and then disappeared overnight. Even when stuttering seems resolved, freezing can still happen, and I can go through periods without any freezes at all. It’s quite unusual how inconsistent these problems are.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. As a first-time builder, figuring this out has been quite frustrating.
System specifications:
- Intel Core i7-13700K
- ASUS TUF Gaming Z790-PRO WIFI
- G.Skill Trident Z5 DDR5 32GB (2x16GB) 6000MT/s CL30
- GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 Super Gaming OC 12G
- Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
- FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
- Windows 11 Pro
verify temperature and frequency during load with hwinfo and the official Intel guide.
verify temperature and frequency during load with hwinfo and the official Intel guide.
I'm using an air cooler (Corsair A115), which made the diagnostic reach 92c for most of the test until load caused it to spike to 100. Interestingly, while watching a YouTube video during installation of the Intel Processor Diagnostic Tool, my browser froze after the setup finished. Opening the tool itself eventually thawed it.