Computer stuttering while gaming

Whenever I play Apex Legends (it's the only game I play) it makes the whole PC stutter every 3-4 mins (for 2-3 secs everything freezes). Although stuttering also happens when I am not gaming and just browsing but it's 2-3 times per day. This issue only started last month. Also I got my GPU replaced last month, so it can't be GPU. I checked temperatures during gaming and it's all under 70 Celsius on GPU, CPU & Mobo. PC is little less then 2 years old but PSU is 12 years old.

CPU : AMD Ryzen 5 3600x
Motherboard : Asus TUF Gaming X570 Plus
RAM : 2 X 8GB A-Data XPG 3200Mhz CL16
SSD : Silicon Power 1TB NVMe M.2 Gen 3
GPU : Zotac GTX 1660 Twin Fan
PSU : Corsair 550W (Bought in 2009)

Where should I start ? Coz it could be motherboard or CPU or PSU or RAM or GPU, it's hard to figure out as I don't have 2nd desktop to switch parts & find the faulty hardware.
I think it's most likely PSU but I just don't want to buy new PSU for $100 then later realize it was something else which was faulty.

P.S. Also check out this other thread of mine related to same issue:

*geek.digit.in/community/threads/bsod-whenever-i-start-gaming.209915/

Did you try reinstalling or changing the GPU driver to previous versions?

When you are in game and the stutter happens, can you check if your CPU, GPU, SSD goes to full usage or something? Open the Task Manager's CPU performance tab and also HWInfo and monitor these things closely just after the stutter. May be run some benchmark in windowed mode and monitor the PC through TaskM and HWInfo.
in HWInfo, check the CPU frequency and power and post the screenshot here if you find something peculiar.

Remove the GPU drivers by using Display Driver Uninstaller and Do a fresh install after restarting. Then check if it still stutters.

Check the health of your ssd using any utility like crystal disk info-see if it reports any problems with it.

TheSloth said:
Did you try reinstalling or changing the GPU driver to previous versions?

When you are in game and the stutter happens, can you check if your CPU, GPU, SSD goes to full usage or something? Open the Task Manager's CPU performance tab and also HWInfo and monitor these things closely just after the stutter. May be run some benchmark in windowed mode and monitor the PC through TaskM and HWInfo.
in HWInfo, check the CPU frequency and power and post the screenshot here if you find something peculiar.

GPU goes to 100% which is normal , CPU don't go more then 60-70% and SSD around 70% max read speed & 11% write speed max . I reinstalled windows too but same issue. . Attaching graphs and logs please check. Frame time spikes up every now and then for no reason from 8-10ms to 70ms or something.

bssunilreddy said:
Remove the GPU drivers by using Display Driver Uninstaller and Do a fresh install after restarting. Then check if it still stutters.

Done that but no help.

quicky008 said:
Check the health of your ssd using any utility like crystal disk info-see if it reports any problems with it.

97% SSD health, is it too low?

Logs : Stutter Problem – Google Drive

I see that CPU temps never went above 70C. What about GPU temps?
Can you run memory test and see if your RAMs are problem. Run the test for more than 5 hrs at least.
Also, remove 1 RAM module and play game to check if stutters, then switch the RAM module with another. Also, do this in different slots to eliminate the possibility of a fault slot.

Any chance you can check this with another GPU?

If all of this works then I think PSU is the only component to check. Is it possible for you to take it to a PC repair shop who can check this with another PSU? Don't leave your PC for overnight, unless you trust them. Take your PC there and check it yourself, ask them to allow you run the game and check yourself.

TheSloth said:
I see that CPU temps never went above 70C. What about GPU temps?
Can you run memory test and see if your RAMs are problem. Run the test for more than 5 hrs at least.
Also, remove 1 RAM module and play game to check if stutters, then switch the RAM module with another. Also, do this in different slots to eliminate the possibility of a fault slot.

Any chance you can check this with another GPU?

If all of this works then I think PSU is the only component to check. Is it possible for you to take it to a PC repair shop who can check this with another PSU? Don't leave your PC for overnight, unless you trust them. Take your PC there and check it yourself, ask them to allow you run the game and check yourself.

GPU max is 67 Celsius even after 2 hours of gaming. I ran memtest86 for 3hours and it passed without errors.

No other GPU I have and repair shop is too far tough to carry desktop there. I might have to buy new PSU and take a gamble if it doesn't work then start RMAing all PC parts 1 by 1 starting from Motherboard, RAM, CPU, SSD (everything is under warranty except my ancient PSU)

Before going for a new PSU, just play game with 1 RAM stick in different slots.

What's your SSD usage like while gaming? A friend's PC with Crucial BX500 used to choke up sometimes while gaming, caused stutters & lags at times.

I found that Nvidia's shadowplay was on, which was recording 5mins of footage which will be saved if I save it. Turned that off to reduced SSD usage. See if something is using your SSD unnecessarily.

Maybe try reinstalling OS.

omega44-xt said:
What's your SSD usage like while gaming? A friend's PC with Crucial BX500 used to choke up sometimes while gaming, caused stutters & lags at times.

I found that Nvidia's shadowplay was on, which was recording 5mins of footage which will be saved if I save it. Turned that off to reduced SSD usage. See if something is using your SSD unnecessarily.

Maybe try reinstalling OS.

Reinstalled OS after deleting all partitions. SSD around 70% max read speed & 11% write speed max reading during 3hrs of gameplay.
I don't use geforce experience, I prefer manually updating drivers. I can't deal with 50 updater apps from nvidia, razer, asus, AMD, etc

One thing also I forgot to mention there was BSOD issue which fixed by itself maybe it is connected to this issue, you can check here :

*geek.digit.in/community/threads/bsod-whenever-i-start-gaming.209915/

Here the screenshot of hwinfo after 1.5 hours of gaming (Right click and open it new tab to zoom in) :
*i.ibb.co/zhXrfT4/HWinfo-Log.png

Your temps look fine. Are you getting the issue after reinstalling OS?

Is your ISP fine? I get a lag sometimes in Apex, but not consistently. Sometimes Apex's servers are acting up, I remember 1 Saturday it was too problematic.

omega44-xt said:
Your temps look fine. Are you getting the issue after reinstalling OS?

Is your ISP fine? I get a lag sometimes in Apex, but not consistently. Sometimes Apex's servers are acting up, I remember 1 Saturday it was too problematic.

Yes same problem after reinstalling windows after deleting all partitions. Problems is permanent. If it was apex server it wont happen non stop for 2 weeks when other players reported no such issue.

Run the game in fullscreen mode instead of borderless window

khalil1210 said:
Run the game in fullscreen mode instead of borderless window

its in full screen always

at what resolution are you playing. and how many monitors

khalil1210 said:
at what resolution are you playing. and how many monitors

One monitor 29 inch LG ultrawide 29UM69G. 2560*1080

So are you playing at 75 fps?

khalil1210 said:
So are you playing at 75 fps?

No vsync is off. So it stays in between 90 to 120 fps depending on the scene.

can you enable adaptive sync and try.

are you using wallpaper changer or something like that. which changes wallpaper every 2 mins

Can you also try limiting the fps to 75.

khalil1210 said:
can you enable adaptive sync and try.

are you using wallpaper changer or something like that. which changes wallpaper every 2 mins

Can you also try limiting the fps to 75.

I tried that too but no help. Wallpaper is static.
Its not the game setting issue as stutter also sometimes happen when I am doing light task like browsing or opening task manager.

okay

Are the bios driver up to date?

Are cpu drivers up to date?

Is CPU overclocked?

In ram is xmp enabled?

khalil1210 said:
okay

Are the bios driver up to date? Yes

Are cpu drivers up to date? Yes

Is CPU overclocked? No

In ram is xmp enabled? I tested with stock speed and XMP both but same issue.

Can you keep task manager open and check if cpu usage or memory usage or disk usage is getting high when it stutters. and which process is causing the stuttering

I got new Antec HCG750 Gold PSU and I ran OCCT power test which stresses both cpu & gpu at same time.

CPU temps stayed fixed at 90 C as the stock cooler is garbage. Anyways at 36min mark the whole pc froze and I had to force restart using power button.

is this normal behavior ?

Also I am using razer orochi v2 mouse, the cursor on the monitor freezes for 2-3 secs randomly 3-4 times per day and when I press keyboard button to check the system is taking input of keys which means PC is not freezing just the mouse cursor hangs. I tested with other usb ports but same issue.

Does this mean fault is in motherboard?

Update : I ran OCCT CPU test and core 5 is giving errors. I am attaching log also.

I got cpu replaced but still the same problem. What to do next?
Change motherboard next if still issue doesn't fix then RAM then SSD?

does it stutter only in one particular game or all games?Do you experience stutters even while performing routine tasks?

can you borrow a working HDD from a friend/neighbour and use it to run your system for a while(instead of your ssd) and check if the issue persists?

quicky008 said:
does it stutter only in one particular game or all games?Do you experience stutters even while performing routine tasks?

can you borrow a working HDD from a friend/neighbour and use it to run your system for a while(instead of your ssd) and check if the issue persists?

Stutter happens more in every games. I ran superposition benchmark it happened there also. In regular task its very rare to stutter.

I will install OS on my mechanical HDD and try to rule out possibility of bad SSD.

remove the ssd from your pc completely while testing with the HDD

quicky008 said:
remove the ssd from your pc completely while testing with the HDD

Tried it but same issue on mechanical HDD.

Use HwInfo64 and MSI Afterburner to monitor GPU usage during gameplay.

SaiyanGoku said:
Use HwInfo64 and MSI Afterburner to monitor GPU usage during gameplay.

GPU usage stays constant at 80-99% I think which is normal. CPU maxes at 65%.

Have you tried running Benchmark apps such as 3D Mark or PC Mark ?
They put some stress on your system and you can check the reports.

Zangetsu said:
Have you tried running Benchmark apps such as 3D Mark or PC Mark ?
They put some stress on your system and you can check the reports.

yes i ran OCCT, prime95, superposition, MemTest86, unigine heaven, furmark
They gave no errors and pc didnt crash

Apologies if someone has already mentioned this here, if you are playing CSGO then you can lock frames to 70 or 130, whatever your monitor refresh rate is and +10. Just lock frames in the game and then test.
I also was having micro stutters in CSGO, that was because frames were going back and forth between 250 and 60. I locked the frames to 65 and that resolved the issue. I keep Vsync off.

TheSloth said:
Apologies if someone has already mentioned this here, if you are playing CSGO then you can lock frames to 70 or 130, whatever your monitor refresh rate is and +10. Just lock frames in the game and then test.
I also was having micro stutters in CSGO, that was because frames were going back and forth between 250 and 60. I locked the frames to 65 and that resolved the issue. I keep Vsync off.

how do you lock frames?? I generally turn on vsync to lock frames for me.

pkkumarcool said:
how do you lock frames??

Using RTSS which comes with Afterburner.

pkkumarcool said:
how do you lock frames?? I generally turn on vsync to lock frames for me.

in CSGO I can lock frames through in-game console commands. For other games you can lock FPS only if the game allows to. Like Rocket League has the option to lock frames.

TheSloth said:
Like Rocket League has the option to lock frames.

I won't recommend this. They locked mine to 30 after latest update and I didn't notice this until I was in game.

SaiyanGoku said:
I won't recommend this. They locked mine to 30 after latest update and I didn't notice this until I was in game.

Oh. I didn't notice this. I will check. But this option is so handy for people who doesn't have powerful system. I used to lock fps to 45 and play with consistent frames instead of getting micro stutters on my old laptop.

TheSloth said:
Oh. I didn't notice this. I will check. But this option is so handy for people who doesn't have powerful system. I used to lock fps to 45 and play with consistent frames instead of getting micro stutters on my old laptop.

Use RTSS unless you are playing it on linux or consoles.

Yesterday I replaced my motherboard. So here is the summary :
1) When I changed GPU 1.5 months ago, problem was still same.
2) After that when I changed PSU 1 month ago the BSOD problem went away but freezing/stutters was still there
3) Then I changed CPU 3 weeks ago and after that freezing was gone but there was stutters still the same.
4) Then I changed Motherboard this week, now stutters are the only issue but they are reduced by 80%.

So what should I change next ? RAM, GPU or SSD ?

And is it possible that every component in my PC was fried all at same time because of old PSU or bad mobo ?
Because every time I change one component the issue gets fixed by a small percentage.

My guess is this has do something with interference between graphic card and audio chip of the motherboard ... is it possible for you to try with a different sound card ?