Guide to stutter fixing.

Have you ever felt like the brand new PC for which you drained your hard earned money, is a piece of Schiit() ?

Does your friend with same PC as you, gets no stutters at all, while your heart burns overnight about the problem?

Have you ever felt like you would never be able to play any games smoothly on a very capable machine?

Have you ever cursed a customer service representative only because he couldn't resolve the lagging and stuttering issues that occur while you game?

Well, if answer to any of the above questions is yes, this is the guide which might be able to help you out.

Though I can’t guarantee anything, this guide is aimed at providing potential solutions for the problems at one place. I’ll also give detailed steps on how to use these tools in a stepwise fashion.

Also, I request any admin who finds my post *good* to pin it in the forum. This is my 3rd post around here!
So, that's it for now and let’s jump right into the diagnosis of the problems.

To zero-in on a specific component, you may or may not need to do extensive research on your PC’s components depending on the cause. Don’t worry, I’ll guide you how to use each tool to solve your problems.

How-to?

I’ll be using any of the following software:

1.Device manager. Yeah, an in-built tool from Microsoft which will help to identify any component which was left out while you were downloading or updating drivers.

2.The in-built event viewer. The event viewer may again, seem like a joke for diagnosis, but actually it is a very sleek and informative app if you want to know which component of your PC is giving you troubles and possibly ruining your performance.

3.The good-ol' task manager. Yeah, you read it right! While it seems to be a very basic tool, it is highly functional and helpful in pointing out possible problems.

4.3rd party tools:
If these tools didn’t fix your problems, ONLY THEN lay your hands on these

I’ll link the tools that we might be using:

MSI Afterburner: https://www.msi.com/page/afterburner
HWInfo64: https://www.hwinfo.com/download.php
DDU: http://www.guru3d.com/files-details/display-driver-uninstaller-download.html
CPU-Z: https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
GPU-Z: https://www.techpowerup.com/download/gpu-z/
AIDA64: https://www.aida64.com/downloads
Intel XTU: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/product/66427/Intel-Extreme-Tuning-Utility-Intel-XTU-
PCI-Z: https://www.pci-z.com/
FurMark: http://ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/
SpeedFan: http://www.almico.com/sfdownload.php​

*All the links will redirect you to the websites.​

WOW! That was a page-full, wasn’t it? But if you are really desperate to get rid of the stutter, you’ll definitely follow this guide!!

 

STEP 2:
Diagnosis: The hardware:

1.Ensure that all the cables properly make connection with corresponding component. You can check for that by shaking the cable a little. If the device connected gets disconnected, replace the cable/component. Even some loose peripherals can create problems.

2.Open up your PC, pull out the power supply and battery (if you have a laptop) and press down the power button for 10 seconds to ground the motherboard. Select ‘Restart’ option from power options and restart the PC. This also fixes many common problems. See miscellaneous.

3.While you have your PC opened up, take out all the RAM sticks, video cards & M.2 SSDs. Take an eraser and rub the connection heads on the cards and RAM sticks, then carefully wipe off the contacts with a clean cloth. This ensures that the contacts are free of dirt, dust and moisture. Take a cloth, rub the connections again and properly seat the cards and sticks again.

4.Check if the case fans are operating properly, are free of obstructions and provide sufficient airflow.

5.Keep some area clear off the PC.​

• I think that at this point, it will be suitable to mention that I assume no responsibility to any damage that might occur(there is only a slight chance, however). I will be more than willing and happy to help, but I can’t guarantee anything.

Before continuing , I would advise you to do the following things beforehand:

1.Using ‘chkdsk’
2.Reinstalling graphics card driver after cleaning up using DDU.
3.Installing all windows updates and the updates of games you are trying to run.
4.Changing the in-game settings.​

Diagnosis: Basic Homework: Here we will begin to use various tools that were mentioned above:

1.Device Manager:

1.1. Open the Device Manager by right clicking on the Windows logo on bottom left of the screen and selecting device manager.
1.2. Look for any components marked with an exclamation mark next to its icon.
1.3. If any, download driver for the component. If you can’t identify the component, right
click and select ‘Update Device Driver’.
1.4. Use PCIeZ to try to identify the component if Windows is not able to find the suitable update and install the driver manually.​

2.Event Viewer:

2.1. Check the statistics while game is running smoothly. Take note of the values corresponding to the ‘Critical’ & ‘Error’ rows and ‘Last Hour’ columns.
2.2. When stutters or lag occurs, switch back to event viewer to see if any value has changed. Be sure to press the refresh button.
2.3. If there is a change in count, double click the category to open up details
2.4. A simple google search will reveal the solution in many cases.​

3.Task Manager:

3.1. Check for activities while the computer runs the game smoothly. The graphical view on the left will give you a rough idea how the systems resources are being used while it is running a game, make rough note of what average utilisation of each component is like.
3.2. When stutters or lag occurs, switch back to the task manager and look for anomalies on any of the graphs.
3.3. Note if any specific process is taking up too much resources. Here in the image for example, this process is taking resources along with the game’s process.

3.3.1. Select the process and press ‘End Task’ (Do this at your own risk)​

3.4. Refer the following section A.​

 

Section A:

1. CPU Usage graph drops suddenly:

1. Download the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility.
2. Observe the following values: Thermal Throttling, Power Limit Throttling, Current Limit Throttling, Motherboard VR Thermal Limit.
3. A) Thermal Throttling: YES

Either lower the Core Voltage Offset or repaste the CPU die. You can also try raising the laptop’s level from ground by placing erasers beneath the foots near ventilation area (if applicable).
You can additionally try to clean the ventilation fans and see if they make a difference.​

Another good solution is to set a manual fan curve using SpeedFan.
3. B) Power Limit Throttling: YES

See if raising ‘Core Voltage Offset’ a little, helps with the problem.
Repeat the step #2 from ‘Diagnosis: The hardware’ if nothing helps.
Check for BIOS updates.​

3. C) Current Limit Throttling: YES

See if raising ‘Processor Core IccMax’ a little helps with the problem.
Repeat the step #2 from ‘Diagnosis: The hardware’ if nothing helps.​

Check for BIOS updates.
3. D) Motherboard VR Thermal Limit: YES

This most probably indicates that your PCH is overheating. This problem can be solved by BIOS updates or by workarounds.​

4. Connect the laptop to mains (if applicable) and check if the problem is fixed.
5. Change ‘Power Plan’ in ‘Control Panel’ to ‘High Performance’.
6. Check if your PSU is properly functioning (if applicable).
​

2. CPU Usage graph touches the max. point in short intervals (spikes):

1. Check if any background processes (using task manager) are taxing the CPU.
2. Check if windows updates are fully installed and you have no pending updates.
3. Ensure that you are not recording the gameplay.
4. Check if ‘Hardware Acceleration’ is disabled in Chrome if you surf internet and play simultaneously.
5. Check if your PC is free of malicious programs.​

3. RAM fills to the top:

This can only be fixed by adding more ram to the PC or running less programs in background. Alternatively, if you have a SSD, please set that as Page Drive using control panel. If you have a HDD, you are more likely to see stutters if you set it as Page Drive. Caution: Disabling the Page File may result in games crashing, programs refusing to launch and even Windows being unstable and unresponsive. See ‘FAQs’​

4. Free RAM but usage spikes:

Probably bad windows installation or update has caused a memory leakage or spill. System restore or a clean installation might help.​

5. Disk (HDD/SSD) Usage Spikes:

1. Check if any background processes (using Task Manager) are taxing the drive.
2. Check if windows updates are fully installed and you have no pending updates.
3. Ensure that you are not recording the gameplay.
4. Check if your PC is free of malwares and malicious programs.
5. Use Crystal Disk Mark to check drive read/write speeds.

5.1 If they are low, consider changing the drive or
5.2 Use ‘chkdsk’

5.2.1 To use chkdsk, open Command Prompt as administrator and type “chkdsk x: /f /x /r”, where X is the drive letter. NOTE: For SSDs it is advisable to remove “/r” command.​

6. Defragment and clean up you drive.
7. If average response times are greater than 1000 mS, you probably have a bad drive.
8. Be sure to check S.M.A.R.T. status of the drive.
​

6. GPU usage spikes:

1. Probably a bad driver installation or update has caused a problem. System restore or a clean installation might help.
2. Check for any background process that might be taxing the GPU.
3. Check for any BIOS updates.
4. Reinstall graphics drivers.​

7. GPU usage drops: (I’m using NVidia’s attributes as examples here, not sure about AMD’s
cards)

1. Download HWInfo64 and see the GPU column.
NOTE: In notebooks enabled with ‘Optimus’, the dedicated GPUs status are updated only while the dedicated GPU is working. Hence, running a game for long periods of time will help you to better monitor the GPUs status
2. Observe these values: GPU Temperature, Performance Limit – Power, Performance Limit – Thermal & PCIe Link Speed.

2.1. Performance Limit – Power: If set as ‘Yes’:

2.1.1. Connect the laptop to mains (if applicable) and check if the problem is fixed.
2.1.2. Change ‘Power Plan’ in ‘Control Panel’ to ‘High Performance’.
2.1.3. Check if your PSU is fully functional (if applicable).
2.1.4. Check for BIOS updates.
2.1.5. Repeat the step #2 from ‘Diagnosis: The hardware’ if nothing helps.​

2.2. Performance Limit – Thermal: If set as ‘Yes’:

2.2.1. Check for BIOS updates.
2.2.2. Repaste the GPU and reseat the thermal pads on VRAM and capacitors.
2.2.3. You can also try raising the laptop’s level from ground by placing erasers beneath the foots near ventilation area (if applicable).
2.2.4. Clean ventilation fans of the GPU and see if that helps.
2.2.5. Use ‘MSI Afterburner’ to set a custom fan curve.​

NOTE: If the GPU Temperature is below 75 C, and thermal limit is set as ‘Yes’, then it most probably is a false alert (Yes, it happens, but look out for the maximum value in maximum column).

2.3. PCIe Link Speed: If this is less than the speed that your card should get on the PCIe version you are using (at full load), first try another slot on your motherboard. If problem persists, first verify driver installation then call for RMA.​

 

Section B:

1. Check if the game you're playing has issues. If there are issues, they will turn up by a simple Google search itself.

2. Check for hard faults per second.

2.1. Open resource monitor. Press ‘Win+R’ and type in ‘resmon’
2.2. Open the memory tab.
2.3. See how much free memory you have before running the game.
2.4. When stuttering starts, switch back to resource monitor and check for the hard faults per second.
2.5. If value is too high:

2.5.1. If you have free RAM (less than 70% usage of physical RAM):

2.5.1.0. Try disabling the page file and see if it helps. However, I won't recommend doing this (See ‘Miscellaneous’)
2.5.1.1. Repeat the grounding thing.
2.5.1.2. Replace with other set of RAM sticks if available.
2.5.1.3. Check for BIOS updates.
2.5.1.4. See if the RAM is overheating using ‘hwinfo’.
​

2.5.2. If your physical RAM is nearly full: Try closing some programs or adding more RAM. This is the most logical thing to do. Page files on SSD are still many times slow than RAM.​

Miscellaneous:

Q. What’s the big deal about Page File?
A. Best explained by a good video from LinusTechTips :



While disabling the page file has its own sets of advantages, upon disabling the page file, some demanding programs (such as heavy games) may crash or might even refuse to start, that is why it is best left for windows to manage.

Q. The grounding thing…… is it any good?
A. Have this from me, it actually is. It fixes a whole lot of things that can happen without any apparent reason, biggest example being the Power Limit throttling on Intel chips solved by this simple trick. Impressive, eh?


This guide ends here, and I hope that you’ve got rid of the dreadful lag. If not, I would recommend going for with RMA if you have a pre-built system, else for seeking professional advice.

I’ll make sure that I keep this guide updating. I’m open to any suggestions( in fact welcome them!) and if there are any mistakes, please PM me, I’ll look into it ASAP and correct them.

 

Great information. This is a fantastic place to start in terms of troubleshooting.

 

Thank you very much! It means a lot!!