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Graphics Stuttering in Games

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Drakan290

2[H]4U
Joined
Sep 11, 2008
Messages
3,087
Hey all, I'm having a few problems when I game, and it's making games unplayable.

Basically, the game will run fine for a minute or two, then start doing some horrible stuttering (1-3 second stutters, not microstutter). This will happen in everything from CS:S to BF3.

I have tried disabling crossfire and running games on one video card at a time, to no avail. still is stuttering. I did a mem-test last night and I am good, no errors.

I have run a 2 hour OCCT on my CPU and it returns no errors. I run under 55c with my CPU at all times.

My system specs are:
Phenom II 940 BE @ 3.6 ghz/ 2400HT/Link speed
4gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer RAM
2x 4850, one XFX one Sapphire
WD 160gb Raptor (Gen 1) and 1TB WD Green. BF3 installed on Raptor and CSS on Green drive, so I think I can rule out HDD..
3x monitors, so I've tested it on each one seperately and nothing...

This problem was happening even when my CPU was at stock speed.

I've also run furmark and it will stutter. Dunno if that's normal but its like .5 second stutter.

I've run OCCT GPU test and it DOESN'T stutter. Got me on that one :\


Help, I don't know what to do
 
Physically isolated the cards and did some testing... Goodbye sapphire card. Any warranty horror stories?
 
Drakan290 said:
Physically isolated the cards and did some testing... Goodbye sapphire card. Any warranty horror stories?
Click to expand...

Does that mean you solved the problem?

Do you know your GPU temperatures? Did you scan for malware with Spybot & Destroy, Ad-Aware, Avast, Avira Antivir, AVG?
 
It seemed like the problem was solved, but no, it was not solved.

My GPUs load temp is around 65c, and yes, I have run full scans with Malwarebytes, Spybot, and MSE.

I just can't help feeling it's a software problem though, so I am doing a full delete of drivers, driver sweep, and reinstall now.
 
Didn't help. Still the same stuttering as before :(

It's almost like skipping. There's audio loop and the screen completely freezes. No accompanying increase in CPU cycles though, I have task manager on my other monitor watching...
 
Power supply issue or motherboard. Had that once. Ended up replacing everything but those two things and finally didn't go away until I got rid of the powersupply and motherboard. Never really found out which one was causing it though... :mad:
 
Well, here's a bump with a bit more info of what i've done...

Reformat + reinstall. Same errors. Tried reformatting and reinstalling on a different HDD. Same stupid shit.

Individually tested each stick of memory for 2 hours each - no errors.

Updated BIOS - now takes forever to recognize memory and sometimes will not boot (Possible issue = mobo?)

Since I have dual voltage here, I was previously using a transformer. I plugged into into the wall (240v/50hz) and no change. I don't think it's the PS. It's a TX650(v1) and the voltages are remaining constant on everything.

My mobo is a GA-MA790X-UD4P. Haven't seen many of these die but that's my lead idea right now... Am I on the right track?
 
So far on the right track from what I can tell.

The issue still occurs with either GPU, correct? And you physically removed the other card from the system during testing, correct?
 
Danny Bui said:
So far on the right track from what I can tell.

The issue still occurs with either GPU, correct? And you physically removed the other card from the system during testing, correct?
Click to expand...

Yes. Pulled out each GPU physically and also pulled out each stick of RAM and tried booting with each one, same problems.
 
I'll tell you that from previous experiences with Sapphire, their RMA support is next to nil. I haven't used one of their cards in 5 years due to lack of RMA support that both myself and my ex-employer (reseller) have experienced.
 
bellisca said:
I'll tell you that from previous experiences with Sapphire, their RMA support is next to nil. I haven't used one of their cards in 5 years due to lack of RMA support that both myself and my ex-employer (reseller) have experienced.
Click to expand...

That was probably true 5 years ago, but I haven't had any issues with Sapphire RMA recently (they go through a third party called Athlon Micro).

My first experience was about 6 months ago for a defective 6950. It only took 1 business day to get a RMA number after an exchange of about 4 emails. And then took 2.5 weeks to get a replacement (1 week to mail my card from VA to CA, a day or two for Athlon Micro to do whatever, and then another 1 week to get a replacement on my doorstep).

My second experience is actually going on right now, for a defective 6970. Again, it only took about a day to get a RMA number. Just need to mail out my card now. Hopefully I'll see the same 2.5 week turnaround. The Christmas delivery season might hinder it a bit though, but its not a big deal to me.

The only negative thing about Sapphire RMA is that they require you to show a copy of the purchase invoice/receipt. If you don't have it, then they require you to pay a $15 processing fee. Which to me, $15 for a $250-$350 video card replacement isn't terribly bad.
 
thepoohcontinuum said:
That was probably true 5 years ago, but I haven't had any issues with Sapphire RMA recently (they go through a third party called Athlon Micro).

My first experience was about 6 months ago for a defective 6950. It only took 1 business day to get a RMA number after an exchange of about 4 emails. And then took 2.5 weeks to get a replacement (1 week to mail my card from VA to CA, a day or two for Athlon Micro to do whatever, and then another 1 week to get a replacement on my doorstep).

My second experience is actually going on right now, for a defective 6970. Again, it only took about a day to get a RMA number. Just need to mail out my card now. Hopefully I'll see the same 2.5 week turnaround. The Christmas delivery season might hinder it a bit though, but its not a big deal to me.

The only negative thing about Sapphire RMA is that they require you to show a copy of the purchase invoice/receipt. If you don't have it, then they require you to pay a $15 processing fee. Which to me, $15 for a $250-$350 video card replacement isn't terribly bad.
Click to expand...

Going through Athlon Micro probably resolved all the frustrations that many others have experienced before that happened. I use to sway people from buying Sapphire products because of this. Maybe I won't have to anymore.
 
Well, I found out what the problem was.

No shit... My G35 headset. Yeah. Really. A USB headset that acts as a USB soundcard.

I'm facepalming.
 
FFS, seriously? Goddamn.

Well at least the issue is resolved.
 
Drakan290 said:
Well, I found out what the problem was.

No shit... My G35 headset. Yeah. Really. A USB headset that acts as a USB soundcard.

I'm facepalming.
Click to expand...

I'd be doing more than that. My desk would have a divot from bashing my head into it repeatedly. It always comes down to the simplest things, doesn't it?
 
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