Video stutter, constant FPS, Asus Maximus VIII Hero, any ideas before RMA?

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UPDATE: Looks like I had two 290X's go bad. I tried a third and it works fine.

Motherboard model: Maximus VIII Hero

UEFI Version: 1402

CPU: Intel i7 6700K

Memory kit part number (s) and amount in GB: Gskill f4-3800c15q-16grr 16GB(4x4GB)

GPU: Visiontek R9 290X

SSD/HDDs/Optical drives: Samsung Evo 850 500GB

PSU: Corsair AX1200i

USB Devices (model/version number):
Mouse: Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Chroma

Monitor: Asus MG279Q

CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i

PC CASE: Cooler Master Cosmos II

Operating system: Microsoft Activated yes/no? Windows 10 x64, yes it is activated

Drivers Installed (include version):
GPU drivers tried on separate installs: Catalyst 15.10, 15.11.1, 15.12, 16.1.1
All drivers off of the Asus CD that came with the motherboard.
Also tried all drivers that are currently listed on the website.

Any third Party temp/voltage software installed: No

System Overclocked (provide details)? No, BIOS set to normal


Issue
I have two systems, System A that has the problem and System B that doesn’t. Both systems are identical except that System B has just a Blackwidow Ultimate keyboard and a Razer Naga Elite mouse.
System A has this crazy stuttering issue when playing games. The framerates stay stable, and well over playable (lots of times over 90fps) but the game is stuttering as outlined in this video:

When the stutter occurs, you can almost hear what sounds like a difference in the rpm in the fans, but I have tested each fan when this is occurring trying to isolate which one and it doesn’t seem to be coming from the fans at all. The stuttering gets worse once it starts. It isn’t always present immediately after the system has turned on, but it shows its head up normally within 15-30 seconds of starting the game. I have seen it also make my mouse “slide” across the screen like it was in molasses but with a ton of inertia, after alt+f4ing out of a game when it is doing this.
Troubleshooting so far:
• Removed all other PCIe devices (sound card)
• Removed all other SSD other than the Evo 850
• Reinstalled Windows 10+ times
o With and without updates
o Tried installing all drivers
o Tried with and without Asus utilities
o Tried only installing video drivers​
• Swapped with the Known Good 290X from System B
o Tried in both 8x and 16x slots.​
• Swapped with the Known Good RAM from system B
• Swapped with the Known Good CPU from system B
• Swapped with the Known Good SSD (Evo 850) from system B
• Swapped with the Known Good KB and mouse from system B
• Bought a new Ax1200i PWS (had a HX1000 prior)
• Swapped with Known Good, and different, LCD cable types:
o HDMI
o DP to DP
o DP to mini-DP (default cable)​
• Swapped with a Known Good non-adaptive sync LCD (Dell 3007HC)
• Moved system A to wall outlet of System B for testing
• Tried removing paging/swap file and letting everything sit in RAM when playing the game.
• Cleared CMOS via jumper
• Cleared CMOS via battery removal
• Tried with a 980Ti and the problem is gone.
o Put the 290X stuttering card into system B and no issue there either. Put it back in System A and it returns.​
Note: All hardware from System A that was put into System B during the swap worked fine in system B. The only thing not swapped was the motherboard since everything else had already been swapped, with the CPU being the last one I tried. I am 99.9% sure it is the motherboard at this point for that reason.


Any ideas on what else this could be? Should I just say eff it and RMA the board?
 
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Uninstall the ASUS utilities. You may need to reformat to get them completely out. They're known to cause DPC latency (especially the sound tools) which is probably what you're seeing.
 
Couple of questions: what is your disk/memory/network usage when this is occurring? I've seen similar issues described on the internerds, in one case it was the SSD, in another it was using a LAN driver that didn't play nice with Windows 10.

Also, I've seen you swap known goods to the failing system, but have you swapped parts from the failing system to the known good? One final point, backed only by anecdotal evidence, but have you cleared your CMOS?
 
Poosnarf said:
Uninstall the ASUS utilities. You may need to reformat to get them completely out. They're known to cause DPC latency (especially the sound tools) which is probably what you're seeing.
Click to expand...
about 75% of the reinstalls (deleted all partitions and reinstalled) i did i didnt install the utilities. =(

spugm1r3 said:
Couple of questions: what is your disk/memory/network usage when this is occurring? I've seen similar issues described on the internerds, in one case it was the SSD, in another it was using a LAN driver that didn't play nice with Windows 10.

Also, I've seen you swap known goods to the failing system, but have you swapped parts from the failing system to the known good? One final point, backed only by anecdotal evidence, but have you cleared your CMOS?
Click to expand...
I should have thrown the fact that I cleared the CMOS, both by jumper and by pulling the battery into the list, thanks for reminding me to add it =D.

disk/mem/nw useage all looks to be normal. I swapped the SSD with a known good one too, so im unsure if that is it. I didn't, however, swap the cables on that now that i think about it, i might try that.

all parts in system A have gone into system B, and vice versa. All situations on system A showcase the issue, no issue is present on system B.


appreciate the input =D
 
http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml

Download and run this. Run it once just sitting on the desktop, once playing a youtube video, once playing a game. See if there are spikes in specific circumstances, or if it's just always bad... or if it comes back good, we need to look elsewhere.\

EDIT: Try this one too. Apparently it can figure out what the bad driver is, sometimes. http://www.resplendence.com/download/LatencyMon.exe

The same guy also makes something called WhySoSlow that might be helpful. http://www.resplendence.com/whysoslow_beta
 
Doesnt latency check have timing issues in Win10? I need to try with LatencyMon

New information that defies all logic, a 980TI seems to fix the issue, with the problem 290X also working fine in System B, but placing it back in this system results in the stutter again. I am at a loss...
 
As others have said, remove, or at least disable all the ASUS utilities from starting with the OS. Once you've done that you shouldn't have anymore issues.
 
Dan_D said:
As others have said, remove, or at least disable all the ASUS utilities from starting with the OS. Once you've done that you shouldn't have anymore issues.
Click to expand...

I've done installs with nothing but the video driver, game, and network driver. no asus utils installed. and it still is there =(

but i do appreciate you bringing it up, lord knows if i forgot something.
 
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[27];1042127630 said:
I've done installs with nothing but the video driver, game, and network driver. no asus utils installed. and it still is there =(
Click to expand...

Are you using drivers that you've downloaded, or drivers from the motherboard's bundled driver disc?
 
Dan_D said:
Are you using drivers that you've downloaded, or drivers from the motherboard's bundled driver disc?
Click to expand...

AMD and NVidia drivers are from amd.com and nvidia.com respectively,

Intel chipset drivers came from Asus.com and a couple times from intel

everything else came from asus.com or the mfg CD
 
[27];1042127677 said:
AMD and NVidia drivers are from amd.com and nvidia.com respectively,

Intel chipset drivers came from Asus.com and a couple times from intel

everything else came from asus.com or the mfg CD
Click to expand...

I wouldn't use the manufacturers disc if you can avoid it. If there is a Realtek audio manager application installed, disable it. I've seen that specific software cause DPC latency issues.
 
I actually disabled the onboard audio, especially since Windows loves to install Sonic Studio on its own.

No realtek software installed
 
Same BIOS versions?

You stated everything is the same EXCEPT mouse & keyboard?
Did you try swapping those?

USB devices can cause strange issues sometimes.
 
same bios, and yes, everything else is the same aside from the pws now that I bought the Ax1200i as a troubleshooting step. i didnt try swapping usb devices although i did try a different mouse (g600), that would leave the blackwidow chroma as the only other thing i can try swapping. ill try tonight when i get home from work.
 
[27];1042127839 said:
same bios, and yes, everything else is the same aside from the pws now that I bought the Ax1200i as a troubleshooting step. i didnt try swapping usb devices although i did try a different mouse (g600), that would leave the blackwidow chroma as the only other thing i can try swapping. ill try tonight when i get home from work.
Click to expand...

Razer's shitty software could be causing your issues. I doubt it, but worth a try.
 
could be the mouse as well.....its rare but been reported on occasion
 
bios/uefi voltage difference causing DPC ring latency issues?

(Hey, I have -no- idea what that means, but I've read that it can cause the kind of stuttering issues you're describing.)
 
silent-circuit said:
http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml

Download and run this. Run it once just sitting on the desktop, once playing a youtube video, once playing a game. See if there are spikes in specific circumstances, or if it's just always bad... or if it comes back good, we need to look elsewhere.\

EDIT: Try this one too. Apparently it can figure out what the bad driver is, sometimes. http://www.resplendence.com/download/LatencyMon.exe

The same guy also makes something called WhySoSlow that might be helpful. http://www.resplendence.com/whysoslow_beta
Click to expand...

So I have run LatencyMon, what specifically am I looking for? I get a response of "Your system appears to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tasks without dropouts, even when the card is showing off the "stutter" with the 290X in.
 
if no one else has any ideas, im thinking its safe to say RMA the friggin thing?
 
could you try a different bios version(even older if needed) to see if that may help? For mobo and gpu possibly?
 
I did try older for the mobo. trying to find a different bios for that Visiontek card is next to impossible...
 
So just an update. I grabbed another 290X from work and tried it, and it works fine. Im thinking that somehow the cards are bad. No clue as to why they work in the other system, but I guess ill just get another card.
 
could just be some weird bios incompatibility issue. If they work on other boards, maybe it's just some rare timing issue. May want to let Asus know about this.
 
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