Stuttering because of low GPU usage.
Stuttering because of low GPU usage.
Hello,
I have experienced random stuttering in Apex Legends, Cod ww2 and in Blackops 4, because my gpu usage drops while gaming. Stuttering can happen every 10 seconds or then once in a minute or then they dont even occur. I have monitored it with msi afterburner. Cpu usage is not even close to 100% and none of the threads dont sit at 100% but they can spike very fast to 100% while cpu usage still sits for example at 20%. I play those games everything maxed 1080p. Here is few photos of my msiafterburner:
My computer is Acer Aspire gx 281 and my current specs:
Gpu GTX 1070 8GB
CPU Ryzen 1700x
Games installed on HDD tried also SDD.
PSU liteon model Ps-7501-5 (500w, 80 plus bronze)
motherboard is b350 but dont know the manufacturer
Ram 8GB x 2 and 2400 Mhz
Internet 4g 150mb/s (usually between 5-100 mb/s)
What I have tried and checked:
closed all unnecessary programs and apps.
disabled windows game mode
trying different powermodes on windows
tested in latencymon everything ok
set priority high
checked that no memory leaks
underclocked to 3ghz, overlocked to 3.9 ghz, almost no difference
Temps on CPU and GPU are ok (cpu less than 60C and gpu sits normally at 82C)
lowering graphics in game may have positive impact, but it dont fix every stutters
First gen Ryzens had noticeable FPS drops. It exacerbates the problem when you use low frequency RAM because Ryzen's Infinity Fabric core interconnects are tied to RAM speed. I’m not saying 3200 speed RAM will completely eliminate the problem, but it’s a step in the right direction. AMD are very aware of this issue, which does cause latency problems. There are unconfirmed reports of them completely redesigning the upcoming 3000 series CPUs to use “chiplets” and direct connect memory via memory controllers in the chip. We will have to wait to know for sure if that includes consumer desktop chips, or just server grade ones, but that is exactly the kind of thing Ryzen needs to avoid the memory latency issues it currently has. The 3000 series btw is said to be compatible with AM4, all it should take is a BIOS update. According to rumors, the 3000 series is supposed to launch in 2019, possibly July. Accurately measuring bus latency is tricky. Fortunately, SiSoftware recently introduced its Sandra Business Platinum version that includes a novel Processor Multi-Core Efficiency test. It’s able to measure inter-core, inter-module, and inter-package latency in a number of different configurations using Multi-Threaded, Multi-Core Only, and Single-Threaded tests. We use the Multi-Threaded metric with the “best pair match” setting (lowest latency) for our purposes.
The new motherboard and faster RAM are unlikely to make a significant difference in your latency due to the limited range of speeds you're working with. The PSU could be contributing to the stuttering, but it’s difficult to determine without more information about its wattage and quality. Updating the BIOS might help, but it’s a complex process and carries some risk if not done correctly.
Hard to say if the PSU has anything to do with it, but my guess is if it has the 26 amps total system power a 1070 needs, it's not likely the problem. The kind of thing you're describing is a common scenario with Ryzen, especially first gen, and even more so with low frequency RAM.
The article I posted wasn’t just a heads up on Ryzen needing faster RAM though, it was to show how much higher latency the core to core is than Intel. You’re going to get far more latency than Intel regardless of faster RAM, which is why many are excited about Zen 2 Ryzen 3000 series.
I would not advise preordering though. if you want one make SURE you wait until they divulge whether the Infinity Fabric problem has been fixed. In fact with new architecture it’s always best to wait for a fair amount of customer feedback and pro testing site results.
I have analyzed those stutters a little bit more in Apex Legends. The stuttering if it happens it would start in the beginning but it will stop after playing few minutes. This happens at least 90% of the time and I just tested it and figured it out. Same at Blackops 4 and in blackout mode. The first match is critical and second or third will be stutter free almost every single time when I play those games and it’s not a server issue. Server lag doesn't seem to show in min fps so it’s not that. So that’s because of slow ram or what? Need to be sure because new mobo, maybe even win 10 and dual rams are very expensive and a lot of work for novice but I really want smooth performance.
If a game plays a lot smoother anywhere from 1-2 min or more after first launching it, it's often a problem with an older game engine being used. Outdated game engines can often be slow to load game assets, which is why they struggle more right after launching a game because that's when all the game world textures are being loaded.
Ubisoft games often have this problem, especially Ghost Recon Wildlands with it's very large and detailed open world. When I bought a super fast NVMe drive recently the game went from taking 30 sec for the full screen map to go from blurry to detailed, to loading clear right away. I also don't have vehicle engine and car door sounds not playing until driving a ways like I used to. Once in a while I'll see a small hitch or two within a minute or so after launching the game, but a quick fast travel to the safehouse I'm already at usually fixes it.
A lot of game developers these days are getting very lazy at quality control issues, often times it's that their publishers won't pay for needed software upgrades though. They put profit above polish, and are more likely to rush out overpriced, cosmetic micro transaction addons than fix their games. Many claim they get very smooth performance by using components that are well above the game's hardware requirements, but it's an expensive solution and even then, not always a guarantee of smooth performance. Some games will yield high frame rates but not smooth performance, due to things like outdated engines like I said.
Just checked and sure enough Apex Legends uses the old Source Engine, which everyone knows should have been updated years ago. That said, it's just a cell shaded game so it doesn't have high end graphics. Being a popular free to play game though, it has TONS of players, so make sure what you are experiencing is not server overload (look for less populated servers) or a ping problem. Extremely high pings can cause various kinds of lag and stutter. The farther away the server you play on (especially other countries) usually the higher the ping is.
Respawn made the game, and also Titanfall, which is very well optimized and runs pretty smoothly. I've only played Titanfall 2 sp offline though, so I can't speak for the mp. EA owns Respawn though, and EA are one of the publishers most known to care more about profit than support. They're even known as the "Place where good dev teams go to die", like Visceral Games, whom made the fantastic Dead Space series".
Test your ISP download, ping, jitter, and packet loss, then check the ping in game to see how it compares.
ISP Download speed 150 mb/s, upload 30mb/s and latency 24 ms. In game ping is 59 and packet loss is zero. I have mobilenetwork, so it varies a lot. Min is something like 5 mb/s and upload also 5 mb/s.
The stuttering you're experiencing is likely due to high CPU usage and/or insufficient RAM bandwidth, particularly when the game loads and processes complex scenes. The fact that overclocking doesn't resolve it suggests the bottleneck isn't simply CPU speed but rather how efficiently the CPU utilizes its resources under load.
Here’s a breakdown of potential solutions:
1. **RAM Upgrade:** Given your description, upgrading to 16GB or even 32GB of RAM would likely provide a significant improvement. Many modern games are heavily reliant on memory bandwidth, and insufficient RAM can cause stuttering during demanding scenes.
2. **SSD Optimization:** Ensure your game is installed on an SSD. This will drastically improve load times and reduce texture pop-in.
3. **Monitor CPU Utilization**: Use a program like Task Manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (macOS) to monitor your CPU usage while playing the game. If it's consistently hitting 90-100%, that’s a strong indicator of a bottleneck.
4. **Game Settings:** Lowering graphics settings, particularly those related to shadows and draw distance, can reduce the load on your CPU.
5. **Driver Updates**: Ensure you have the latest drivers for your GPU.
6. **Background Processes**: Close unnecessary background applications while gaming to free up system resources.
7. **Check Temperatures:** Monitor your CPU temperature during gameplay. Overheating can cause thermal throttling, which reduces performance. Consider improving your cooling solution if necessary.
8. **Investigate Game-Specific Issues:** Some games are simply poorly optimized and may have inherent performance problems regardless of hardware upgrades. Check online forums or communities for solutions specific to the game you're playing.
Given that overclocking didn’t help, it strongly suggests a fundamental bottleneck elsewhere in your system. The RAM upgrade is the most likely first step to take.
The gains from faster RAM like I said are only part of the solution, and it varies from game to game. Not all games have the same frequency of draw calls, and draw calls in some games involve a massive amount of calculations compared to others.
It sounds like you're talking yourself into believing the memory latency is a non-issue, which as I stated before, many Ryzen owners fall prey too. If you want proof that Ryzen consistently has more frame drops than Intel, start looking at side by side real time YT benches that simultaneously show an Intel and Ryzen CPU playing the exact same part of a game. Most benches put up on YT can't be trusted, but the ones that show real time comparisons are much more likely to be accurate.
Another way to look at it is what is the main difference in design between the latest Intel and AMD CPUs? That’s right, it’s the Ryzen core interconnects being tied to RAM speed. The steps needed to store rendering data in RAM, to then be sent to the GPU, require lightning fast calculations to keep up with today's fast GPUs. You don’t get that with core to core latency that’s several times higher than Intel.
This is why AMD are redesigning Ryzen with Zen 2 architecture by putting memory controllers right in the chip. It’s like this, you can trust random YT AMD owners whom put up benches that likely lean toward best scenario games, or get your info from tech sites or responsible, YTers whom are not biased in the way they bench games (you have to look hard for them on YT). Ryzen is quite a step up from Bulldozer, hell, anything would be, but it’s far from having architecture yet that gives today’s GPUs the rendering data delivery speed they need.
I think I’ve already indirectly told you what your system needs. I know it’s hard to take for those whom thought they could build cheap, but often times you end up paying more that way via rebuilding.
Okay i now agree that the problem is my cpu. Watched many benchmarks videos of Apex and every ryzen had those frametime spikes. What was interesting was that also Intel 8400 chip has also frametime spikes. Its single core speed is roughly 15 % faster and it´s not suffering bad core to core latency. So I think only solution is to buy 400-500 € CPU or wait updates from respawn.. Or is Intel 8400 also suffering bad latencies? What cpu would be good for handling these BR games?