Frame Drops, Stuttering & Screen Tear Despite Good Specs

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doipyyy

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Feb 5, 2017
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Hello, for a while now I've been having absolute horror with my PC at home. Everytime I play a game, any kind of game, it could be Fallout 4, Black Squad, Skyrim, heck even Geometry Dash, I get a slight FPS drop that results in stuttering or tearing on my display.

In HWmonitor, my temperatures are perfectly fine and where they should be, my CPU never rises above 68C at the MAX, and that's when I'm rendering out videos. I also have an evocooler 212 applied with arctic silver for my CPU, so temps should not be an issue. I sent back the GPU a few months back to Asus and they laboratory tested it, verifying there were no issues with the card.

Specs:
CPU: I7 4790 4th Gen Haswell @ 3.6ghz [Turbo Boost enabled]
RAM: 2x 8gbs 2133mhz Corsair Vengeance
GPU: R9 390x [Asus Strix]
Power Supply: Rosewill 850W
Motherboard: GIGABYTE G1 Gaming GA-Z97X-Gaming GT
Storage: 2x Seagate 7200RPM 2TB HDDs

I have tried using DDU as well as AMD's utility removal program to uninstall all traces of drivers, then reinstalling the newest driver available.

EDIT: I have also tried disabling speed step and my CPU's turbo boost, they do not aid to remedy the problem. Neither does limiting my FPS to 60FPS (I have a 60hz refresh rate monitor) with RSS (Rivatuner Statistics Server). I also notice that whenever I try and run dual graphics with my inboard Intel GPU, if I connect a monitor to the outputs on my mobo, the screens start to flicker and the PC BSODs within 10 seconds. I was running IGFX and the R9 390 a while back without any issues, but for some reason now it's acting up.

If anyone has any idea of what I could to do help remedy this issue, please suggest it below, I am open to trying anything at this point.
 
Solution
Rogue Leader


There is 100% nothing wrong with your system. I just watched those parts about 8 times each, I see nothing weird. Screen tear won't show up in recording unless you sat there with a video camera and recorded it. The only way to "cure"screen tear is to buy a freesync 100hz+ display.

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indsup

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Apr 26, 2015
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Try putting your antivirus in game mode while playing a game see if this is the culprit. It is common for av programs to cause stuttering. You can also turn off unneeded services that will cause this kind of thing also. If you have a dual monitor set up you can open resource monitor and see what is using drive time or processor time that is causing the stuttering. look at your drive activity when you get the stuttering and see if there's a correlation.
 
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Sedivy

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Dec 17, 2016
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Assuming you've already tried installing latest video drivers, can you try downgrading to one of the older but more stable versions? Just to see if it's a driver update that started the whole mess? Make sure to use DDU to uninstall driver completely before installing new ones.
 
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Rogue Leader

Rogue Leader

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Dec 22, 2014
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IMO your system is probably working fine. FPS is always going to fluctuate a bit, but 60hz non freesync/gsync monitors are ALWAYS going to show screen tearing. Its just inherent in gaming.

Also You cannot run dual graphics with that system. There is ONE game that supports it (Ashes of the Singularity) and there is such a huge disparity of performance between your GPU and iGPU it would make it slower. I don't know what you think you are doing but there is no way to "dual graphics" in anything but that game. You should ALWAYS be plugged into your GPU. Unless you're trying just to run 2 separate monitors, in which case you should just use the outputs on the GPU, do not use the iGPU, you are not losing any performance at all by running second monitor that your game is not running on.

In fact if you have those iGPU drivers installed they could be conflicting and causing your screen tearing to be more noticeable, if the system is trying to run the iGPU and its not working right.
 
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doipyyy

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Feb 5, 2017
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Didn't work. :/ Used DDU in safe mode and then installed the version listed on the asus product page, version 15.201. from 2015. It did not resolve the stutter.
 
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Sedivy

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Dec 17, 2016
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Ok assuming you're not doing what Rogue Leader is talking about, cause you can't run dual graphics that way, you could try http://www.radeonpro.info/features/dynamic-vsync-control/ (make sure you select only amd gpu for games in catalyst) to try and provide for a smoother v-sync experience.
Do you have freesync capability on your monitor? But I can't imagine why it wouldn't be turned on by default in that case, although still should check.
 
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Rogue Leader

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Those drivers are ANCIENT. Do not use them. Go to www.amd.com and download the latest driver.



I've never seen a Freesync monitor have it on by default. It can actually cause display flickering on non AMD GPUs or if its not turned on in the driver.
 
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doipyyy

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Feb 5, 2017
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My Antivirus program does not have a game mode, but even with it closed out and turned off, I still have the same issue. In resource monitor while I am playing, everything for the CPU and GPU stays quite steady, no big spikes or drops when stuttering occurs. I should also mention that the stutter occurs maybe every few seconds in most games. For instance, in Cities skylines, if I move around zoomed into my city it stutters so much to the point where it's choppy. It's more of a constant thing. The drive is not maxed out nor are there big spikes in it's usage when I get stutters, they do ocassionally happen, but I assume that is just do to windows services running in the background, not the actual game, because even when the graph is relatively steady, I still get stutter.
 
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doipyyy

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Feb 5, 2017
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My monitors are pretty old, they do not have Freesync capabilities sadly. And I've tried multiple versions of drivers, this problem has been occurring over months as well so I've been updating to the most recent version available whenever possible.
 
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Rogue Leader

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Everything you are saying sounds like completely normal screen tearing. Especially based on your explanation of your resource monitor. Make sure your monitor is running at 60 hz in monitor properties. Its possible even based on the monitors age its not performing up to snuff anymore. Other than that its time to consider a new Freesync monitor if this bothers you.
 
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doipyyy

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I uninstalled the Intel graphics drivers, still the same problem. I also got RadeonPro and enabled dynamic V-Sync, the stutter still occurs but seems to happen less frequent, but maybe that is just placebo. Forcing V-sync in the AMD Radeon setting panel and limiting the FPS to 60FPS also doesn't stop the stutter.
 
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doipyyy

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Feb 5, 2017
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Are you sure? Not trying to be that guy here but I just want to make sure before I invest in a new monitor that it is indeed the cause. If I show FPS through Rivatuner, the FPS fluctuates in Hearts of Iron IV when the stuttering happens, sometimes its only one or two frames but sometimes it's as much as a 10 or 20 FPS drop, it only happens for a few seconds, then returns to 60, but if I keep sliding around the map and doing stuff, it will keep stuttering and dropping. I have a newer model screen I am just using as a second monitor for Youtube and web browsing mostly, I do not ever really game on it (I just play games on the main monitor), and it still happens there as well. Of course that monitor is only a 60/75hz screen as well, set to run at 60hz. The stuttering occurs when gaming on that monitor.
 
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Rogue Leader

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Everything you are describing sounds like screen tearing to me. Of course FPS will be stable when you're sitting and not moving but when sliding around, zooming etc you will always see screen tear.

Before buying another screen why not try your second screen at 75hz, that should reduce your problem somewhat (with vsync on, but don't lock the framerate). In the game many times there is a vsync setting, make sure that is on as well.

Also don't waste the time with RadeonPro anymore, many of its features are built into the newest AMD Drivers, as the guy who made RadeonPro works for AMD now.
 
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doipyyy

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Feb 5, 2017
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After messing around between 60/75hz, there does not appear to be any difference between the two. The stuttering happens regardless, and there is no improvement that I can tell.

It's not just screen tearing too, some games the tearing doesn't happen but with others it does, however, they ALL stutter. I'm just wondering if it's the monitor because if I use a program like RSS or my recorder "Action!" to track the FPS, it drops FPS sometimes 1-2 frames but others 10-20 frames per second when the stuttering occurs. If screen tearing occurs, it happens regardless of the FPS. I should not be getting frame drops of 10-20FPS on medium graphics in a game like Black Squad, which is happening right now. If I play Bully, the FPS counter is steady at 30FPS but I still see stuttering.
 
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Rogue Leader

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What is your CPU running at (utilization) when this happens?
 
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doipyyy

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On Fallout 4, CPU utilization stays in the range of 30-40%, sometimes jumping up to 55% but that's when I'm running around, fighting, new areas are loading in as well as new monsters and enemies. The CPU speed usually floats around 3.8ghz-3.9ghz.
 
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aquielisunari

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Mar 31, 2011
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What is your lowest FPS when gaming?

Which resources are you monitoring with MSI AB?

Have you re-enabled speedstep and the boost?

A video with as much MSI AB info as possible may shed some light on your situation. I enable CPU and GPU loads and temperatures, GPU core and memory clock, FPS, VRAM and system RAM. We might then be able to see the tearing or stutter.

Are you possibly asking too much fro your PC? Lower settings?

Are there voltage dips?

What des UEFI say about the +12V level? 12.0-12.5 is within safety limits. Is that number steady?
 
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doipyyy

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Feb 5, 2017
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I am definitely not asking too much from my PC, I can not even run Black Squad without screen tearing, FPS drops or stuttering and the recommendeds for that game are a Core2 DUO 2.4GHZ or an AMD phantom X4 820, 4 GB ram, Nvidia GTX 560/ Radeon HD 7790 with 5GB availible space. My specs blow that out of the water completely, I should be able to run the game on ultra with no hiccups, but I can't even do that on medium. Nothing ever maxes out when gaming on the resource monitor. Frames can drop as low as 30FPS in Fallout 4, but they never drop below 30FPS in any game I play. I am not using MSI AB atm the moment, although I do have it installed.

I re-enabled speed-step and turbo boost the instant after I tested it and saw no improvement. How would I check voltage dips? It shows voltages in HW monitor. This is the values while I sit on the desktop with a few tabs of chrome open.

aXo5kwy


https://imgur.com/a/bJx7K
 
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aquielisunari

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Mar 31, 2011
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Please check in your BIOS which may be UEFI instead. Always find a 2nd and possibly third opinion, especially when you get a value that bad which sorta suggests a incorrect reading.

It sounds like it's all stuttering issues caused by low FPS. Your monitor is having to wait on your GPU. A 60Hz screen refreshes itself 60 times per second. Your GPU is only sending 30 images. The math doesn't sound right to me. You might try Enhanced Sync within Crimson. I'd try dialing back shadows, distance(if applicable) and AA. The gfx card is similar to the 1060. In other words it's a solid mid-range card.

I'm leaning to the PSU or a driver issue. Slight possibility you're expecting too much. When troubleshooting it's best to only try local games.
 
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Rogue Leader

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+1 on local games. NEVER diagnose performance issues with games that can be tied to the speed of your network connection (unless, of course, you are diagnosing a network issue). I don't think his system is weak enough to have stuttering issues, he has an R9 390X which is basically on par with the RX 480/580, using the latest Adrenalin drivers (Crimson is dead). At 1080p he should have no issues, but if the PSU is crapping out and not feeding the GPU well enough that could cause issues, although tbh it should be crashing too, which its not.

His system will definitely have screen tearing and depending on the title it could be pretty awful. I have an RX Vega 64 and a Freesync 100 hz monitor, and discovered Freesync doesnt seem to work with video, as when playing Wolfenstein II the game is super smooth but the cutscenes are awful when it comes to fast movement.
 
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doipyyy

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Feb 5, 2017
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Ok, so looking at bios, I can see that the CPU temperature is way high for me just turning my pc on and being idle in bios. The voltages look much better now though (I think), reasonable and where they should be. So possibly I applied the thermal paste wrong and HW monitor is giving me a literal dirt reading.

https://imgur.com/15S0sj5
 
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aquielisunari

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Your CPU temp. will always be hotter in BIOS than when your in Windows. It asks from help from only one core and that core goes to 100% load. The load is more evenly distributed once in Windows so temps. come down. That temp. doesn't suggest thermal throttling or a problem. The 12V does look good.

That temp. is normal, voltages are in the green so neither would be adversely affecting your PC's performance.
 
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Rogue Leader

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Temps are fine you have nothing to worry about there.

Very strange that HW monitor showed such PSU issues, and like I said since it wasn't crashing (which it should be if the PSU was screwed) then it seems like not the issue.

Can you record what is happening, does it show up in the recording? If so I would say thats the next step because from what I can tell still, nothing is wrong.
 
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