FPS drop/microstutter debugging after replacing 95% of the PC and multiple re-installs
Posted: 03 Sep 2021, 13:29
First, thanks for the useful posts on this forum, I have tried lots of those ideas but I am still getting FPS time spikes and drops in-game. I'd like to apologize for the very long first post.
I am wondering what things I might have missed or what next steps others would suggest. Replace last components that aren't new (Intel SSD)? or go on the wild goose chase for EMI? or something else? I am somewhat concerned that it might be EMI/line noise since I have solar, EV chargers, servers in the house, HV power lines nearby but I tried different rooms/circuits.
Games that I have used to demonstrate the issue:
3d Mark TimeSpy - No FPS drop (haven't been able to discover why that might be)
Fortnite
MSFS 2020 - both VR and monitor
iRacing - VR
Assetto Corsa Competizione
Crashes in Solitare collection win animations (odd one my kids found)
PC specs
AMD 5950X
x570 Asrock Taichi mobo
Asus ROG Strix 3090 GPU
32gb 3600 Crucial Ballistix Ram
1000w Be Quiet Dark power 12 PSU
980 Pro m.2 500gb (OS/apps/some games)
Intel 660p 1tb m.2 (games/storage)
USB PCIe card (required for HP Reverb G2 VR)
Phantek p500a case
Samsung 49" ultrawide monitor (DisplayPort)
Video showing stutter/issue on different games:
History of what I have tried:
This issue started with a mostly different computer build, 3900x, x470 Asus Strix mobo, 3080 (tried MSI and EVGA), 16gb GSkill 3600, 850 Seasonic PSU. I had stutters and wanted to upgrade to the latest AMD chip anyway so I upgraded over time to the system with the specs listed at the beginning of the post. After the full build was completed the only old components were the m.2 drives and I reloaded windows at which point this debugging begins...
Tried moving games to different m.2 drive, MSFS on 980, other games on 660p and still have issues.
Latest Bios
Latest chipset drivers
Latest Ryzen Master - Both stock and Auto OC, same result
Latest GPU drivers
Nvidia settings:
Vsync - off
Sharpening, scaling disabled
FXAA off
Antialiasing Off
framerates off
MFAA - off
Power - prefer max performance
Refresh - highest available - tried other, same result
Shader cache on/off, same result
Threaded optimization On
Triple buff - off
VR pre-render - 1
virtual reality VR SS - off
Unplug front USB3 - Phantek p500a, same result
HPET - Disable device in windows, same result
Turn off all background apps in windows
Resizeable bar on/off in bios/GPU, same result
G-sync on/off, same result
Check PCI interrupts on GPU, not legacy polling
Desktop BG settings - paused
Desktop BG plain gray, no slideshow
USB selective suspend max performance, same result
PCIe Link power management - Off, same result
Processor power mgmt, min:100, cooling:active, max:100
Logitech Mouse polling rate 250-1000, same result
Close all BG apps (discord, logi gaming, controller software), same result
Power settings - High performance
Disable onboard wifi on x570 taichi, same result
Asrock A-Tuning changed to standard mode, same result
Unplugged everything on the same power circuit as the computer, same result
Change all PCIe in the bios to PCIe gen 3, same result
Tried again DDU uninstall/MSI afterburner/Riva clean. Re-install latest drivers, same result
Unplug all USB devices besides mouse/KB (hub, switch, headphones, etc.), same result
Plug computer into different wall outlet/circuit and on UPS, same result
Suggestions from a steamcommunity post:
Disable full-screen optimizations, same result
Disable NDU: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ ControlSet001 \ Services \ Ndu
Modify "Start" Value to 4 to disable it. - left it, same result
bcdedit /set useplatformclock true - same result
bcdedit /set disabledynamictick yes - same result
7&8 on the list - disabled Cortana, telemetry, onedrive, same result
Back to my own debugging:
Turn off WSL (Ubuntu) background app running, kill all windows processes that don't force themselves to restart, same result
Stopped gaming services from windows services, same result
LatencyMon, indicated suitable but saw hard page faults in CompatTelRunner. Disabled, rebooted. Same result.
Moved to a different room, circuit, TV (HDMI), mouse/KB both different, same result
Unplugged VR DisplayPort connector and USB-C, same result
Powered down solar disconnect/power/inverters, same result
New power supply Seasonic Focus GX-850 to Be Quiet Dark Power 12 1000w, same result
Reloaded Windows, completed secure erase, format, re-install
Only installed mobo drivers, Nvidia, games (no internet during install of everything except Fortnite)
Same Result
With:
Vsync - off
Sharpening, scaling disabled
Antialiasing Off
framerates off
MFAA - off
Power - prefer max performance
Refresh - highest available - tried other, same result
Shader cache on/off, same result
Threaded optimization On
Triple buffer - off
VSync - off
VR pre-render - 1
virtual reality VR SS - off
Installed ferrite core filters for PC and monitor power, same result
Insteon Filterlinc on the power line, spikes still there but stutter seemed to be slightly improved, need to do more testing here. After more testing, this didn't solve the problem.
Turn off spread spectrum (ASRock Bios setting, Manual in OC, diable SS, leave BCLK as Auto), same result
Turn spread spectrum to auto, leave Manual mode in OC page, same result
I am wondering what things I might have missed or what next steps others would suggest. Replace last components that aren't new (Intel SSD)? or go on the wild goose chase for EMI? or something else? I am somewhat concerned that it might be EMI/line noise since I have solar, EV chargers, servers in the house, HV power lines nearby but I tried different rooms/circuits.
Games that I have used to demonstrate the issue:
3d Mark TimeSpy - No FPS drop (haven't been able to discover why that might be)
Fortnite
MSFS 2020 - both VR and monitor
iRacing - VR
Assetto Corsa Competizione
Crashes in Solitare collection win animations (odd one my kids found)
PC specs
AMD 5950X
x570 Asrock Taichi mobo
Asus ROG Strix 3090 GPU
32gb 3600 Crucial Ballistix Ram
1000w Be Quiet Dark power 12 PSU
980 Pro m.2 500gb (OS/apps/some games)
Intel 660p 1tb m.2 (games/storage)
USB PCIe card (required for HP Reverb G2 VR)
Phantek p500a case
Samsung 49" ultrawide monitor (DisplayPort)
Video showing stutter/issue on different games:
History of what I have tried:
This issue started with a mostly different computer build, 3900x, x470 Asus Strix mobo, 3080 (tried MSI and EVGA), 16gb GSkill 3600, 850 Seasonic PSU. I had stutters and wanted to upgrade to the latest AMD chip anyway so I upgraded over time to the system with the specs listed at the beginning of the post. After the full build was completed the only old components were the m.2 drives and I reloaded windows at which point this debugging begins...
Tried moving games to different m.2 drive, MSFS on 980, other games on 660p and still have issues.
Latest Bios
Latest chipset drivers
Latest Ryzen Master - Both stock and Auto OC, same result
Latest GPU drivers
Nvidia settings:
Vsync - off
Sharpening, scaling disabled
FXAA off
Antialiasing Off
framerates off
MFAA - off
Power - prefer max performance
Refresh - highest available - tried other, same result
Shader cache on/off, same result
Threaded optimization On
Triple buff - off
VR pre-render - 1
virtual reality VR SS - off
Unplug front USB3 - Phantek p500a, same result
HPET - Disable device in windows, same result
Turn off all background apps in windows
Resizeable bar on/off in bios/GPU, same result
G-sync on/off, same result
Check PCI interrupts on GPU, not legacy polling
Desktop BG settings - paused
Desktop BG plain gray, no slideshow
USB selective suspend max performance, same result
PCIe Link power management - Off, same result
Processor power mgmt, min:100, cooling:active, max:100
Logitech Mouse polling rate 250-1000, same result
Close all BG apps (discord, logi gaming, controller software), same result
Power settings - High performance
Disable onboard wifi on x570 taichi, same result
Asrock A-Tuning changed to standard mode, same result
Unplugged everything on the same power circuit as the computer, same result
Change all PCIe in the bios to PCIe gen 3, same result
Tried again DDU uninstall/MSI afterburner/Riva clean. Re-install latest drivers, same result
Unplug all USB devices besides mouse/KB (hub, switch, headphones, etc.), same result
Plug computer into different wall outlet/circuit and on UPS, same result
Suggestions from a steamcommunity post:
Disable full-screen optimizations, same result
Disable NDU: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ ControlSet001 \ Services \ Ndu
Modify "Start" Value to 4 to disable it. - left it, same result
bcdedit /set useplatformclock true - same result
bcdedit /set disabledynamictick yes - same result
7&8 on the list - disabled Cortana, telemetry, onedrive, same result
Back to my own debugging:
Turn off WSL (Ubuntu) background app running, kill all windows processes that don't force themselves to restart, same result
Stopped gaming services from windows services, same result
LatencyMon, indicated suitable but saw hard page faults in CompatTelRunner. Disabled, rebooted. Same result.
Moved to a different room, circuit, TV (HDMI), mouse/KB both different, same result
Unplugged VR DisplayPort connector and USB-C, same result
Powered down solar disconnect/power/inverters, same result
New power supply Seasonic Focus GX-850 to Be Quiet Dark Power 12 1000w, same result
Reloaded Windows, completed secure erase, format, re-install
Only installed mobo drivers, Nvidia, games (no internet during install of everything except Fortnite)
Same Result
With:
Vsync - off
Sharpening, scaling disabled
Antialiasing Off
framerates off
MFAA - off
Power - prefer max performance
Refresh - highest available - tried other, same result
Shader cache on/off, same result
Threaded optimization On
Triple buffer - off
VSync - off
VR pre-render - 1
virtual reality VR SS - off
Installed ferrite core filters for PC and monitor power, same result
Insteon Filterlinc on the power line, spikes still there but stutter seemed to be slightly improved, need to do more testing here. After more testing, this didn't solve the problem.
Turn off spread spectrum (ASRock Bios setting, Manual in OC, diable SS, leave BCLK as Auto), same result
Turn spread spectrum to auto, leave Manual mode in OC page, same result