Hitching and poor performance for no apparent reason

MrH · 7 May 2016 at 22:40

I'm currently playing Overwatch which most people will tell you is super optimized and can be run on a potato so I don't think it's the game but I'm having an issue where I will go from 120fps buttery smooth without a single drop to constantly yo-yoing up and down between 110 - 120fps, it's not normal frame drops though, it's more like micro freezing so the game constantly hitches and it's unplayable, it's like in Dark Souls III when the game pauses for a split second when it autosaves, but constantly. This issue can occur after 5 minutes or 2 hours, it's very random.

The problem I'm having is my PC isn't giving me a single hint as to why:

CPU and GPU loads at around 60%
CPU and GPU temps at around 60 - 70c
Clocks are stable
Event viewer is clear apart from one error I'll list below

I've tried:

Format
New thermal paste/clean out
Min/Max settings
Stock/overclocked
Reflashing BIOS

I mean it feels like some sort of hardware failure but my PC isn't suggesting such a thing, but what else could cause constant hitching out of nowhere? You'd think it would always run badly, not absolutely perfect for awhile and then all of sudden go to hell.

Specs:

3570k @ 4.4GHz
GTX 970
8GB DDR3
750w Corsair
SSD
Windows 10
365.10

Any help would be great because I'm completely stumped.

The Error:

The application-specific permission settings do not grant Local Launch permission for the COM Server application with CLSID
{22279AF5-03AE-4CAF-989D-2530918B2F1C}
and APPID
{0773CCD6-59A2-4D26-B235-19247767E645}
to the user NT AUTHORITY\LOCAL SERVICE SID (S-1-5-19) from address LocalHost (Using LRPC) running in the application container Unavailable SID (Unavailable). This security permission can be modified using the Component Services administrative tool.

I have no idea what it is or if it's related, I tried to Google it but it's all very confusing.

MrH · 8 May 2016 at 15:27

Samsung Evo 850 Pro.

MrH · 8 May 2016 at 17:06

Right this is strange, I just played and the problem kicked in almost straight away but instead of closing the game and rage logging I stayed and after about 45 minutes it cleared itself up and started working perfectly for the next hour. I've never had a problem just randomly fix itself mid game, something is obviously unstable and it comes and goes but what? I'm thinking maybe memory or PSU as my GPU/CPU appear in perfect health from what I can see.

I made a little video showing it, it's worse when I'm playing but you get the idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLH8Qw3NqKA

MrH · 9 Jun 2016 at 03:06

BUMP. I'm still having this issue, it's intermittent but still there, it stopped for 2 weeks but came back, and it's the same in Witcher III. Everything works absolutely perfectly until it doesn't, it's like something is throttling but nothing is, all my temps are fine. I'm wondering if a failing PSU could be the problem?

I have tested the following without errors:

Prime95 12 hours
Memtest 28 hours
Heaven 12 hours
HDD Tune full health check

EDIT: The PC just hard froze with no error message while simply browsing and I had to turn it off with the power button.

MrH · 9 Jun 2016 at 15:29

Please someone help me, I'm so lost. If anyone has experienced similar please let me know what it was. I'm thinking either PSU or motherboard at this point as I've been able to test everything else.

MrH · 9 Jun 2016 at 16:14

It's not normal dips, there's a problem for sure, the game jolts around all over the place when the issue is happening but it's buttery when it's not. And I put my temps in the OP, they're solid.

I just opened the PC and I may have found something, my 12pin power was connected, but for some reason I only had a 4pin in my 8pin so I have now put both 4 pins in the 8pin (they're connected), maybe this was the issue? I'm going to test now.

MrH · 9 Jun 2016 at 16:27

wakadoo said:

Ha I know but let's wait and see if it was that first, then I will happily accept a featuring.

MrH · 9 Jun 2016 at 16:42

Cern said:
The 8-pin on the GPU? Or the mobo? Yeah, either of those would cause problems.

On the mobo. I have a 2x 4pin cable but for some reason I only put one of the 4pins in, the other half was just dangling in the wind. Both 4pins are in now and I'm testing Overwatch.

MrH · 9 Jun 2016 at 23:43

Cvlty said:
Are you actually kidding me...wow.

I'm sorry for making a mistake, I try so hard to be perfect

MrH · 10 Jun 2016 at 11:52

joeyjojo said:
Not really, only one P4 (ATX12V) needed for ATX standard. The second is optional to supply more current to the CPU.

I'm not convinced this will make the problems go away but fingers crossed for you OP.

Cvlty said:
I know but it's a bit of a biggie

Any luck?

I actually read that a single 4pin was plenty and shouldn't cause any issues, but apparently that's wrong because plugging in both 4pins has fixed my issue. I left Overwatch running for 7 hours and Witcher 3 overnight for 12 hours and they were both still running perfectly, rock solid frame rate and none of that weird hitching. The funny/depressing thing is, my PC has always been like this, for 4 years and over the years some games have run flawlessly while others have had this hitching to some degree including Diablo III which I've just downloaded to test. Needless to say I feel a bit of an ass, but I'm just happy it's fixed.

MrH · 10 Jun 2016 at 16:49

Funnily enough, Diablo III still has that weird stutter where it's 60fps but the animations look like they're running at 30fps, so odd. Apparently that's a common issue though. I've been playing Overwatch all day without issue on max settings so the rogue 4pin was the culprit in this case, thinking back I've had this weird hitching in Witcher 3, Overwatch, Dying Light and Mad Max and it was such a simple fix all along. I'm just glad it's sorted now, I can go back to playing Overwatch which I'm really enjoying.