Stuttering in games ?
Stuttering in games ?
Hi, I've been experiencing stutters and micro stutters on my system for about 2 to 3 years now. Occasionally, I search online for solutions or try various methods, but nothing seems effective. The stutters can occur suddenly or during intense gaming sessions, especially when hitting a hard surface or the tires spinning out. I usually use a latency monitor to identify the highest latency driver, and it consistently points to Nvidia.
I've attempted to reinstall my operating system and drivers multiple times, both with and without using nvclean install. I've also changed the BIOS to a different GPU brand to test if that resolves the issue.
A quick note: my motherboard's BIOS is up to date, and the only overclocking I've done was on the CPU. When I'm not overclocked, there are more stutters than usual, which makes me puzzled about the cause. If anyone has any insights or knows what might be going on, it would be greatly appreciated.
Also, I forgot to mention that I used DDU and save mode for this process.
System specs:
- CPU: i5-6600K (OC'd to 4.4GHz)
- Motherboard: Asus PRIME Z270-K
- RAM: HyperX DDR4 8GB x2, 2400MHz
- SSD: Samsung 960 Evo, Kioxia Exceria G2
- GPU: Palid GTX 1060 6GB
- PSU: Nox Hummer 750W Bronze
- OS: Windows 10 (Atlas OS)
- Monitor: AOC G2460PF, BenQ BL2420PT
Games in general sometimes cause stutters when using Photoshop or Premiere. Latency Monitor indicates NVIDIA as having the highest latency even without playing.
There are several issues here; it would be hard to pinpoint the exact problem. The Atlas OS, cut-down version, seems outdated with no updates—reliability and performance are doubtful. P.S., I wouldn't trust a brand like this. A quad-core CPU isn't ideal these days, so expect reasonable expectations for new games. If some of your games performed better in the past, try installing Windows 10 normally.
Thank you for your response. It's Atlas OS with updates enabled. I attempted a clean install of Win10 and other modified versions, but the results remained consistent. I've also tried using the high performance power plan, which didn't help much. The PSU I'm using is quite old; I recently replaced it with a new Corsair CV550 for my server PC. It behaves similarly. It's not that I'm playing games now, but stutters only appeared before. I'm still experiencing issues and would like to upgrade to a newer CPU if possible.
I concur with @boju
- The CPU is outdated. Playing modern games will be difficult, and the GTX1060 will also struggle.
When I inquired about specific titles, I was referring to particular game names for clarity.
The power supply side is problematic too. The existing one is ineffective, and the replacement CV is more suited for office use rather than a gaming rig.
I get what you're talking about. Mostly I play games like Assetto Corsa, Core Keeper, Eurotruck Simulator 2 and Rainbow Six Siege. It was really slow for a while—like ten seconds or more—and I fixed it by switching to Vulkan, but there were still some problems.
I don’t use CV for my gaming PC; it’s pretty old and I can’t upgrade much. Some components are over a decade old. The PSU didn’t blow up, which is good. I remember the 12V line going down to 11.5V while gaming, but I’m not sure that affects stability much.
Yeah, CV isn't the best choice either.
Consider other options. Use a single monitor. Check each SSD individually with a fresh Windows install and a test game, to determine if any are causing slowdowns. SSDs require ample free space—about 100 to 150 GB should work.
I conducted some tests using a single monitor; yesterday I raced with it and experienced stuttering during the 40-minute event. I’m considering moving the GTX1060 to my "server PC" and asked a friend to lend me her old GTX960 to see if the issues continue, but I need to collect it first. The SSDs appear normal, as the benchmark results match expectations online. My 960Evo is currently about 300MB/s slower on write speeds in SEQ1M Q8T1 mode, and there’s more than 100GB of free space available.
Stuttering generally stems from a brief shortage of an essential component.
Often it’s the CPU, but occasionally it’s RAM or a more important application.
In your situation, I believe the CPU is the issue since you noticed stuttering decreases when you don’t overclock.
What options do you have??
At one point, Silicon Lottery provided data on optimal overclocks for different chips.
I remember that a 6600K was widely used and a modest improvement of 2% could reach 5.0.
I think with adequate cooling you might achieve even better results, maybe around 4.6.
Long ago I purchased an I5-7600K which would have reached 5.0.
Now you’re considering upgrading your motherboard and CPU for improved performance.
Most games are constrained by the single-thread speed of the main thread.
To assess your processor, run the cpu-Z benchmark.
You might see a score of 518:
https://valid.x86.fr/bench/3nje1c
Likely most of these scores come from overclocked 6600K units.
Today processors are grouped, and turbo mode is now a more effective alternative to overclocking.