I have a 15-20 fps drop every 5 seconds for a split second which is extremely annoying and makes games like skyrim and now DCS un enjoyable.

Example 1: I jumped into the Mig29 campaign to test out the new cockpit. Im at a constant 60fps until I hit external views F2 or F3. Suddenly I have this drop of 15-20 fps every 5 seconds consistently no matter what I do. This happened last week as well and was comparing with Cygons fps. He was consistent in the same server.

Example 2: I launch skyrim and run around for 2-3 minutes and suddenly I get the frame drop again consistently unless I alt tab and return or hit Start/Pause, go back to the game and the frames are back to 60 for another minute or two and it shows up again. The only time ive been able to stop this is if I restart and go straight to skyrim with out launching an internet browser.

The same thing happens with Arma 3

I have my Hardware Monitor file attached. Im not very computer spec savvy so i dont know what most of this means. Ive searched for along time for a fix for this but to no luck so far. Does anybody have any ideas of what the cause could be?

My Specs
i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz Processor
16GB Mini ITX
Gtx 980 Ti
650W PS
Not sure of cooling fans but I have 2

Gabriel, could it be related thermal throttle on your video card? Have you downloaded PrecisionX 16 and customized / optimized the video card fan cut in and RPMs for different temperatures? Does it start off OK then get like this after a short while? Just a shot in the dark.

Also, if you haven't done already, download a system monitor application (OpenHarwareMonitor, eg) and follow the temperatures of your processors / video card. i7's are not ridiculously hot processors like the i5, but worth a look, for starters...

How long has it been doing this? Is there anything you might've installed or changed which coincided with the start of the frame drop?

It sounds kind of like what my computer used to do, but I dunno if it was as regular as what you describe. I also never actually figured out what caused it in my case, I just reformatted and upgraded hardware until it was gone.

may not apply for your card but i do know my card is hard wired to decrease clock speeds to reduce temperatures or from power draw, even though im liquid cooled and it doesn't get above 55*C. ive noticed it does this roughly the same time frame as your talking. running a GTX 670 reference card with a water block, not a very good overclockable card but ive heard i can put a different on board bios or whatever to unlock it further but i just never taken that leap yet. im beginning to think its going to be un necessary considering its age, but that change might make me wanna try it so if i screw it up so what, its life is almost over as it is.

Thanks for the response guys. Im pretty sure the problem started just before upgrading to the 980Ti from the 555. Ive also gone through all of my programs a few times to make sure I don't have anything unnecessary installed or have two programs trying to do the same thing at one time. But I will look again.

Cygon I have not done that at all but I will when I get home thank you.

Ive heard of latency also causing these problems but I tried with the Ethernet cord unplugged and still had the same issue however my wireless was still working or trying to work so I don't know if that makes a difference. I also suspect cooling could be the issue because I have a Blue Prodigy box and ventilation doesn't look that great. Anybody use a 212 evo? I may go for that if it will fit.

I was also wondering if clocking would be an issue. At one point I had HWmonitor open and DCS open beta open with a mig29 in f2 view. I noticed under Clock the MHz was jumping from 3400MHz to 800MHz at almost the exact same time as the fps drop. But I don't know what that means lol. I havnt overclocked my computer in any way.

Thanks again!

your processor sounds like its switching off and on with its power saving mode, lowering its clock speed to reduce heat, then realizing it needs to power back up to normal speeds, all processors do this normally, however i have personally disabled this feature so im constantly at 4.5 GHZ continuously

Sweet! How do I do that?

Sweet! How do I do that?

you should be able to disable the power saving from the BIOS menu before your PC starts

I will do that thanks!

I would tend to think the downclocking is a symptom of the problem, not the problem itself.

I've got a 212 evo cooler, it's okay. Being that it was me, I did not win the silicon lottery and my CPU runs a little warm. I had issues with it getting up to high 90s during stress tests, but after a couple of retries on the thermal paste I've got it under control. Now a stress test will peak around mid-70s and in normal usage it's much cooler than that.

Is there any chance you can just reformat the thing Gabe? My money would be on some sort of weird software behavior spiking every so often and bringing the rest of your computer to a crawl in the moment. If you can backup what you want to keep and just get a fresh install, I'm pretty damn sure that would take care of it.

I avoid reformatting when ever possible, it might be as simple as a driver update, frame drops are usually chalked up to CPU usage/power or Graphics usage/power, now both Intel, and nVidia have power saving features that if you are playing GPU heavy or CPU heavy games, will limit performance.

Note this from your HW Monitor:
That simply lists what your clocks should be at in those specific applications, default refers to a resting PC or not GPU heavy application like a web browser, from what you described with the web browser being part of the issue, it sounds like your GPU is using the Default state which it detects to use when you are just browsing your PC, however when you boot a game, its not registering the change in Power Demands.

Like I said, go into your bios and double check all Power-Saving Options are turned off. I personally do this anytime I install a new Graphics card or CPU, also, double check that all GPU/Intel drivers are up to date, having a 980TI you should have GeForce Experience which you can use to update the drivers, if you dont have it, here is a link: www.geforce.com/geforce-experience

Download that, it should also allow you to tweak your games video settings in direct relation to performance VS quality for certain game (DCS is Currently not supported).

If the above doesn't work, then we can work on troubleshooting other options. If you cant get it fixed, and still want to avoid a clean install, get with me on teamspeak and we will try teamviewer or something to see if i can find anything you missed.

I wasn't able to find the option. But I did find HPET or High Precision Event Timer enabled. Im gonna try disabling that. Ive read reports of smoother gameplay and an overall quicker pc. My hopes aren't up tho.

Ok I will check again when I get home thanks Davison. And just for knowledge look up this reformatting option. I don't even know what that means or how id do that lol.

Pictures of my BIOS

Advanced Frequency Settings

i turn my turbo boost off, and set my clock multiplier up to a higher number. yours is set for 34 atm, so its running at 3.4 GHZ, so setting it for 40 = 4.0 GHZ, this is the start of overclocking, its however not stable like that and ull have to play around with the voltages which i dont recommend jumping into without any prior knowlege on it. also you should set your ram timings to match whatever ram you bought, usually the motherboard can figure it out but i just like setting it myself so i know its matched

I wouldn't fool around with the clock speeds just yet because it's not going to solve the fps drops.

Do you know what your CPU and GPU temps are while you're playing gabe? Like others have mentioned, if they get too hot they throttle down until they cool a bit. That could explain the up/down nature of your problem, and that it takes a couple min before it starts.

I'd check those temps and if they're too hot then you know you just need better cooling.

Start with the CPU because it's the more likely culprit (your GPU fan with sound like a jet if it's too hot). I use coretemp to monitor mine but there are many ways. I know that the stock Intel cooler is junk so if you do find the temps getting too high (max 90°) then stick another cooler on it.

A bunh of us have the 212 EVO, I put it on 3 computers already and it's great for the price. It's big though, measure twice if you're going that route.

both GPU-Z, CPU-Z and Coretemp are great monitoring systems for diagnosing problems, ive got core temp running all the time with its max temp showing on my taskbar, and its a good indication of how well my computer is running and cooling.. its also a good indication if i forgot to turn on my secondary fans after playing the game for 15 minutes when my temps get up around 60*C - Whoops.

Side note - my liquid cooling loop i leave the secondary fans off unless im doing something, i ended up buying 3 gentle typhoons which have an obnoxious 5400 RPM maxed out, they work very well but they are loud as hell. when i do use them, i normally turn the dials for them enough to get them started, then back off to where they still have enough juice to keep running but still move air, roughly 55-60% power, even then they are loud, im sure you guys have heard them on occasion.