PC Graphics

[GreenGoblin81]

I'm really hoping to get an answer from someone at AMD on this. The 5700 XT is essentially the best GPU you have available right now, but I've seen TONS of people reporting issues with stuttering. I am having pretty severe stuttering with a brand new XFX Thicc III Ultra (RX 5700 XT) at default settings. Is this being worked on or should I just buy a different card. It's pretty unbearable at this point.

[kingkoofy]

Same here. Never had any stuttering until the recent update (20.5.1). RDR2 could run well over 100 fps on almost all ultra settings but now it stutters every few seconds and it's pretty horrible. Not sure what the issue is.. will try more troubleshooting in the future. Even League of Legends lags sometimes/audio cuts out (not sure if audio is a windows issue or not, but I think it is)

[slangza]

Same issue.

Stuttering on my XFX ThicII 5700XT on COD:MW and others

Windows 10 x64 1909 (reverted from 2004)

AMD Driver 20.4.2 - This driver so far giving me less crashes but a lot of stutters.

- Undervolted the card

- Turned off a lot of features in Adrenalin.

- Game mode in Win10 turned off.

- I noticed the AMD Driver crashes occasionally while playing COD:MW as well

Not sure what else to do and try

Maybe try every driver since the card's release?

[fyrel]

There are bios updates for most of the thic II cards on XFX's webite if you haven't installed it already.

AMD Radeon™ RX 5000 Series 

Not having any issues on my XFX thic II ultra with 20.5.1 drivers.

[fyrel]

What resolution and refresh rate are you guys running at?

And are you having any issues with temperatures?

[kingkoofy]

I'm using the Thicc III Ultra, 1080p, 144hz dual monitor. Never been an issue until this last update. Single monitor produces same issue. Changing refresh rate doesn't help either. Temperatures never go above 70/75c when playing RDR2 on High-Ultra.

However I have noticed that the GPU usage % dips down to 0 and back up at the time of the frame stutter/freeze.. No idea why this might be, but that is definitely the cause of the stuttering. Any ideas why usage might be spiking to 0 like that?

[kingkoofy]

I believe I fixed the problem.. Ran a windows update (should have checked that first), ran CCleaner and fixed registry errors as well, went into BIOS and enabled XMP profile for 2666 Mhz RAM (HyperX Fury 16GB 2666), and also changed the "Cool n' Quiet" mode to Auto. So far so good. I am thinking it might have been a RAM bottleneck but not sure.. I also saw a setting for "Above 4G memory/ crypto currency mining" but I left that as disabled.. 

Note: That dip in the GPU chart is most likely from Alt-Tabbing out of RDR2.

Side note: Any idea why my R5 2700X maxes out at 3.9 GHz? I thought it had a boost up to 4.2, but that might be wrong.. didn't think I'd have to manually overclock it to reach it's "boost speed.." Might make a separate post for that.

 

[fyrel]

Glad you got your stuttering fixed.

CPU boost is probably a factor of temperature.

My 3600X boosts to 4.3GHz if I keep the temp at 50C but drops to 4.125GHz at 65C

Setting you CPU fan to run max all the time to slow down temp rise should let you test if your CPU behaves the same.

If it is you can decide between better cooling or manual overclock.

[notflawless]

I have no stuttering, try this

- In Driver -> V-Sync always on

- In Game -> V-Sync on

- Use Framelimiter and lock the frames under the max refreshrate of your Monitor ( 144 HZ Montior -> FPS lock at 142...)                                                                                           

[GreenGoblin81 · Accepted solution]

I've listed my background at the bottom if you want/care to know

There are a lot of fixes I've tried that are not listed below in the interest of being brief, but believe me, I've tried almost everything I can think of in the 2 years that I've been with AMD

This is really just kind of a post detailing my experiences over the past two years where I switched from Intel/Nvidia to full AMD PC builds. AIt started innocently enough as Intel & Nvidia's prices were getting a bit steep around that time. For those of you into PC gaming, you may remember the 2000 series not being very well received at launch due to its high prices and, if memory serves me correct, the Ryzen processors were cheaper at the time as well. At the time I had an Intel i7 (can't remember the generation) and a 1070 GPU. Life was good, but then I saw the prices for the 2000 series and the overall feeling from the PC crowd I knew is that it wasn't worth it, but I still wanted to upgrade. That's when I decided to give AMD a try for the first time, so I went out to Amazon and purchased a Sapphire Pulse Vega 56 and a Ryzen 7 2700X.

The Sapphire Pulse Vega 56 / 2700X Build: (May 2019 - April 2020) This was my best experience with AMD's hardware. This computer was a solid build and had minimal issues. The Vega 56 seemed to handle my games well and left a good enough impression on me to buy another AMD card in the future. Generally, the issues I experienced here weren't major, but they were somewhat of an inconvenience. I'm a big Call of Duty player and the first issue that popped up for me was an issue with the sight having pixelation around it in Warzone/MW. I couldn't seem to fix this, but it wasn't a hardware issue, so I wasn't condemning AMD about that issue. The other issue I had occurred with every AMD card I owned - having to adjust the config.ini file for Call of Duty games to use less video memory or the games have a horrific stutter every 10 seconds or so, but applying the workaround fixed the issue. In my opinion, the Vega 56 was the last good AMD card I owned that didn't have me pulling my hair out every day.

The XFX 5700XT / 2700X - 3700X Build: (April 2020 - April 2021) When I decided to upgrade from my Vega 56 to a higher card, I bought the XFX 5700 XT Thicc III Ultra. I immediately started having horrendous stuttering issues in any somewhat heavy game. I thought maybe it was my windows install, so I reinstalled - same issue. Then I thought, maybe it's my CPU, so I upgraded to the 3700X - same issue. I opened tickets with AMD, made forum posts on Reddit, and even ended up RMA'ing the card which still didn't resolve the issue. I was stumped. Then I thought, maybe it's another component in my PC, so I started replacing things like a madman. I tried 3 PSUs, 3 or 4 different SSDs, 3 motherboards, 3 different sets of RAM. I had no idea what it could be. I was so broken-spirited. I posted on AMD's forums to little response. I posted on Reddit and pretty much got entry-level (did you reboot/reinstall windows) level support. I understand that they were trying to help, but the problem is I had made it clear that I had done that many times. I was hoping maybe there was something special I had to - a magic bullet. Still not convinced that AMD's cards were the issue, I once again decided to upgrade.

The Sapphire 6700XT Reference / 3700X Build: (April 2021 - June 2021) I was able to snag a brand new 6700XT by selling my 5700XT and paying the scalper prices (yeah, I know, shouldn't pay the scalper, but I was desperate). I was so excited to finally get to enjoy gaming again after a year of stuttery/unbearable games. With much joy, I installed the 6700XT, but still, the stuttering remained. I again reinstalled windows and still had the same issue. I installed Windows on different SSDs, plugged the computer into different outlets, tried every wacky fix on the internet, updated BIOS, and everything I could think of. Again, I posted on the AMD forums and received no response. I proceeded to post on Reddit for help and again received no substantial advice. I was so sure that if there were a big issue with AMD's cards, somebody would have said something by now - it would've been widely known. I started looking into potential major issues with other components and I read about some issues with bad performance out of the 3700X memory controller. The logic that it was simply an AMD card issue just didn't check out for me, so due to that, I sold my 3700X & AM4 motherboard and bought an i5 10600K and MSI 560M motherboard on Prime day thinking it was potentially a CPU issue.

The Sapphire 6700XT Reference / i5 10600K Build: (April 2021 - June 2021) Thinking that I might have potentially found a fix to my issue, I installed the new motherboard and processor, but the issue continued. I tried reinstalling windows due to the new CPU, but the stutter would not cease. I began to try seances and witchcraft at this point and a medium told me to install Windows 11. Just kidding, but seriously I installed Windows 11 with the idea in mind that maybe a different OS would help - it didn't. I again posted on AMD's forums asking for help and received no response. I even opened a ticket with AMD and they didn't get with me in time before I finally made myself rid of the 6700XT. My gaming for the past 2 years had been absolute **bleep**. Gaming is my hobby and I was so broken-spirited and I thought I was never going to fix the issue - I didn't even want to try anymore. Then, finally, I decided to return to Nvidia.

The EVGA RTX 2080 / i5 10600K Build: (June 2021 - current) After finally having exhausted all possible fixes I could try, replacing parts, RMA-ing cards, and opening support tickets, I finally gave up on the AMD card lineup. I made a deal on an RTX 2080 and I reinstalled Windows on my PC for the last time. I reset all my settings on my BIOS and on my monitors to make sure nothing was changed from all my previous troubleshooting. I installed GeForce experience and booted up Call of Duty which was my most notorious stutter-er that never failed to show up on my AMD cards. I waited for my shaders to install and I scrutinized every frame. I played for 2 hours and it was pure bliss. I haven't had such a buttery smooth experience in 2 years. I was genuinely happy - euphoric even. I had finally found the culprit of the stuttering - AMD's GPUs. It was so smooth that I almost had forgotten how smooth PC gaming had been before the RDNA series of AMD. I was so happy that I rushed downstairs and told my wife that it worked and how happy I was. Since I swapped in the Nvidia card, I haven't seen a stutter. I'm still super paranoid about it as I have a sort of PTSD from all the poor performance. At this point, I couldn't be happier with the performance of my PC.

Conclusion: I know that many people use AMD's GPUs and have no issues, but it ruined 2 years of gaming for me. I spent so many hours researching and trying to figure out what the issue is. Nothing fixed it until my computer was 100% free of AMD hardware. At this point, I don't think I'll ever purchase another AMD product. I don't think I could if I wanted to as my opinion of AMD has changed drastically over the last 2 years. If you're an AMD fan, I am not trying to be flagrant towards AMD, but this is my genuine experience with AMD builds. I'm really posting this in the hope that if anyone else should experience the issue, maybe this will help. Thanks, guys!

Credits: (All the different Hardware I tested trying to resolve this issue) -Ryzen 7 2700X -Ryzen 7 3700X -Ryzen 3 2200G (Briefly Tested) -Ryzen 5 3500 (Briefly Tested) -Intel i5 10600K -Radeon 5700 XT -Radeon 6700 XT -EVGA RTX 2080 (Fixed the issue) -ID-COOLING ICEFLOW 240 VGA Graphic Card Cooler 240mm -Gigabyte B450M DS3H Motherboard -Asus ROG Strix B450-F Gaming Motherboard -AMD Wraith Prism Stock Cooler -Corsair Hydro H60 Liquid Cooler -Apevia 900W 80+ Bronze Certified PSU -ThermalTake Smart 700W 80+ White Certified PSU -Silicon Power 512GB NVMe Gen3 M.2 SSD -Crucial MX500 500GB 3D NAND SATA M.2 -NVMe M.2 Aluminum Heatsink Cooler for 2280 M2 SSD Heat Sink with Silicone Thermal -OLOy DDR4 Warhawk RAM (32 GB 8x4) 3600 MHz RAM -LEVEN DDR4 8GB KIT (4GB×2) 2666MHz PC4-21300 CL19 -VENGEANCE® LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz C16 Memory Kit - Black -Kingston Memory KVR26N19S8/8 ValueRAM DDR4 8 GB DIMM -Pastall 100 PCS (8 Different Sizes) Heatsink Kit (VRM Passive Cooling) -CUK 7-Pack 120mm Red LED Vibrant Color Computer Case Fan -WJCOOLMAN CPU Cooler of 240 Radiator, CPU Liquid Cooler with Booster Cooling Pump -StarTech.com Expansion Slot Rear Exhaust Cooling Fan -3 different brands of thermal paste -probably a lot more stuff that I forgot about

My background: Just to give you an idea of my background to give the story above, I'm going to give a brief intro on my experience/history. I went to college for Information Technology and I've been working professionally in IT for around 10 years now in roles ranging from Help Desk technician to Systems Administrator and Security Specialist. I'm only listing this so you guys can know that I at least have relevant experience/knowledge and I can see how this article might be challenged, but it's my own experience/opinion.

My Certifications: CompTIA: -IT Fundamentals+ -A+ -Server+ -Cloud Essentials Electronics Technicians Association: -Computer Service Technician (CST) -Network Computer Technician (NST) Linux Professional Institute: -Linux Essentials Misc: -Watchguard Policies Certified -Unitrends Certified Associate -and a few others that aren't really relevant

[Stawz]

Hey I know this post is quite old and I don't know if you'll ever see this. But reading your experience and its similarity to mine is quite relieving. A long time ago I had an R9 380 which had stuttering problems in Skyrim, but I was pretty young and figured that's just how the game was. Then I had a Gaming Laptop with a 1050 Ti, and it ran lots of games smoothly like The Witcher 3. A few years ago now I decided I wanted to build a Gaming PC, and chose AMD for the CPU and GPU, partially because of the claimed performance per dollar, but also because of the superior Linux support. Big mistake. The Witcher 3 which even though ran at a low fps was smooth and enjoyable to play, on a LAPTOP, was a COMPLETE mess on my new RX 5700. I tried everything you described first in terms of swapping parts, except changing the CPU which I'm still using today, and nothing worked. Obviously, I went through every troubleshooting step under the sun but nothing worked. Eventually I gave up and decided to just grab a 1660 Super. Even though the performance wasn't as good, hopefully my games would be playable and I can just enjoy PC gaming again. It absolutely worked and I was extremely happy, but felt a little sour at not only AMD but all the hardware reviewers who I couldn't believe missed this crucial problem with this card. Not sure if it's stupidity, or maliciousness, or both.

Fast forward to a few months ago and at this point and I'm wanting to get a bit more oomph out of my PC. Nvidia cards are still quite expensive but AMD's cards had come down to Earth again. I also heard that the 6000 series cards were potentially improved over 5000 in terms of problems. I decided to get a RX 6600. Immediately flashbacks of 2020 when I got the RX 5700. Stutters in every game. Even Desktop usage was problematic as Chrome Hardware Accel is completely broken and the screen would flicker white playing videos. Having mixed refresh rate monitors also caused problems. I felt like such an idiot for falling for this company's trick again and was quite burned by the experience.

Just recently I decided to pick up a second hand 1660 Ti, and my PC is back to working order again. Smooth experience in all my games. The headache was finally over.

I will simply NEVER buy AMD again. I don't care how fancy their new products are or what shiny new features they want to dangle in front me. It's just not worth the risk in getting a product that doesn't work and not having any company want to own up to it. Being cheaper doesn't matter if you just end up spending more money trying to troubleshoot your expensive tech. Some time next year I'll likely build a high end Intel/Nvidia system and be done with this for good.

[Kyotie]

I feel this.  I just built my first all AMD system in a over decade after having a terrible experience.  Unfortunately nothing has changed.  I don't care what their "benchmarks" show, way too many people are having bad experiences and AMD is just laughing and taking our money.  I'm happy with my Ryzen 5800x but their GPU's are trash as always.  I'm hoping to return mine and get something better than my GTX 1650 which is sadly way better than a 6700XT.  Yeah, a GTX1650 does better than a 6700XT simply because it doesn't stutter, freeze, and crash.  FPS may be lower but at least it works. 

[rainingtacco]

A well written story - or rather horror story, of dealing with AMD gpu's by an experienced customer who can see and care about abysmal frametimes in many titles. Nvidia is sometimes hit and miss too, but AMD is much more often miss and the overall joy of gaming is much worse due to that. I envy people who don't see frametime stutters, don't know how can people not see 30-120ms frametime spikes, every good 144hz monitor with fast response time will clearly surface the issue. 

[lopols]

I had a X370 chipset, AMD 1800X and 5700XT - i had some stuttering in some games...Generally i was happy. BUT i had that stuttering especially when i moved to LG 144Hz etc. gaming class. After 4years+ they issued a BIOS update to fix the stuttering quite few people was concerned. ANd the stuttering was gone... Duno what to say. I had in total 4 generations of AMD + AMD PC Desktops, never had any MAJOR issues, but the last one was a miss. 

[Gedeon579]

sory, so late.. but i have a rx 500xt, and its stuttering randomly... i found a solution, a couple of days is working well... 

I checked the techpowerup site, and find so much reference cards. My asus was wrong, but i saw somewhere, the reference cards are the same builts, and somebody tried a XFX bios with his card, and working fine. 

I tried too, and i can overwrite the bios (firmware) on my asus, and than its working smoothly. 

if you try just your own risk!