Maddening G-SYNC Stutter

Talk about NVIDIA G-SYNC, a variable refresh rate (VRR) technology. G-SYNC eliminates stutters, tearing, and reduces input lag. List of G-SYNC Monitors.
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thebeker
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Joined: 28 Jun 2021, 03:55

Maddening G-SYNC Stutter

Post by thebeker » 28 Jun 2021, 15:55

Hi, I've come here after trying a ton of stuff to fix my issue that i've been having for like 3 years, first let me tell you about it.

SETUP:
-Monitor: Acer Predator XB271HU
-CPU: AMD 5600X (no OC)
-GPU: 1080TI Asus Strix (no OC)
-PSU: Seasonic 750-GX Gold
-RAM: Corsair RGB Vengeance 3200mhz
-Motherboard: ASUS TUF X570 Gaming Pro Wifi
-Windows 10, latest update

I can describe my Stutter like V-Sync stutter, if the framerate drops. even by 1 frame, it stutters, and sometimes the FPS/HZ counter on my monitor hits the 144hz cealing, even though I'm capping below it, but even if I'm playing a 60FPS ONLY game, it WILL stutter if it drops a bit, and i find it strange, every game plays like this: short intervals of smooth motion with stutter in between

I've been dealing with stutter in G-SYNC ever since i got this card, my first NVIDIA Gpu, from that point on, i've changed every single component, PSU, CPU, Motherboard, etc. Even got me a UPS for clean power. The only constants here are the Monitor and GPU, it seems those are my only possibilities left, cause i've followed the Guide here to a tee.

Does anybody recognize this problem? what else can i try before borrowing a GPU from a friend (kinda hard rn).
Does this happen often with G-Sync?
What's the more likely culprit, GPU or Monitor?

Thx

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Chief Blur Buster
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Re: Maddening G-SYNC Stutter

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 28 Jun 2021, 16:25

Usually software/settings/driver/game selection issue.

More info is needed for diagnosis
1. Are there games that work flawlessly with G-SYNC;
2. Or are you having exactly identical stutter pattern (e.g. stutter every 60 seconds) in ALL games?
3. Are you aware some games work better with G-SYNC than others; (i.e. not compatible with G-SYNC destuttering);
4. Do you have an SSD? (Disk load stutters are usually not fixed by G-SYNC, only GPU-workload stutters)
5. Temporarily turn off all RGB software (clean boot to no system tray apps), occasionally one of the brands of RGB software does lots of CPU spikes during tons of keyboarding/mousing, adding frametime spikes. Some computer RGB animator software are great while others are quite CPU-inefficient.

Recommended G-SYNC Settings
To summarize, de-stutter prioritized G-SYNC ideally should be configured as:
1. Install RTSS and cap 3fps below Hz (e.g. 141fps)
2. Use full screen exclusive. (Borderless is sometimes unreliable; you may need to enabled windowed G-SYNC)
3. Turn G-SYNC ON and VSYNC ON in NVIDIA Control Panel
4. Turn VSYNC OFF via in-game settings (opposing the NVIDIA Control Panel setting)
5. Verify your monitor says it's in G-SYNC mode in the menus, if it is a native G-SYNC chipped monitor
Head of Blur Busters - BlurBusters.com | TestUFO.com | Follow @BlurBusters on Twitter

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thebeker
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Joined: 28 Jun 2021, 03:55

Re: Maddening G-SYNC Stutter

Post by thebeker » 28 Jun 2021, 16:31

Hi

1. No, there are none. Except when it runs at low framerates, 40 somethings appear to have no stutter, although i have like one game that runs at that.
2.Yes, it's the same exact issue on every game or benchmark, the stutter can appear ever 2 seconds or more, it depends if the game is constantly fluctuating framerate. But it happens on Quake 1 from the 90's to DOOM Eternal,w no game is safe.
3. Yes, but i haven't found a flawless game, ONLY when it keep´s a rock solid 60 fps, or whatever the game can output with no changes.
4. Yes, forgot to mention that, i have a 1tb M2 SSD, no HDD on my setup.

And yes, i've followed the guide and have that exact settings, this is a G-Sync chipped monitor indeed that had it's panel replaced 2 years ago cause of flickering and black spots, and my GPU last year when through a short period of freezes and white pixels on the screen.
The only problem now is the mentioned stutter.

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Chief Blur Buster
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Re: Maddening G-SYNC Stutter

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 28 Jun 2021, 16:48

Longshot test:

I rarely do because browser software is stutter-sensitive and not reliable. However, it reliably detected CPU-hogging background software for three forum members -- so it's accidentally useful. Give this a try:

One piece of software has become accident ally very good at detecting System Tray induced frametime spikes:
www.testufo.com/animation-time-graph

1. Close all application software and all browser windows
2. Open Chrome (extensions disabled) on just this URL www.testufo.com/animation-time-graph
3. Don't touch keyboard or mouse
4. Small spikes (2ms or less) and spike coarseness changes is normal (power management precision changes)
5. If you see red spikes regularly and/or frequently (every few seconds or more), check for background software that is doing the spikes.

If you see any red colored spikes, at regular intervals (every few seconds), there may be some background software or services inducing those spikes.

Web browsers are extremely stutter-sensitive (moreso than games) so don't browse or run any other application software while running this specific test. This allows it to be like a rudimentary makeshift detector of frametime spikes from background software on your PC -- services, system tray apps, etc. This software self-measures the Javascript animation frametime spikes, which makes it a great accidential troubleshooter for problematic background processing behaviors such as system tray CPU-hoggers.

One person traced it to a problematic malware scanner (switched brands), another person traced it to RGB software (turned it off), etc.
Head of Blur Busters - BlurBusters.com | TestUFO.com | Follow @BlurBusters on Twitter

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Forum Rules wrote:  1. Rule #1: Be Nice. This is published forum rule #1. Even To Newbies & People You Disagree With!
  2. Please report rule violations If you see a post that violates forum rules, then report the post.
  3. ALWAYS respect indie testers here. See how indies are bootstrapping Blur Busters research!

thebeker
Posts: 3
Joined: 28 Jun 2021, 03:55

Re: Maddening G-SYNC Stutter

Post by thebeker » 28 Jun 2021, 18:22

Ran the test with only that tab running, green as grass, 0 spikes, even with RGB software running.
Starded MSI Afterburner and Rivatuner, no change, completely smooth.

Frametimes in games appear normal, with common deviations and such, BUT i would say G-Sync overreacts to those and stutters hard, again, i dont know which is it for sure, Monitor or GPU but a friend of mine, offered i take my PC to his place and run tests on his G-Sync compatible monitor, or even swap GPUs with his AMD rig to test, so i'll be doing that soon.

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