The audio and video may freeze unexpectedly in games, suggesting a possible storage issue.
The audio and video may freeze unexpectedly in games, suggesting a possible storage issue.
I'm struggling right now. Just two days ago everything was normal, then suddenly I experienced severe stuttering in all games—from highly demanding titles to Stardew Valley. I haven't adjusted any settings, installed new drivers, or applied Windows updates. The only change was getting a fresh pair of speakers, but I’m not sure that’s the problem. My system specs are: CPU Ryzen 5 7500f, Motherboard ASRock B650M Pro RS, PSU Seasonic B12-BC-750 (80Plus Bronze, 750W), RAM Patriot Viper Venom DDR5 2x16GB at 6000MHz, GPU Endorfy Fera 5, GPU PNY GTX 4070 Super 12GB, SSD Lexar 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe NM620, OS Windows 11. The only noticeable issue is that when stutters occur, SSD usage spikes to 100% for a brief moment, and loading feels marginally slower than before. I've tried restarting the PC, running just the game with no other apps, using Malwarebytes, downloading Lexar’s firmware update, restoring Windows to a previous point, performing a clean Windows start, and letting all updates install. I’m certain temperatures are normal. I ran HWInfo during gaming and attached the log file. NOTE: I made an error with the motherboard model in the log.
Execute CrystalDiskInfo and CrystalDiskMark to evaluate your SSD's condition. Measure its health, read and write speeds. Then inspect temperatures, CPU, GPU, and the SSD itself. Overheating may lead to performance drops. Share your SSD test outcomes along with your component temps during idle and under load.
Your system appears to lag when launching into Windows. Is it responsive and fluid? If it boots normally but then slows down during gameplay, it might be software that takes time to load after startup. Windows 11 handles installing unwanted utilities such as keyboard and mouse add-ons well. Consider these steps:
1. Shut down all applications in the taskbar and open Task Manager to identify CPU or memory services like "Lighting service" and terminate them. Check if this resolves the issue.
2. Update your motherboard BIOS—Microsoft and AMD have released recent updates that could affect performance. For instance, KB5041587 was recently published (December 16th).
3. Use DDU to uninstall the display driver and then install the latest NVIDIA driver from the official site.
4. Update other drivers for your motherboard; a NIC driver change previously resolved problems on my X570 board.
The SSD appears to be functioning normally. The temperatures look okay across different scenarios. Windows boots up quickly again. The main problem seems limited to gaming sessions, especially when Firefox tabs load slowly. I haven’t had time to update drivers or BIOS today, but that’s on my list. I’ve already tried disabling other programs and turning off autostart, but nothing helped. Running the SFC utility fixed some issues, though it didn’t eliminate the lag. It’s been this way for over a year until now.
Have you attempted to disconnect the speakers? If they use USB connections, they might cause stuttering during playback if there’s a problem. Probably not, but all other steps should have fixed the issue unless it’s a hardware or BIOS problem. A BIOS update usually takes 10 to 15 minutes at most. I’d try that first if it isn’t your speakers.
I considered the situation carefully. My earlier devices were connected via wall power, but these USB ones didn’t respond. So I went ahead with a BIOS update. I also upgraded Windows to 24H2 and installed new GPU drivers—this time using DDU. Added AMD chipset drivers and ran a 3D Mark test for fun. No stuttering there. Sadly, the game still lags in some titles. I’m not sure what else to try except a full Windows reinstall. Or maybe it’s time to let go of PC gaming altogether, especially since selling this machine feels more appealing each day. A few notes: a new game (Okami) worked without issues, Stardew Valley also ran after reinstalling, but Infinity Nikki keeps stuttering even after reinstalling. It seems it uses very little resources—probably not enough for demanding AAA games. I don’t play those kinds of titles, so this setup should handle them easily. Conclusion: I really have no idea what to do next.
I haven't finished wiping this Windows setup yet because I didn’t have much time to consider it lately. However, here’s an update... It looks like the newly installed games are working just fine overall. Most games stop stuttering after a reinstall (though not all). Benchmarks such as 3D Mark run smoothly. This seems to be one of the most unusual computer problems I’ve faced, but at least I found a fix—sort of? I’d appreciate knowing what triggered this issue in the first place, though. Lol