GPU: EVGA RTX 3070 XC3 Ultra Gaming (driver version 461.72)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700x
Mobo: ASUS TUF Gaming B550M-PLUS (AM4)
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16GB Dual-Channel DDR4 3600MHz
SSD: Crucial P1 1TB SSD
PSU: Corsair RM750x Gold Power Supply
OS: Windows 10 Education 64-bit (Version 20H2, Build 19042.867)
Primary Monitor: Acer ET322QU (2560x1440@59Hz) (Freesync) (Can run at 75hz but a few 2D games microstutter at that refresh rate, so I just leave it at 60hz)
Let me start off by saying that this is an issue I've already found a solution for, but I still don't understand what's causing it.
For whatever reason, in some games there is this intermittent stutter that does not seem to be detected by my monitoring software--using RivaTuner's FPS and Frametime graphs show no major fluctuations when these stutters occur. The frametime graph remains totally flat.
Now a few things I've found get rid of this stutter. For most games that have it, simply turning on the in-game vsync makes it go away, whether I'm in fullscreen or windowed mode. Others however, such as GTA V and Garry's Mod, have this stutter regardless if their in-game vsync is on or off and it will only go away if the game is in exclusive fullscreen (Maybe something to do with g-sync kicking in, but enabling g-sync in windowed mode doesn’t get rid of the stutter either so I'm not sure)
Some games I've found like RDR2 and Slime Rancher just don't have the issue at all, whether in fullscreen or windowed mode even if the in-game v-sync is off (they will screen tear in this case if v-sync is also off in nvidia control panel however. Interestingly this is only the case with these games without the stuttering issue and I only see tearing in other games when g-sync is off)
In the cases of games that stutter in windowed mode no matter my settings, the only way I can play these games in borderless windowed mode stutter-free is by using RivaTuner's Scanline Sync, a solution I thankfully found on this thread (which is also the only other instance I could find on the internet of someone having this specific issue, and why I'm posting on this forum): viewtopic.php?t=5511
The only game I've played atm that this has not fixed the issue for is Yume Nikki, as RivaTuner just refuses to run in it unless it's running fullscreen in DirectDraw mode, I assume this is just because it's really old.
Now onto why I'm bringing this up;
While the blurbusters chief gives a good explanation on why this happens in the thread I linked, I personally still don't fully understand what causes it, or rather what the source of this issue is. If I had this issue before, I somehow did not notice it until now.
I've already tested with different monitors (all at 60hz) and monitor setups as well as different v-sync configurations (v-sync off and on in nvidia control panel, gsync off and on or enabled in windowed mode, etc.) and it's still present, so it doesn't seem to be a monitor issue, and I'm not sure if it's a gsync/freesync issue since the other monitors I've tested with don't support it. Could it be drivers? Windows? Some other hardware? All I can assume right now is that it has something to do with v-sync.
I should clarify that as far as I can tell this issue only occurs in games, most applications are very smooth.
Tl;dr I'm looking to see if anyone else has had this issue where their games will stutter despite perfect FPS and Frametime, and if they know what may be the source of the issue. Again I've already found a solution so it ain't a big deal, I'm just looking for the cause at this point.
Also, I'm brand new to posting on this forum, so please let me know if I'm doing something wrong. I've been very confused by this issue for about a week now, and came here in hopes people here will know more than I do
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