Graphic Cards Need Your Help! FPS Drops & Stuttering on High-End PC

Knower

Disciple
UPDATE 2:

So, I have recently retested GTA 5 performance with the following tweaks:
- Downclock the CPU to 3,700 MHz
- Disable Hyper Threading and Intel VT
- Disable ASUS Multi-core Enhancement
- Disable all the C & P states
- Disable Base Clock & PCI-E Spread Spectrum
- Disable HPET using cmd command and the Device Manager
- Enable Threaded Optimization in NVIDIA Control Panel

I noticed more frametime spikes and long stuttering after applying mentioned tweaks without any FPS lock.
But, with 150 FPS lock there was no drops or any similar issues in GTA 5.

MSI AB Hardware Monitor Logs (with & without FPS lock): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jmoWxPj0rZ73qYA4noabaeDX_PSw840j?usp=sharing

LatencyMon during game without FPS cap: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gim1F9ypbhXzjr4GxSER56b_rapZBDaO?usp=sharing


Hi community,

It's sad to say, but there are serious FPS drops/spikes/freeze and micro stuttering in almost all the games on my new self-built high-end PC with Intel i7 8700K + Aorus NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti.

Please Note:
1. PC specifications, Windows 10 & Software configurations are below in this topic.
2. I use Google Drive for image/docs hosting instead of other specialized sites in terms of security (sorry Imgur fans).
3. All images, screenshots and documents mentioned in this topic are stored in the shared Google Drive folder available at the following link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1PYf2NOVn0sOlgkVLgBFN7rZHDgm9ZUM9?usp=sharing
4. If you don't see some items in Google Drive folder, try signing in with your Google account. I hope you have it.
5. If you can't open links or view spoilers in this topic, try signing up.

Warning:
I figured out that only with NVIDIA 388.13 Driver MSI Afterburner's "Power" monitoring option cause enormous FPS drops and especially stuttering in absolutely any game every time MSI AB refresh values in hardware monitor. This depends directly on hardware polling period in AB settings. Therefore, I recommend you to disable "Power" monitoring feature to prevent issue with future or other NVIDIA drivers.

Introduction

FPS drops/stutters are very noticeable in GTA 5, The Witcher 3 and War Thunder (very laggy hangar). There are almost no drops in recently released World of Tanks 1.0. Every game's graphics settings are set to Max/Ultra values without any type of sync or FPS lock.

All PC hardware have been purchased from trusted local vendors with original seal and warranty from the official manufacturer. PC was precisely built by me without any mistakes, with all the manual/PC building guides requirements.

Enough intro, let's dig in!

GTA 5 — FPS Drops/Stuttering

I have read that I'm not the first player who catch these kinds of issues. But this Rockstar child is especially laggy on my rig. FPS drops occur after each 1-2 minutes of gameplay with high average FPS, particularly noticeable when flying and aiming at the police helicopters on the background of the skybox.

Also I know that GTA 5 game engine doesn't allow more than 188 FPS. For the first time, I thought that the game is just the culprit because of the 188 FPS engine lock and Grand Theft Auto 5 porting from consoles. But now I'm think that troubles arise due to software or much worse hardware fault.

FPS Drops: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1n8XO6bJQ_77TaC5ZGGTidgfrHH75Pkwa?usp=sharing

MSI Afterburner Graphs: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jEWidv5I0g7j0B2S7dEbiR2vRi6fduFC?usp=sharing

GTA 5 Graphics Settings: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10aCAmFWNARyXWZbNvzcq4PhYH_3L6egV?usp=sharing

The Witcher 3 — FPS Drops/Stuttering

Well, I didn't expect any problems with this CD Projekt great-optimized masterpiece game due to very positive feedback on all game platforms and tons of articles like "The most optimized game ever". Unfortunately, of course, not on my rig.

Drops are rarely and less noticeable compared with Grand Theft Auto but they ARE, and this an issue. Usually, I notice them while moving, Roach riding or fighting with monsters and guards. And the biggest sorrow is that there is no workaround for this awesome game.

FPS Drops: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1c6ELIfJnD3CEdkKHOQplR_SUPPYtI0xM?usp=sharing

MSI Afterburner Graphs: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Vm0KTIQtvVrbtmIPP9dZtcoeO3fFlil-?usp=sharing

The Witcher 3 Graphics Settings: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Vxd6FRMoedT-lvn7F38-CnkPNZULEp85?usp=sharing

World of Tanks 1.0 — FPS Drops Only

What about this MMO, I didn't catch any spikes up to yesterday evening, when I decided to play a test battle to show that only one game can run smoothly on my high-end PC without any issues. But what was my disappointment when I found out that WOT wasn't as seamless as I expected.

I noticed only one drop to 18.7 FPS after 8 minutes of battle. It's the first huge FPS drop
in the last month playing WOT. Till this moment the maximum frames drawdown wasn't below 53.8 FPS and it only happened after my tank was destroyed.

WOT graphics settings was set to Ultra preset and 100% 3D Render Resolution without any other changes. Screenshots are not needed there. Also, I missed a moment of FPS drop and didn't have time to take a screenshot, so there are only MSI AB graphs.

MSI Afterburner Graphs: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1VFcBiO9sL62leixwwPKJiEGzta9K6SaS?usp=sharing

What I tried to do and that DID NOT HELP any game:

1. Marts_Sum's method with EmptyStandbyList on GeForce Forum: https://forums.geforce.com/default/...dows-10-creators-update/post/5235141/#5235141
2. Set UEFI (BIOS) and Windows 10 to default settings.
3. Roll back to Windows 10 Anniversary Builds 1703, 1607 and fresh reinstall of 1709.
4. Disable/Enable: Windows Defender, Firewall, Cortana, Game DVR/Game Bar/Game Mode, all unnecessary services/drivers/startup items, indexing, consumers features, power modes (Balanced/High performance/Power saver), hibernation, SWAP & PAGE files, Fast Boot (in UEFI as well) and LAN by unpluging an Ethernet cable.
5. Reinstall/Reconfigure all possible old/new drivers and firmwares from official sites. Also tried to use DDU.
6. Overclock/Downclock GPU, CPU and turn on/off XMP Profile (3,200 MHz).
7. Install other overclocking software.
8. Uninstall all Windows 10 built-in apps.
9. Uninstall MSI Afterburner & RTSS.
10. Paused MSI AB Hardware Monitor and disable "Power" monitoring option.
11. Reinstall game from M.2 SSD to 7,200 RPM HDD and vice versa.
12. Lower down/max out graphics settings, screen resolution and refresh rate.
13. Run as Administrator and disable/enable Fullscreen Optimization.
14. Switch to integrated Intel® UHD Graphics 630.
15. Install GTA 5 and The Witcher 3 on NASA computer in the hope of getting rid of FPS drops and stuttering. :)

What I tried to do and that SOMEHOW HELPS (unfortunately only for GTA 5):

1. Lock up to 150 FPS and less using the Rivatuner Statistic Server.
2. Enable VSync. But I rarely notice some drops down to 32 FPS, better than falling down to 5-8 FPS but not worth it. Also, high input lag doesn't make this method a pill from all the illnesses.
3. Hope it will be soon thanks to your helpful tips.

Conclusion

I hope that I gave you enough information to find out the reason. Unfortunately, I still haven't found any permanent way to play games without these killers of the game experience.

Let it be a software fault, because I really don't want to send my hardware to a service center, and I definitely don't know which part of the PC causes problems.

Questions

1. So, dear readers, do you know any advices, workarounds and working fixes?
2. Or, maybe, any official confirmation from NVIDIA, Microsoft and Intel that is 100% related to their software failure instead of hardware defect?
3. If FPS drops and stuttering caused by hardware, сan you roughly determine what is the culprit and where to dig?

Thank you very much for the attention!
I will be very grateful for any of your help!


With deepest respect,
"Happy" High-End PC Owner




Hardware and Software Configurations

PC specifications:

MB: Asus Maximus X Hero
CPU: Intel i7 8700K Kaby Lake
Cooler: Noctua NH-D15
GPU: AORUS GeForce® GTX 1080 Ti 11G
RAM: HyperX Predator 3200MHz DDR4 16GB (2x8GB in Dual Channel)
SSD: Samsung 960 EVO NVMe M.2 250GB
HDD: Western Digital Black 1TB (7200rpm 64MB)
PS: Seasonic Prime 850W Platinum
LCD: Acer Predator XB271HU (27", 2560 x 1440, 144 Hz, G-Sync)
KeyB: HyperX Alloy Elite MX Blue (1,000 MHz)
Mice: A4Tech Bloody V2 (1 ms, 1,000 MHz)
Case: Corsair Graphite 780T
Fans: (X5) Noctua NF-A14 PWM (140mm) & (X1) Noctua NF-S12A PWM (120mm)
UPS: APC Back-UPS Pro 1200VA/720W

DxDiag: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SuSemQ4Q6vDD01HSIjq3PLPQW8xTAF7n/view?usp=sharing

Windows 10, UEFI (BIOS) and Software settings: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1CN1N33vfbgKA1TBAtKW63BjSmKfu78It?usp=sharing

NVIDIA Control Panel settings: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1f_ZOY9XTqAJ1uOYuswf53iMOq5upNj8p?usp=sharing

Benchmarks results: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18sr4PuAD-0df5neNf-9sgyfEIyJ6jtCk?usp=sharing



P.S. Dear Administration, I'm new to this forum. If something is wrong with this topic or its location, please, correct it and let me know. Thank you!
 
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Before you did any of this.. What was the process you followed for installation? Also did you do a proper stress test for maybe at least 24hrs if not 12 to ensure your config is stable? Typically I install the OS clean with only the latest updates to all drivers including chipset. I then stress test it. Then I check for the latest BIOS if any for the mobo, if there is I install it then stress test again. Finally I get down to OC if and only if I feel the need for it, if I do.. again stress test for reliability.

I avoid tweaking/OC the cpu or GFX through any of the manufacturer softwares as they tend to run in the background consuming processes and precious resources. GeForce experience crap is another annoyance that constantly checks and monitors for it's gameplay interface.

I also disable Google drive and any other syncing software plus configure the antivirus for gaming mode. Syncing softwares I've found are notorious for constantly checking for connectivity and syncs in the background.

Stuttering can usually be due to something accessing the memory or the drive interrupting the buffer for the game.. if not the CPU being throttled or heating playing a role but there most likely to cause a BSOD crash. I take it you installed Windows on the SSD and the game on the HDD? If so for some cases the HDD is the bottleneck depending on the specific game if I'm not wrong.
 
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IINM also check if the HPET timer setting in BIOS and/or Windows and switch it on or off to see if that makes any difference.
 
Did you also install the Meltdown and Spectre patches? If you did well there are issues with stability being reported for some of Intel's patches which unfortunately is not something you can do much about but for some people they work just fine.

Start by bare bones install in a step by step sequential manner and stress test at every stage. Install only essential softwares one at a time and keep checking the performance
 
This was one of the reasons I moved away from pc gaming..
Smooth 1080p 30 was better for me than stuttery 4k/1440.
To answer, I faced similar issues when spectre and meltdown patches were installed. Please do a fresh install of windows toncheck and isolate the issue.
 
I dont think anything wrong with your system. But rather its nvidia to blame for its driver support. Agreed you got the latest card but the last 2 driver updates have done some damage.

If you are directly running games on ultra graphics settings even if you have powerful system you shall start from testing at high settings initially and gradually move higher tweaking the settings.

There was similar issue last month for Farcry. You may refer to my settings here.
https://www.techenclave.com/communi...e-70-same-hardware.186599/page-2#post-2147127
And try your games one after another. Different games might require different settings so you need to experiment and tweak accordingly.

Also try disabling antivirus and etc stuff before you start any game.

Not to mention you system is Spectre and Meltdown complaint but still check it using this tool.

https://www.grc.com/inspectre.htm

Non patched systems do lag in gaming and other computation and graphics tools though normal operations arent affected.
 
Also did you do a proper stress test for maybe at least 24hrs if not 12 to ensure your config is stable?
24 or 12 hour stress test isn't good for hardware. I think 1-3 hours is enough to determine any issue.
I tried to stress test my system after it's built with several tools like: AIDA64, Prime95 and CPU-Z (weak stress test but I did it too). There was no high temperatures (not above 86C) up to 4.9GHz CPU OC'ed. With stock frequency (4.7 GHz) my CPU warm up to 74C in AIDA64 stress test, and 83C in Prime95. Maximum OC freqs was 5.1GHz but CPU was pretty high (96C) in AIDA64.
GeForce experience crap is another annoyance that constantly checks and monitors for it's gameplay interface.
I don't have this piece of sh*t installed.
I also disable Google drive and any other syncing software plus configure the antivirus for gaming mode.
No sync apps running on PC. I don't use AV or Defender.
Stuttering can usually be due to something accessing the memory or the drive interrupting the buffer for the game.. if not the CPU being throttled or heating playing a role but there most likely to cause a BSOD crash. I take it you installed Windows on the SSD and the game on the HDD? If so for some cases the HDD is the bottleneck depending on the specific game if I'm not wrong.
Maybe, accessing to the RAM can cause drops but I don't even know what process actually does it.
CPU don't overheating. Max temps isn't above 63C.
Windows live on the SSD. I tried to move games from SSD to HDD and vice versa, wasn't helpful. But now GTA 5 stay on the HDD and Witcher with WOT — on the SSD. No changes in performance except of loading time.
IINM also check if the HPET timer setting in BIOS and/or Windows and switch it on or off to see if that makes any difference.
Tried it. No changes.
Did you also install the Meltdown and Spectre patches?
Not to mention you system is Spectre and Meltdown complaint but still check it using this tool.
Of course, I did it month ago.
upload_2018-4-9_14-23-55.png

Start by bare bones install in a step by step sequential manner and stress test at every stage. Install only essential softwares one at a time and keep checking the performance
Tried it without stress testing. I always install Windows with disks formatting.
Smooth 1080p 30 was better for me than stuttery 4k/1440.
Haha, thanks but no. I feel pain in my eyes looking at <60 FPS after upgrading to 1440p / 144Hz.
If you are directly running games on ultra graphics settings even if you have powerful system you shall start from testing at high settings initially and gradually move higher tweaking the settings.
Tried to lower down all settings to minimum — no matter, FPS didn't run away.
 
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Weird.. if you've done all this the only way is to then test 1 game at a time on a bare bones install with just all latest drivers.

Probably as our fellow member said.. experiment with a few versions of the nVidia drivers and test
 
Weird.. if you've done all this the only way is to then test 1 game at a time on a bare bones install with just all latest drivers.

Probably as our fellow member said.. experiment with a few versions of the nVidia drivers and test
Yes, I've already test diff NVIDIA drivers but it wasn't helpful. Also I noticed that 388.13 are especially laggy.
 
Weird.. if you've done all this the only way is to then test 1 game at a time on a bare bones install with just all latest drivers.

Probably as our fellow member said.. experiment with a few versions of the nVidia drivers and test
UPDATE 1:

Just an hour ago I did:
1. Disconnect my Aorus GTX 1080 Ti physically from the motherboard.
2. Uninstall NVIDIA Driver 391.35 with Display Driver Uninstaller.
3. Switch to the Intel's Integrated Graphics, download and install the latest Intel VGA driver.
4. Lower all GTA 5 graphics settings to minimum and set 800*680 screen resolution.
5. Start playing.

The average performance was about 72 FPS. But drops and frame time spikes still happened at lowest possible graphics settings with 800*680 resolution! I'm really disappointed. Issue didn't go away even WITHOUT GPU and NVIDIA driver.

Then I opened the Latency Monitor and started playing GTA 5 again. After 5 minutes of gameplay I switched to LatencyMon and noticed that highest DPC latency was about 202 ms (instead of normal 30-90 ms) for this driver "Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation". I think that WIndows 10 is the culprit but not 100% sure.

You can check the MSI Afterburner GTA 5 log.hml available in the Google Drive folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14DrbFKVLNyiAG4zBtAWWF6soUT91ApyY?usp=sharing
 
Windows 10 has messed up all things after cretors update. Ms should be considering a whole new os release rather than patching the crap os.
 
Well if you've already done a detailed troubleshooting exercise with your own parts and build and still haven't solved it.. barring what is beyond possibility of solving yourself, you might have to accept there's another possibility of some part being a lemon. Only way to isolate that is to try replicating each aspect in another compatible system?

What else can anyone here recommend that you haven't possibly tried?
 
Well if you've already done a detailed troubleshooting exercise with your own parts and build and still haven't solved it.. barring what is beyond possibility of solving yourself, you might have to accept there's another possibility of some part being a lemon. Only way to isolate that is to try replicating each aspect in another compatible system?

What else can anyone here recommend that you haven't possibly tried?
I don't have any others systems. Only laptop. As I mentioned above, issue didn't gone even with unplugged GPU from the MOBO.

Now, I'm so disappointed that I didn't exactly know what possible tweaks can help me.
 
My money would be on the mobo as the first suspect. See if you can get hold of another compatible mobo n test
 
UPDATE 2:

So, I have recently retested GTA 5 performance with the following tweaks:

- Downclock the CPU to 3,700 MHz
- Disable Hyper Threading and Intel VT
- Disable ASUS Multi-core Enhancement
- Disable all the C & P states
- Disable Base Clock & PCI-E Spread Spectrum
- Disable HPET using cmd command and the Device Manager
- Enable Threaded Optimization in NVIDIA Control Panel

I noticed more frametime spikes and long stuttering after applying mentioned tweaks without any FPS lock.
But, with 150 FPS lock there was no drops or any similar issues in GTA 5.

MSI AB Hardware Monitor Logs (with & without FPS lock): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jmoWxPj0rZ73qYA4noabaeDX_PSw840j?usp=sharing

LatencyMon during game without FPS cap:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1gim1F9ypbhXzjr4GxSER56b_rapZBDaO?usp=sharing[DOUBLEPOST=1523467879][/DOUBLEPOST]
My money would be on the mobo as the first suspect.
Well, but why there are no issues with 150 FPS lock? Mysterious...
 
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So, I recorded new data.
Reverted my BIOS settings to previous, turne ON threaded optimization, set app-controlled refresh rate.
Set GTA 5 graphics to minimum possible with 800*680 resolution and tried to play on GTX 1080 Ti.

Frame time spikes occur again as it was on Intel's GPU with unplugged NVIDIA GPU. The same issues occur less times BUT are more continuously (when start) on 1080 Ti compare with Intel! So weird. Maybe NVIDIA driver adds sticks to the fire.

Here's my hopeless results with NVIDIA GPU: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_7j8DehnwU5jqfqePZHpa5TMhVcPs8Ul

Logs with Intel's GPU: https://drive.google.com/open?id=14DrbFKVLNyiAG4zBtAWWF6soUT91ApyY
 
Can you confirm if you're using 1080ti instead of graphics card when playing the game? My friend went 5 whole months before enabling dedicated graphics card. Even he had same complaints.

Else, upgrade to windows 7 and check the performance again. Also reset bios settings. you generally don't need to change them
 
Can you confirm if you're using 1080ti instead of graphics card when playing the game? My friend went 5 whole months before enabling dedicated graphics card. Even he had same complaints.

Else, upgrade to windows 7 and check the performance again. Also reset bios settings. you generally don't need to change them

Lol. My 144Hz monitor directly connected to the GTX 1080 Ti DP port with a single 1.2 DP cable. About what Intel's GPU you said while my monitor shows GTX 1080 Ti data only? =)
Maybe you think that I use laptop with 2 GPUs or connect my monitor to two GPUs, but it's not. Or what else do you mean saying to enable dedicated GPU?

Yeah, maybe I should downgrade to Win7 to test performance again. But... I don't know where to officially download Windows 7 x64 from Microsoft sites. I don't want to use pirated builds because they may be poor-built or contain viruses. Do you know where to officially download Win7?
 
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