Unusual frame rates in games despite strong hardware setup
Unusual frame rates in games despite strong hardware setup
PC Specifications: CPU i9 9900k @ 3.60GHz, GPU Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070, RAM Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32GB (2x16GB), DDR4 3600, MOTHERBOARD Asus PRIME Z390-P SSD, Samsung 970 EVO 1TB. I've performed a fresh install of graphics drivers, Windows 10, checked PSU and BIOS updates, and all hardware is current. Despite everything being up to date, I still experience frame drops and stutters, especially during Fortnite and Minecraft. The issue also appears in ROBLOX and Tmodloader with noticeable performance loss. I've been struggling for months without a clear fix. I can't share a video here, but you can find the discussion on Reddit with the attached link.
It seems the low frame rates occurred when you first started playing, likely due to loading times. Once the initial frames stabilized, performance improved, especially since your GPU was fully utilized. For other games, I’ll have to check them, but Fortnite appears to be performing well overall, though it was slow at first.
Have you experimented with graphics options in the game? Your memory usage looks elevated, but since you haven’t played Fortnite recently, it might be fine now. Causes for stutters include pixel render delays, CPU-GPU sync issues, excessive virtual memory use (slow performance even with NVMe), overall game problems, or driver faults (consider reverting to a previous version). If your CPU is underpowered, enabling RTX could help balance the GPU workload. Setting a frame cap may also improve smoothness.
A HWiNFO log displaying temperatures and timestamps during gameplay would be useful for diagnosis. I'm experiencing severe frame stuttering but can't view CPU clock speed alongside it. For troubleshooting, would you like me to set the GPU to High Performance mode in the Nvidia Control Panel? This would keep it locked to its base game clock and prevent it from dropping to idle speeds. A solid test for troubleshooting. Also, showing the GPU's clock speed in your overlay would be beneficial.
I've experimented with adjusting game settings, but nothing alters the performance results. It seems I've mainly focused on graphics; the only noticeable change is reducing render distance, which offers some improvement but not much. The same applies to Minecraft—though a minor stutter persists even after making these tweaks. I've encountered this issue for some time and haven't succeeded with older drivers either. I'm considering investigating pixel render/draw delays, as I'm not very tech-savvy and haven't thought about fixing that. I'll also test enabling RTX to see if it helps. Thanks!
I haven't used HWiNFO before, but I think I did it correctly. Once I switched my GPU to High Performance mode, there were no issues and everything ran more smoothly. It seems the problem might have been with the Nvidia control panel settings, which I'm still getting to understand. FORTNITE.CSV
This configuration stops the GPU from dropping its base clock speed, which seems to be what was observed. Running it in High Performance mode continuously isn't optimal because it prevents the system from reaching idle clock levels, leading to excess heat and unnecessary energy use. We don’t have a graph for pre-performance mode, but the attached log shows the following trends: GPU Clockspeed, GPU Usage, CPU Clockspeed, and CPU Usage. The data appears reasonable compared to typical performance levels. What game resolution are you using? Did you apply a high-quality preset?