Stuttering (Drivers or something incompatible??)

Jeyc

I just built my first pc 2 days ago and the building part went pretty well. However when I started to use it, I needed to update some drivers and then the entire computer started stuttering, it stops on occasions but has always come back. I launched a few games and when it works I get very smooth gameplay, but when the stuttering starts again it does small pulses of fps drops every second or two, please any help? I've already uninstalled drivers and reinstalled them to no permanent fix.
System specs:
ryzen 3700x
msi mpg x570
radeon 5600xt
32 gb corsair 3200mhz

TSTonyV

Have you turned on an XMP proflie for your RAM in your BIOS? If you did, it's possible you have some instability. Try turning it off and seeing if that improves things. If it does help, I'd actually recommend doing a BIOS update and then turning XMP on again. Sometimes BIOS updates can help resolve memory speed issues.  If it's currently turned off, try turning it on so you're running your RAM at the proper speeds and see if that improves things. Ryzen CPUs really like memory speed so it could make a difference. 

Beyond that, is the issue happening in multiple games? It's possible it's something with the video drivers you're using. Try installing an older version of the video drivers and see if that helps at all. Try running a Windows memory diagnostic as well and see if it turns up any hardware errors. 

All else fails, reinstalling your OS is an option. 

Jeyc

Thanks for your reply! I tried disabling the XMP profile and i raised ram speeds to 3200. I don't believe I can update my BIOS as its new? I have only tested one game but I do believe it is video drivers but I have uninstalled and reinstalled them. And I cannot get AMD drivers any older than 20.2.2.
I also tried reinstalling my OS as an early option (I'm not really sure whats wrong or what I'm doing)

PowerSpec_MikeW

We'll need to get a better idea of what the system is doing when the stuttering occurs. The next time you're playing a game, look at your resource usage in task manager. Mainly CPU/RAM/GPU. When the game begins to stutter check task manager again for a comparison. Let us know what you see.

Jeyc

TSMikeW said:

We'll need to get a better idea of what the system is doing when the stuttering occurs. The next time you're playing a game, look at your resource usage in task manager. Mainly CPU/RAM/GPU. When the game begins to stutter check task manager again for a comparison. Let us know what you see.

So I attached a few pictures, I'm not sure if I can make them smaller sorry
So the first three pictures are from the radeon adrenline software
Top: During stutters but no games open
Middle: No stuttering and game open
Bottom: Both stuttering and game open

The three task managers
Top: Game open and no stuttering
Middle: Game open and stuttering
Bottom: No game open and stuttering

I hope this helps provide some ability to diagnose the issue?

Ian

Greetings. Is this happening in multiple games or just one specific game? 

Jeyc

TSIanL said:

Greetings. Is this happening in multiple games or just one specific game? 

Hi! It happens in other games as well as when I am not running anything either. 

Ian

Jeyc said:

TSIanL said:

Greetings. Is this happening in multiple games or just one specific game? 

Hi! It happens in other games as well as when I am not running anything either. 

Is your mouse cursor unable to move or moving slowly when this happens?

Jeyc

TSIanL said:

Jeyc said:

TSIanL said:

Greetings. Is this happening in multiple games or just one specific game? 

Hi! It happens in other games as well as when I am not running anything either. 

Is your mouse cursor unable to move or moving slowly when this happens?

The cursor teleports around like if you were on a 10 hz display, but its not consistent.

Ian

Just to clarify - earlier you stated you attempted to reinstall Windows, was that done completely or just something you looked into doing?

Jeyc

TSIanL said:

Just to clarify - earlier you stated you attempted to reinstall Windows, was that done completely or just something you looked into doing?

I reinstalled it completely

TSTonyV

IF you're done a complete reinstall, there's a few possibilities:

1) You have some bad hardware. Unfortunately there's no easy way to figure out which part it would be without replacing components. You could test if it's the RAM with a Windows Memory Diagnostic or MemTest86

2) There's a compatibility issue going on, likely with the video card. AMD's newer cards unfortunately have a bit of a reputation for not having the best driver stability, and the issue isn't always consistent. I'd say this is the most likely scenario, but it's hard to say for sure. Best way to test this is with another video card. Also, you actually can download older drivers than 20.2 here: https://www.amd.com/en/support/previous-drivers/graphics/amd-radeon-5600-series/amd-radeon-rx-5600-series/amd-radeon-rx-5600-xt. 

3) You have corrupt installation media that's causing issues with your Windows install. This one is the least likely candidate in my opinion, however, it's probably the easiest to troubleshoot. Create another set of Windows installation media on a different flash drive using Microsoft's Media Creation Tool and try reinstalling it that way. If that doesn't fix it, it's something hardware related. 

Jeyc

TSTonyV said:

IF you're done a complete reinstall, there's a few possibilities:

1) You have some bad hardware. Unfortunately there's no easy way to figure out which part it would be without replacing components. You could test if it's the RAM with a Windows Memory Diagnostic or MemTest86

2) There's a compatibility issue going on, likely with the video card. AMD's newer cards unfortunately have a bit of a reputation for not having the best driver stability, and the issue isn't always consistent. I'd say this is the most likely scenario, but it's hard to say for sure. Best way to test this is with another video card. Also, you actually can download older drivers than 20.2 here: https://www.amd.com/en/support/previous-drivers/graphics/amd-radeon-5600-series/amd-radeon-rx-5600-series/amd-radeon-rx-5600-xt. 

3) You have corrupt installation media that's causing issues with your Windows install. This one is the least likely candidate in my opinion, however, it's probably the easiest to troubleshoot. Create another set of Windows installation media on a different flash drive using Microsoft's Media Creation Tool and try reinstalling it that way. If that doesn't fix it, it's something hardware related. 

I am unable to test RAM with the window memory diagnostic as I get a BSoD (driver power state failure) every time an application causes a system restart.
I am trying an install of an older driver set now, I have continuously gotten general error 1603 in the past however even with DDU and AMD cleanup utility.
I will give the third option a try as well.
If I should return the card, would you advice taking another risk with getting a replacement 5600xt or should I get an entirely different card?

TSTonyV

Honestly, that's a tough question. The thing about this is it could be something else entirely besides the video card, and without being able to swap other components out there's no way to know for sure. 

If you do want to switch the card for another model, I'd personally look at the EVGA RTX 2060 KO. The EVGA KO models are priced right about $300 which is where the 5600XT sits, and the RTX 2060 has about the same performance as well.

Jeyc

TSTonyV said:

Honestly, that's a tough question. The thing about this is it could be something else entirely besides the video card, and without being able to swap other components out there's no way to know for sure. 

If you do want to switch the card for another model, I'd personally look at the EVGA RTX 2060 KO. The EVGA KO models are priced right about $300 which is where the 5600XT sits, and the RTX 2060 has about the same performance as well.

It looks pretty promising! I think I would probably want to switch after this experience, I wouldn't be say the card is defective as we don't know correct? Just product dissatisfaction?

TSTonyV

If you're within the return period, it doesn't really matter. I would mention the issues you were having just in case because if it's a defective product we wouldn't want to put it back up for sale.