System restart causes stuttering in Steam. Assistance needed.
System restart causes stuttering in Steam. Assistance needed.
Over the past couple of weeks I've noticed a significant stutter when launching Steam after a full system restart. The issue appears only when opening Steam post-reboot or using certain ports like DuckStations. It doesn't occur during gameplay across any titles. I'm unsure what's triggering it, but my monitor—specifically the TUF Gaming VG27AQL3A (from 1080P to 1440P)—seems to be the culprit. Everything worked fine after installation, yet after a few days the stutter emerges. The GPU is connected via a plugin on my DP1 card using the included cable. My system specs are: MOBO - TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (Wi-Fi), Ryzen 7 5700X3D, 4x8GB up to 32GB RAM, Corsair 3200 GPU, ASUS PRIME RTX 4070 SUPER 12GB PSU, 850W power supply, Windows 10 (new install, stutter persists). I've tried changing the HDMI cable, booting in Safe Mode, and checking temperatures—all normal. Right now, ordering a new DP cable to test is my next step. Someone with insight would be greatly helpful.
It only occurs after rebooting Steam. Once it restarts, the stutter continues throughout the session. Closing Steam during a stutter doesn’t stop it. The interface update two weeks ago hasn’t changed the front page. Using Chromium browsers like Chrome or Edge and visiting the Steam store works fine. Disabling mouse acceleration may help. Refer to the YouTube comment for more details.
1. It only works when Steam or Duckstation is open; it’s useful for Blender most of the time without affecting it. It disappears after sessions end, restarts on reboot.
2. I use Firefox and there are no problems with the store front page.
3. I turned off G-Sync but didn’t try Mouse acceleration—it didn’t help.
Firefox operates independently from Chromium. The Steam client functions as a "specialized browser" built on Chromium, which raises my curiosity about how Chrome or Edge would behave when accessing the Steam site. I don’t have prior experience with Duckstation; it hasn’t been used before.
When the PS1 emulator freezes, what metrics appear—CPU load, disk activity, etc.? Consider running various benchmarks to observe mouse performance. If you simplify your setup by disconnecting non-essential devices and restarting, does stuttering persist?
Duckstation runs Ps1 emulation smoothly enough, but it still lags when I launch it. That suggests the Steam store front might be affected. I've rebooted multiple times, disconnected all USB devices and even the network connection, yet the issue persists. The new monitor includes a USB hub, which I haven't used much. I only kept two peripherals connected—mouse and keyboard. The mouse is a Logitech G203 and the keyboard a Tsunami MK-02+ Pro. Oddly enough, after unplugging the keyboard, a virtual keyboard keeps appearing when I log in. The CPU and RAM seem fine, but the GPU spikes to 100% for just a second, though it doesn't cause stuttering even when Task Manager opens.
I fixed it! Using two apps—SRE and CRU—as suggested in a Reddit post helped. Windows was loading too many resolutions, causing stutters. I applied SRE to remove PC section resolutions on the Nvidia panel and used CRU to clear TV settings. Once everything was clean with just native resolution, there were no more stutters. I was nervous at first because emulations use lower resolutions, but games still worked fine. Now it’s smooth. According to the post, this should be done whenever new drivers are installed and can be undone by reinstalling them.