Please help: I have a weird performance dip in almost all games, and I have a good PC with GTX 970

p3r02d3r0 · Dec 29, 2016

Hi all,

First, happy holidays to everyone.

I bought MSI GeForce GTX 970 4G Gaming 4 GB about a year ago, and almost all 3D games stutter when I play. Some more, some less. But that started to happen after a while. At first games did run well.

Here's my PC:

Core i7-4770 3,4 GHz
MSI Z87-GD65 GAMING
Corsair Vengeance Pro 2x8 GB
MSI GTX 970 4G Gaming 4GB
Intel SSD 180GB
Seagate HDD 500 GB
Hitachi HDD 1 TB
XFX Pro 650W
Windows 10 Pro

Only my OS and several programs are installed on SSD, while the games are installed on both HDDs (which are old-ish).

I remember exactly when that started to happen. I downloaded Deus Ex: Mankind Divided DX12 beta patch, and there was a sudden stutter in a game.

I actually thought it was game-related, but then it started to happen in almost all 3D games.

I don't have Deus Ex: Mankind Divided installed anymore, but I play FIFA 17, The Division and other games quite frequently.

I recorded a video (RivaTuner stats included) where the stutter/performance dip occurs. FIFA 17 and The Division (DX11).

In FIFA 17 you'll see a slight stutter (sometimes it can be more severe), while in The Division, there's a full stop.

Also, I play FIFA 17 at 2160p, while The Division at 1440p, but I scaled the video to 1080p in Vegas.

[video="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXZZzWuLucQ"][/video]

What I did to troubleshoot the issue so far:

CPU and GPU temperatures are normal while under a full load (~70-75°C CPU/~65°C GPU)
changed SATA cables on my SSD and both of my HDDs
turned off Xbox DVR
killed some suspicious processes
scanned with Malwarebytes
checked if my CPU is somehow underclocked, isn't
my HDDs are regularly defragmented

I'm slowly running out of ideas, so any help would be really appreciated.

Thanks

Kavinqt · Dec 29, 2016

check your drivers, Update them if needed. I'd recommend checking to see if your RAM is seated properly. and also check some power cables. It never hurts to check.

p3r02d3r0 · Dec 29, 2016

Kavinqt :

Drivers are up-to-date. Checked the cables and if RAM is out of place. Ran The Division again. No dice.

Kavinqt · Dec 29, 2016

Problem still occurs then huh? Do you have a different GPU you can test? and see if the problem occurs on it? if it doesn't then your GPU may have an issue.

p3r02d3r0 · Dec 29, 2016

Nah, unfortunately I don't, sold my previous GPU. Guys on Guru3D and my friend believe this issue may be in relation with HDDs. I don't see any artefacts, and all benchmarks I tried (3DMark, Valley) run normal. What's funny, that issue doesn't occur in benchmarks.

Kavinqt · Dec 29, 2016

Why does your friend think it could be your hard drives?

p3r02d3r0 · Dec 29, 2016

Apparently because when it loads the textures from HDD, and the OS in installed on SSD. But I honestly don't see correlation here.

I mean, this is what's happening:

The game (The Division) runs normal, like 40+ fps all the time, and then there's a sudden dip, when framerate just stops completely After a few seconds it's back to normal. But it does repeat several times.

While in FIFA 17, framerate won't do a full stop, but there's a stutter. Sometimes more severe, sometimes a slight one.

No idea honestly. Could it be the PSU? Perhaps it's unable to cope with the system while under full stress.

Kavinqt · Dec 29, 2016

Nah your PSU is fine XFX is a great brand especially 650w it's more than likely to be 80% efficiency rated too. It's really hard to pin point exactly what might be the problem, Maybe uninstall the division and put reinstall it onto your SSD (For now) if you have space and test it and see if it does the same thing as if it was on your HDD.

p3r02d3r0 · Dec 29, 2016

Yeah, I'll try to do that, and/or reinstall my system.

Kavinqt · Dec 29, 2016

we can only hope it works

p3r02d3r0 · Dec 29, 2016

Okay, an update.

I have just moved The Division to SSD, and the game ran well for quite some time, but unfortunately the stutter is still here :-(

Not a bad one like when it was still on HDD, but it's still here, haunting me lol.

No idea what to do next. I guess I'll have to completely reinstall my system.

Kavinqt · Dec 29, 2016

might be a good idea... If the problem still consists after maybe try returning the GPU for a new one.

p3r02d3r0 · Dec 29, 2016

Could be a RAM problem perhaps? I still didn't do memtest.

Kavinqt · Dec 29, 2016

That is very possible, try running a memtest see what the result is.

p3r02d3r0 · Dec 29, 2016

Yeah, I'll have to do it overnight. Thanks

Kavinqt · Dec 29, 2016

No problem, hopefully you find out what's causing it.

p3r02d3r0 · Dec 30, 2016

Update. I got back from work and decided to clean the CPU cooler. Guys on Guru3D believe the CPU may be overheating. Unfortunately the store didn't work, and the other one isn't along the way to my place, so I skipped purchasing thermal paste.

Anyway, I cleaned the cooler, put everything to place, and the temps were around 65 max all the time in The Division. There was only one lag spike, and I believe that happened when the core temp went over 70°C.

So I believe it's the cooler. I'll investigate this further, but for now I think I have the solution to the issue.

I'll have to wait next week in order to purchase the new cooler, so I'll see if that changes anything.

Thanks Kavinqt for your big help.

Mod, please leave this one open a bit longer, because it isn't solved just yet.

Kavinqt · Dec 30, 2016

70c max isn't that hot, Not in my comfort zone but still shouldn't really cause lag spikes.

p3r02d3r0 · Dec 30, 2016

Yeah, I find that strange too, but honestly, that's the closest potential answer to this issue :-/

p3r02d3r0 · Dec 31, 2016

I believe I have found the answer to the issue.

HWiNFO64:

Look at the maximum CPU temperature (I have played FIFA and the stutter appeared a few times, but much less severe than usual after I cleaned the cooler and put a fresh layer of paste) and the distance to TjMAX.

Obviously at 75°C it exceeds the maximum allowed temperature, it starts throttling in order to reduce the temperature.

Should I set the TjMAX to higher value in BIOS? Or simply get a new cooler?

What do you think?

Kavinqt · Dec 31, 2016

What current CPU cooler are you using? even the stock cooler should be able to keep the 4770 cooled down really easily. Have you tried re applying thermal paste and remounting the CPU cooler?

p3r02d3r0 · Jan 3, 2017

I have finally solved it.

Yesterday I re-installed the OS, and installed FIFA first with a few matches. No stutter.

Today I have continued installing important software I use on my PC. Later today I ran FIFA again, and I cursed everything that came up my mind, because the stutter was back.

But then I thought it could be a software thing.

I uninstalled Evernote, Handbrake, TeamViewer and CleanMem, ran FIFA again and the stutter was gone.

Dunno why, but one of those programs was rendering those issues. Not sure which one. I'll have to investigate a bit more.

I have also tried The Division and The Witcher 3, and the stutter was gone.

Kavinqt, thanks for your suggestions and your help!

Kavinqt · Jan 3, 2017

Glad you figured it out man, I would have never guessed a random software issue xD

p3r02d3r0 · Jan 3, 2017

Lol, I just figured out that I can rate your posts, so I just upped your answers, if that helps your rank on the forums

Also, yeah, that baffled me too, but I suspect it's CleanMem. I have installed it because I often used it on my previous PC which had less RAM, so I had to fight the memory leaks on several games.

But it has a scheduled RAM clean every 15 minutes which coincides with the stutter issues I had.

Weird stuff but I'm so relieved I solved this lol

Please help: I have a weird performance dip in almost all games, and I have a good PC with GTX 970

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