Graphical Stuttering, what causes it?

[J T]

I have a new laptop and I"m loving it. I can play all sorts of games I could barely run before, and now at full detail, and even some I couldn't run.

I'm encountering a new problem now though, which is that many games have a visual stuttering problem. This is different from a lag or slowdown problem. The frames per second run smooth and high for moments at a time, but every 5 or 10 seconds the image will just freeze for a half second, and go back to normal. It's horrible during an action sequence and will ruin the game from being playable.

So far, I've found solutions to specific games... Mass Effect needed the hardware audio switched off, Borderlands needed dynamic shadows turned off, and Grand Theft Auto IV has to be run in Windowed mode instead of Full Screen (this is the least satisfying solution yet). So far, reducing resolutions or graphic details does nothing. I can play these games on lowest settings or highest and they still stutter equally. There's always one little thing that needs to be switched and then the whole problem goes away and I can max out all other settings.

It's just really strange because I don't know what these solutions have in common. Is graphical stuttering commonly caused by one thing, or is it a symptom that could emerge from a variety of causes? I'd like to figure this out so I'm not playing a graphics/audio settings guessing game every time I install a new game. Thanks for your help if you know anything about this.

[emwearz]

As your using a laptop my very first guess would be a power saving option either in your bios or in windows. Turn it all off.

I will assume your drivers, etc are all up to date.

Failing that I would disable all antivirus / anti spyware / firewall programs and try running the game, see if it makes a difference.

Failing that I would stop most thing in msconfig so you can see if its related to a piece of software you are running

Failing that I would defrag your HDD.

Failing that I would disable your sound device completely in control panel and then see if it happens ingame.

Failing that...post here.

[J T]

Thanks for the tips emwearz. It seems that the main problem does have something to do with the power settings. I had to go into the advanced power options and set my processor power management settings to only allow a 99% max processor power state. I'm not sure why this works, but I'm able to play even GTAIV on high settings now, which is an incredibly buggy and poorly optimized game. My initial thought was that it was specific to GTAIV, but then the same thing happened in a few other games. It just shows up most notably in GTAIV.

[The Last Horseman]

I've had this problem on Team Fortress 2 where the controls feel really floaty, and it almost looks like it studders-but only when I turn. I don't know if this is a video problem, or because of using my 360 controller. Thoughts?

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I know 3 things that tend to cause these issues (well, really 2 things):

Slow HDD combined with a lack of ram

This is especially noticeable in games running on the Source engine like TF2

Overheating

Most laptops will downclock the GPU and CPU if they get too hot, be sure your laptop is on a flat surface and your room isn't overly warm. Especially if you're using your computer closed while connected to a monitor.

Power Savings

Be sure to set your computer to "High Performance". Otherwise the stuttering can be caused by the computer down clocking your CPU/GPU and when the game needs a little extra grunt it has to wait a fraction of a second before it gets it.

I've had this problem on Team Fortress 2 where the controls feel really floaty, and it almost looks like it studders-but only when I turn. I don't know if this is a video problem, or because of using my 360 controller. Thoughts?

Try turning shadows and textures to a lower setting.

[The Last Horseman]

Ryan, would lag affect it too? I can't quite figure it out. It looks and runs perfect... as long as I don't turn. When I walk or strafe, its perfect. I've never had this problem before so I don't really get it.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Ryan, would lag affect it too? I can't quite figure it out. It looks and runs perfect... as long as I don't turn. When I walk or strafe, its perfect. I've never had this problem before so I don't really get it.

Lag shouldn't effect that at all. I've had that problem and it was caused by a slow HDD and overheating. Have you tried defragging the cache?

Right click TF2 in Steam -> Properties -> Local Files -> Defrag Cache Files

[J T]

Thanks for the advice Ryan. That helps me understand the problem a little better.

In addition to the graphical stuttering, I was also having audio stuttering problems. It would make a drawn out digital noise at points, as if someone had used a time stretch feature. That turned out to be a separate problem from my graphical stutters, though I thought it was the same. It turned out that the audio problem was being caused by McAffee antivirus, which was pre-installed on my new laptop. I hate McAffee anyway, so I uninstalled it and replaced with Comodo. Problem solved. Everything runs smooth like butter now. Thanks for helping me think through this emwearz!

[o.pwuaioc]

For free antiviruses, there are also avira and AVG (not to be confused with AVGN). I was using the former until I got Windows 7, and at that time everyone was saying the latter was better.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Microsoft Security Essentials is great.