Games slow down after playing for a while...(new build) [SOLVED]

[Bradbeary]

Hello all,

I just built a new gaming rig for the first time this week and I'm having trouble keeping my games running consistently well for some reason after half an hour to an hour of play time. Everything runs smoothly and great but then things start to stutter (both graphics wise and audio wise). I'm a noob when it comes to troubleshooting problems which brings me here! I initally thought the problems were isolated with the first games I was playing (Wolfenstein, Rage) but it seems like my problem carries on with other games too (Tomb Raider, Shadow of Mordor, Far Cry).

Here are my detailed specs:

Processor: Intel i7-6700K CPU @ 4.00GHz

Motherboard:ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII HERO LGA1151 DDR4 M.2 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 Type A Type C Intel Z170 ATX Motherboard

Installed memory (RAM): 15.9 GB (Kingston HyperX FURY Black 16GB Kit (2x8GB) 2133MHz DDR4 Non-ECC CL14 DIMM Desktop Memory (HX421C14FBK2/16))

GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB SC+ GAMING ACX 2.0+, Whisper Silent Cooling w/ Free Installed Backplate Graphics Card 06G-P4-4995-KR

OS and applications installed on: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD

Steam library installed on: WD Blue 1TB Desktop 3.5 Inch SATA 6Gb/s 7200rpm

Power Supply: Corsair CX Series 750 Watt ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Bronze ATX12V/EPS12V 744 Power Supply CX750M

Waterpump: Corsair Hydro Series H100i GTX High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

Some extra things to note:
-According to the Corsair Link software, nothing seems to be overheating. My CPU stays under 30 degrees C. The GPU doesn't go past 60 degrees C. The fans supposidly do not kick in until 60 degrees C.

-I optimize the games to run according to GeForce Experience just so I don't over do things.

Any ideas? Maybe I have something faulty in the hardware or perhaps I overlooked something?

UPDATE: Maybe it is an overheating issue. I paused Tomb Raider to read about and post my problem. 10-15 minutes later, things seemed to be running fine again. I feel like something gets really hot and needs to chill out for a while before operations could resume normally again. The question is what?

UPDATE 2: Restarting the computer each time when games start to stutter seems to "fix" the issue. Could it be a memory caching problem or something related to memory storage? I don't want to have to restart everytime my games slow down but this seems like the only way to alleviate the problem I'm having.

[Elon Mosque]

I would recommend running OSD of any gpu overclocking software because your screenshot of right after the slowdown shows that your gpu's clock speed is only running at 595MHz. I had the same issue which halved my fps in games but for me a restart fixed it. I would recommend running fans at %50 and check if itd 595MHz at games.

[Revelene]

Originally posted by JoshMoshes:

Originally posted by Revelene:

Monitor everything and tell us what is happening. For example: frame rate, gpu clocks, gpu usage, gpu vram usage, gpu temp, cpu clocks, cput usage, cpu temp, ram usage, etc.

How should I report this information? I have Tomb Raider minimized right now and haven't reset my computer. The stuttering is at the peak worst I believe.

A simple monitoring program and just tell us what it does. Like, does it go up to 99-100% usage when it does this... or does the usage tank? Or vram skyrockets? Stuff like that. Inconsistancies.

Originally posted by JoshMoshes:

Originally posted by TabrisDarkPeace:

Use WHQL video drivers from www.nvidia.com

I just tried this. I did a custom clean install and everything worked as if I restarted my PC. It feels like I've narrowed it down to the GPU now because of this.

Did a clean install of the GPU driver fix the issue?

[Bradbeary]

I have some screenshots of the rig running after I get the stutter issue. I used GPU-Z and HWMonitor for these.

http://imgur.com/a/d8qLM

http://imgur.com/OBNEtaq

[Bradbeary]

While I was monitoring the GPU, it seems like the load doesn't go over 40% at all. During stuttering, it dips down to 0%...to 8%...etc. When I remain still, everything is okay but the GPU usage is steady at 20% until I move (which causes it to dip). Why is this?

[Revelene]

Originally posted by JoshMoshes:

I have some screenshots of the rig running after I get the stutter issue. I used GPU-Z and HWMonitor for these.

http://imgur.com/a/d8qLM

http://imgur.com/OBNEtaq

Originally posted by JoshMoshes:

While I was monitoring the GPU, it seems like the load doesn't go over 40% at all. During stuttering, it dips down to 0%...to 8%...etc. When I remain still, everything is okay but the GPU usage is steady at 20% until I move (which causes it to dip). Why is this?

The pictures have a graph that is about impossible to understand. Why are you using a weak program like that? The graphs are pathetic.

Use MSI Afterburner, which has larger and more customizable graphs with actual labels and timeline.

Now, you say that during stuttering and movement, the usage goes down? And a clean install of the drivers did not work...

I have reason to think that you may have something wrong with your GPU. Do you have another GPU, or have a friend that will let you borrow a GPU, that you could use to test to make sure that the GPU is the issue?

[Bradbeary]

Originally posted by Revelene:

The pictures have a graph that is about impossible to understand. Why are you using a weak program like that? The graphs are pathetic.

Use MSI Afterburner, which has larger and more customizable graphs with actual labels and timeline.

Now, you say that during stuttering and movement, the usage goes down? And a clean install of the drivers did not work...

I have reason to think that you may have something wrong with your GPU. Do you have another GPU, or have a friend that will let you borrow a GPU, that you could use to test to make sure that the GPU is the issue?

Unfortunately, all of my friends are console gamers so I don't really have the option of borrowing a GPU. Since the parts are still relatively new, I might exchange this for a new one just in case.

Also, I tried the MSI program. I agree, the graphs and visualizations are much better! While running Tomb Raider again and playing until stuttering, the frame buffer and VID usage were bouncing up and down like mad. The CPU usage was quite frantic too. I don't know if these are any better of help but I took some screen shots of the areas in question:

http://imgur.com/a/EMqfi

[Revelene]

Originally posted by JoshMoshes:

Originally posted by Revelene:

The pictures have a graph that is about impossible to understand. Why are you using a weak program like that? The graphs are pathetic.

Use MSI Afterburner, which has larger and more customizable graphs with actual labels and timeline.

Now, you say that during stuttering and movement, the usage goes down? And a clean install of the drivers did not work...

I have reason to think that you may have something wrong with your GPU. Do you have another GPU, or have a friend that will let you borrow a GPU, that you could use to test to make sure that the GPU is the issue?

Unfortunately, all of my friends are console gamers so I don't really have the option of borrowing a GPU. Since the parts are still relatively new, I might exchange this for a new one just in case.

Also, I tried the MSI program. I agree, the graphs and visualizations are much better! While running Tomb Raider again and playing until stuttering, the frame buffer and VID usage were bouncing up and down like mad. The CPU usage was quite frantic too. I don't know if these are any better of help but I took some screen shots of the areas in question:

http://imgur.com/a/EMqfi

What concerns me is the GPU usage... yeah something is not right here.

Doing an RMA to get a replacement GPU sounds more like the best course of action.

It would be great if you knew someone with a GPU that you could use to test... because there is always the possibility that the GPU is being affected by something else, be it faulty hardware or software.

How long have you had this PC and did it work normally before?

[Bradbeary]

Originally posted by Revelene:

What concerns me is the GPU usage... yeah something is not right here.

Doing an RMA to get a replacement GPU sounds more like the best course of action.

It would be great if you knew someone with a GPU that you could use to test... because there is always the possibility that the GPU is being affected by something else, be it faulty hardware or software.

How long have you had this PC and did it work normally before?

I put it together last week. Everything seemed normal on my first build. The first game I tried was Wolfenstein: The New Order. This issue happened last week after playing for an hour or so but after doing some research, I dismissed the issue as an isolated problem with the game considering it had engine issues. However, once I played Shadow of Mordor, Tomb Raider, Alien: Isolation, and Hotline Miami 2, the problem persisted.

I guess I'll just do an exhange order with Amazon. It wouldn't hurt since I get 30 days to do a return.

[Revelene]

Originally posted by JoshMoshes:

Originally posted by Revelene:

What concerns me is the GPU usage... yeah something is not right here.

Doing an RMA to get a replacement GPU sounds more like the best course of action.

It would be great if you knew someone with a GPU that you could use to test... because there is always the possibility that the GPU is being affected by something else, be it faulty hardware or software.

How long have you had this PC and did it work normally before?

I put it together last week. Everything seemed normal on my first build. The first game I tried was Wolfenstein: The New Order. This issue happened last week after playing for an hour or so but after doing some research, I dismissed the issue as an isolated problem with the game considering it had engine issues. However, once I played Shadow of Mordor, Tomb Raider, Alien: Isolation, and Hotline Miami 2, the problem persisted.

I guess I'll just do an exhange order with Amazon. It wouldn't hurt since I get 30 days to do a return.

A replacement might be best. Just note that after the 30 days that Amazon covers... you are not without warranty. You will have a warranty under the manufacturer and/or the AIB partner.

[Bradbeary]

WOW, I just found out the problem is correlated to the gamepad's input of commands! Playing with my Xbox One wireless gamepad in the USB 3.0 slot on the front of the chasis contributes to stuttering over time. Who would've thought?!?!

During the stutter period, I randomly used the mouse and keyboard to play and everything was working perfectly! When I moved with the gamepad, the lag contiuned!

For now, I'm going to plug the controller into the 2.0 slot in the back to see what happens now.

I can't believe this has been part of the issue all this time.

EDIT: Even when I plug the gamepad into the USB 2.0 slot, its still stutters after a while. Something is amiss here. Perhaps my USB ports need to be re-installed correctly?

[chiefputsilao]

check voltages on your psu rails 12v+, 5v+, 3.3v+.
if you have a spare quality 650w+ seasonic psu, use it.

[Revelene]

Originally posted by JoshMoshes:

WOW, I just found out the problem is correlated to the gamepad's input of commands! Playing with my Xbox One wireless gamepad in the USB 3.0 slot on the front of the chasis contributes to stuttering over time. Who would've thought?!?!

During the stutter period, I randomly used the mouse and keyboard to play and everything was working perfectly! When I moved with the gamepad, the lag contiuned!

For now, I'm going to plug the controller into the 2.0 slot in the back to see what happens now.

I can't believe this has been part of the issue all this time.

EDIT: Even when I plug the gamepad into the USB 2.0 slot, its still stutters after a while. Something is amiss here. Perhaps my USB ports need to be re-installed correctly?

That is a strange one but I have seen stranger things cause issues.

It is more than likely the drivers for the controller. Reinstall the drivers for it and see if that works.

[Bradbeary]

SOLVED! It turns out that there was something wrong with the USB drivers (not even reinstalling the chipsets worked) and they were causing slowdowns to the GPU. After doing a fresh install of Windows, everything works great! (My keyboards shortcut buttons even work now!)

[Clone_IX]

Originally posted by JoshMoshes:

SOLVED! It turns out that there was something wrong with the USB drivers (not even reinstalling the chipsets worked) and they were causing slowdowns to the GPU. After doing a fresh install of Windows, everything works great! (My keyboards shortcut buttons even work now!)

Thank you so much for this! I was getting mad, since I had the same error and no solution.
Is there really no alternative to reinstalling Windows?

[Bradbeary]

Originally posted by chtSB:

Thank you so much for this! I was getting mad, since I had the same error and no solution.
Is there really no alternative to reinstalling Windows?

There may be one but considering I had this issue very early on with my new build, I just did a Windows/factory reset to determine whether it might have been defective hardware issue (which turned out not to be the case).

Hope this helps more people too.