Gaming PC issue - Micropauses and Stuttering in games

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everettpsycho

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#2481023 11-May-2020 11:30

Handle9:
Buy something 240GB or bigger. SATA / NVME, it doesn't really matter just so long as it has DRAM on the SSD. Just but a decent brand name but cheap is fine. This would be great for you and cheap too.

Install Windows on the new SSD, leave the existing drives as storage. Sit back and enjoy your radically more responsive system - seriously this will be sooooooooooooooo much better.

NVME, M2, etc, it's all just diminishing returns to be honest.

Is dram cache that noticeable? I got the cheaper crucial drive not even realising it was a thing and the stutters I get when writing bulk data to it are horrific. The machine is almost unusable just in windows whilst downloading or copying from another drive, I don't experience the issue doing it to a second mechanical drive so I'm confident my SSD is the thing at fault here. I pulled a stick of ram from the pc I use a server and it's makes the main pc work nicer but not fixed the stuttering problem.

I was looking at getting a usb SSD for my Xbox one anyway so I might just buy the 500gb crucial drive, swap it out with the one in my pc and stick the one without dram in an enclosure for the Xbox. I'll also consider sticking another 8gb kit in the old thing as that's actually improved performance far more than I thought it would.

Jase2985

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#2481209 11-May-2020 14:51

surfisup1000:

Jase2985:

wouldnt you want to work out what is causing the writing/reading from the disk? the games should run fine from a standard HDD, even if it is hybrid one.

you could upgrade and still have the same issues.

These problems do suck. It could be either software, storage, ram, PSU, gfx card , CPU, or a cable, or even a failing mobo.

It is a great investment to get a real SSD anyway regardless of this issue. You need access to spare components to swap them out to see which fixes your issue. That is a problem for many people, if you have to test each component by buying a new one then you may as well rebuild your system.

maybe so but a quick look at task manager/resource monitor will show you which program is thrashing the disk

yes it could be something else but they mentioned the CPU access time went up as the the usage.

hio77

'That VDSL Cat'
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#2481366 11-May-2020 16:58

game mode caused this last time it started happening.

Lately i've been taking to doing something kinda silly and just setting games to realtime so it bigfoots anything else...

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

Drajac

5 posts

Wannabe Geek

#2481441 11-May-2020 18:15

"maybe so but a quick look at task manager/resource monitor will show you which program is thrashing the disk
yes it could be something else but they mentioned the CPU access time went up as the the usage."

CPU load remains steady. Disk average response time spikes from 10ms to 800-1300ms at random intervals.

I've had a look at resource monitor and task manager while playing (I set to windowed mode, and ran the monitors beside it). Audio stutter coincided with disk avg response time spikes. Graphical freezes when doing an action also appeared to suffer the same problem - although it was harder to see with so many audio stutters.

Couldn't see any other program attempting to grab resources - it just appeared that the disk would randomly 'hiccup' when responding.
I don't get the issue in some programs and games, and I do get it in others.

Searching online says the issue is likely either with the cable or the drive - hardware, not software. Cables are going to be cheap to replace, but I think I need to bite the bullet and get an actual SSD as well, not a weird hybrid that says it's one thing but is actually another.

Checked and re-seated the cables anyway - no difference. Getting new cables to try that first is slightly challenging at the moment.

everettpsycho

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#2481588 11-May-2020 23:37

I feel like I've just fixed my stuttering issue that is similar to the OPs. The root cause of mine seemed to be ASMedia SATA controller. I've uninstalled it and my SSD no longer maxes out at 100% usage when downloading games from Steam or gamepass. I'll keep an eye on it for a few days but fingers crossed that seems to be the main culprit.

Starlith

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#2482112 12-May-2020 18:13

Just so you know Digital Foundry done a tech analysis on Jedi Fallen Order and it is known for its high IO usage and stuttering during gameplay which is even worse on the console versions. I say this is an Unreal Engine thing where the devs are pushing the engine to its limits. I have an i7-6700 with nvidia geforce 960m, 500gb samsung 850 evo ssd and it runs this game pretty good with shorter stuttering.

I would recommend placing the game files on an SSD, disable the xbox gamebar overlay on Windows 10 and find any other applications that are utilising the IO of the ssd.

If you don't have an SSD the game will surely stutter more at certain points, just check out the console version analysis for Digital Foundry and you'll get a fair idea of how Fallen Order performs.

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