Question Freezing in Elden Ring 3090 and 1070
Question Freezing in Elden Ring 3090 and 1070
I assembled a fresh PC and transferred my SSD and hard drive from the previous setup to the new one. Previously, I played Elden Ring smoothly on the old machine without any lag or stuttering. After relocating the storage devices, I updated all component drivers. However, on the more powerful new system, the game would freeze for roughly 3 to 5 seconds before resuming. This issue occurred approximately every 30 to 40 seconds. I explored various online solutions but still had no clear answer. The problem only appeared with Elden Ring. Recently, I moved the drives back to the old system without updating drivers, and the freezing disappeared completely. A 3D Mark Time Spy stress test on the new machine showed a perfect 98% score twice. Interestingly, during the freeze (with GeForce Performance Overlay active), both CPU and GPU utilization dropped to zero. The temperatures remained normal, staying below 65°C.
The case was flipped, and the GPU was positioned upright, as shown in this video. It’s unclear if that change made a difference.
New system details:
- Intel Core i9-12900K 3.2 GHz 16-Core Processor
- Lian Li GALAHAD AIO 360 RGB UNI FAN SL120 EDITION 58.54 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
- Asus ROG STRIX Z690-A GAMING WIFI D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard
- G.Skill Trident Z Neo 128 GB (4 x 32 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory
- Asus GeForce RTX 3090 24 GB ROG STRIX WHITE OC Video Card
- Corsair HX1200 Platinum 1200 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
- Lian Li Uni Fan AL 64.5 CFM 120 mm Fan
- Lian Li UNI FAN AL360 64.5 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack
- Lian Li UNI FAN AL360 64.5 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack
- Lian-Li O11DE-2W Upright GPU Kit
Old system:
- i7 7700 (stock cooler)
- 16 GB DDR4 2400 MHz RAM
- GTX 1070
- 500W EVGA PSU
- Storage for Elden Ring was on the SSD, but testing on the hard drive didn’t resolve the problem.
Primary storage used:
Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD
From an i7-7700 to an i9-12900K...
Could you be sure you didn’t perform a complete system reset and reinstall?
Unless so, this might be the cause of your issues.
Yes, but those should always be backed up. Complete reset and reinstall. (link below) Any significant update requires a reliable backup of everything you don’t want to lose. Personally, I never turn on the system without a verified backup of all data. Really. How To - Windows 10 clean install tutorial If you’re searching for a Windows 11 clean install guide, you’ll find it here: Windows 11 Clean install tutorial (Click here) Alternatively, you’re welcome to start with the Windows 10 Clean install tutorial. This guide is designed to walk you through each step of a clean installation of Windows... forums.
Well, the problem keeps occurring. I don't know what to do anymore. It's really frustrating.
Do you have cable extensions connected to the CPU and GPU? Please remove them and try again.
These are the PSU cables I was using. (link)
I removed them and replaced them with the stock PSU cables. I also unplugged the fan hub and kept only the aio pump and fans directly connected to the motherboard. I changed the settings to windowed borderless and adjusted the resolution to 1440p (originally 1080p). The issue stopped for a while but then returned. Now I’m considering sending all the parts back to Amazon and reverting to my old system.
Did you ever clean install Windows, as suggested by USAFRet?
-For some reason on the new more powerful system the game freezes completely for about 3-5 seconds and then speeds up. This freezing happens pretty much every 30-40 seconds.
-It only happens with Elden ring.
-I moved my ssd and hardrive back to the old system ( without even updating the drivers ) and the freezing didn't happen at all.
-I noticed was that when the freezing happened ( I had geforce performance overlay open ) the cpu and gpu utilization would both go down to 0%.
-elden ring is on the ssd, but I also tried putting it on the hard drive and the issue persisted.
It's not outright crashing, it just slows way the hell down.
Makes me think something is overheating - cpu and gpu cores aren't the only parts capable of that, mind you - or there's a driver/software battle happening on the new hardware increasing system latency(and surprisingly not crashing) that doesn't happen on the old stuff, because they don't use the same ones. I wouldn't know how to narrow the latter down... well, if there's software you use on the new build that you don't use on the old one, that would be a start. Drivers though, I wouldn't have a clue.
As far as I know(others will know more), cpu and gpu utilization of 0% happens for 2 reasons:
1)They're idle, or waiting on something. Not unusual at all for the gpu, but for the cpu, that should be impossible. It's always doing something - the OS can't even function without the cpu, and if the OS isn't functioning, then nothing works.
2)They're not receiving enough power, or none at all. I don't know how reliable Geforce Performance Overlay is. Maybe try HWINFO(sensors only) and see if it reports similar? You can double click on parameters to make a graph pop up.
I completed a fresh Windows setup on a brand new SSD. Also, the 3D Mark time spy showed temperatures staying below 65°C. During the installation, I only added Firefox, Steam, and Elder Ring. For each driver, I installed it, restarted the system, and moved on. I suspect the problem might be related to the motherboard or CPU.
I also observed in Task Manager that some cores were idle while others had high utilization. On my previous machine with an i7, all cores were balanced. However, on the i9, utilization varied significantly—some cores ran at full capacity while others were idle. I’m not sure if uneven core usage is a problem, but it’s something I noticed.
Thanks to everyone for your assistance! I hope the new motherboard resolves the issue. I’ll perform another clean Windows installation and follow up.