I've read a lot of threads about this problem on the forum, but not specifically like mine.
I bought my PC back in 2022 and built it myself.
In the beginning, everything about the PC was perfect, it achieved better values on benchmarks than expected.
However, after about 3-4 months, it started behaving interestingly. While playing CS:GO, after about 30-60 minutes, the game started running unsmoothly, but I didn't experience any anomalies in the mouse input. It wasn't slow or inaccurate.
At first I thought that my GPU was the problem, since I was using a GTX 1060 at the time.
Then one of my friends suggested that we go and play Valorant. I also noted at the time how much smoother Valorant feels compared to CS:GO. Then, about 2 months later, the problem described above appeared again in Valorant as well. At that point I was so annoyed that I tried everything. BIOS tweaks, regedit changes, etc. I have reinstalled Windows countless times, several versions, and the situation has not changed. The system was very stable and fast meanwhile.
I noticed that when I adjust my fps in games to my monitor's refresh rate, the screen starts to get choppy/jittery. It was as if my whole computer was lagging. Then I noticed that if I lock my fps to x2 +1 of the refresh rate of my monitor, this problem disappears, but when my computer can't hit those values due to performance limits, the game immediately started lagging again. However, I accepted that this is how it is, blamed it on my GPU and left it at that.
Then Valorant started crashing on top of this. Each time the game crashed without any error message. I was able to start it back up immediately and everything worked perfectly for the following 30-60 minutes, then the choppy gameplay came back. This thing got so bad that my game crashed about 6-7 times a day, and shortly after starting it, the game crashed with the VAN 1067 error. After a little searching, I found that this issue is related to TPM 2.0. Valorant would only start every 10th boot, and in the Event Viewer I kept seeing that vgc.exe crashed on my computer.
In the meantime, Windows also started to freeze for about 1-2 seconds, but all components of the computer brought the expected values during benchmarks. However, this was the point where I had enough and sent back the CPU, motherboard and RAM for warranty.
I tested the RAM myself, with MemTest86 and test memory 5 with anta 777 extreme. The test found 0 errors in about 2 days of testing.
The store tested the config for 1 week, but they found no errors in anything. However, based on the information I provided, they replaced my processor with a completely new one.
When I got the computer back, I put in the new processor and tried to start Valorant without reinstalling Windows, which worked immediately and after 2-3 hours of playing, the game was smooth. I was happy as a kid on Christmas morning, relieved that everything was finally sorted and the problem was solved, but unfortunately that was not the case.
After 3-4 months of use, the same problem started to appear again. At first only mildly, then more and more noticeably. I stopped playing Valorant, because I feel that the situation just repeats itself and as I play, the CPU will degrade more and more. During the tests, my 1% low FPS was fine, and there were no spikes in the frametime either.
I searched every thread about the problem, but I didn't dare to dig into EMI. I don't believe that the problem would be related to it either, because the phenomenon only occurs after 1 hour of playing.
One of my friend also has the same config as me (except the mobo) and he doesnt have this issue
I never experienced this issue with my old PC.
temps under benchmark:
- bench.png (142.73 KiB) Viewed 2594 times
cant see the VRM temps, I think B660 motherboards doesnt support it.
temps under gaming and fps:
- game.png (154.07 KiB) Viewed 2594 times
- Screenshot 2024-09-01 231539.png (123.45 KiB) Viewed 2594 times
specs:
CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-12600KF + be quiet! DARK ROCK PRO 4
GPU: EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 Ultra LHR (undervolted + underclocked to fit the psu)
MOBO: MSI MAG B660 TOMAHAWK WIFI DDR4
RAM: 2x16GB Kingston FURY Beast 3200MHz CL16
SSD: Samsung 980 PRO M.2 + Samsung 850 EVO
PSU: Seasonic FOCUS PLUS 650W Gold Modular
BIOS is the latest, every setting is set to default. Intel Default profile on the CPU.
Monitor custom resolution, timing CVT Reduced Blank (due to possible inconsistent refresh rates)
Tried Game Mode on\off
CPU undervolt with MSI Loadline setting
GPU without/with undervolt
C states enabled/disabled/auto
HAGS on\off
XMP on\off etc.. literally everything what you can think of in this 2 years.
What can be the cause of this issue? I start to think the motherboard will be the cause of the issue.
Please help