Random framerate dips while gaming--any ideas for how to fix? (Win10)

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skykiii

skykiii

kiwifarms.net
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Jun 17, 2018
I'm hoping Kiwis can help as other resources were fucking useless.

Here's what'll happen: I'll game, the game will be playing fine... then suddenly the framerate dips to the single-digits, then goes back to normal a second later. Sometimes this happens only once. Sometimes its multiple times.

It doesn't matter what the game is. I've seen it happen with steam games, non-steam games, even console emulators.

My PC didn't always do this, its recent behavior, so I almost suspect a Windows update borked something.

I've already tried disabling gamer mode.

I'm running Win10 on a NUC, got 16gb of RAM and with (according to sys info) "2 cores and 4 logical processors" (2.20ghz). I have an external graphics breakout box which has an Nvidia Geforce RTX 2060 in it (and yes I've tried running this system with onboard-only stuff... issue still happens).

Hoping Kiwis can succeed where everyone else failed! Thanks in advance!
 
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Sounds like thermal throttling which isn't surprising given how small that form factor is.

Clear out the cooling system; reapply thermal paste if the computer is old; place it somewhere that has ample airflow. Update drivers.

Realistically though for most games that's an awful build. Intel processors also degrade over time which leads to a lot of issues long term with them.
 
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skykiii said:
Here's what'll happen: I'll game, the game will be playing fine... then suddenly the framerate dips to the single-digits, then goes back to normal a second later. Sometimes this happens only once. Sometimes its multiple times.
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Yeah most likely the CPU is having to throttle itself, it also could be that the CPU isn't able (since it sounds as if it's an old dual core with hyperthreading) to keep up because of shader compilation or other background tasks

Londo said:
Clear out the cooling system; reapply thermal paste if the computer is old
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How effective that would be depends on the NUC, if it doesn't have active cooling (a heatsink with fan) then a thermal paste change might not be a super effective solution, still would likely help.
 
Honestly part of me is wondering if it would be worth it to build a Win10 PC at this point. The NUC does its job but the speed throttling kinda sucks for gaming.

And yes I know Windows 11 is out but.... well.... Windows 11 sounds horrible.
 
Londo said:
Windows 11 is fine.
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Really? Even with Recall and that apparent AI thing?

I do have a laptop with Windows 11 so maybe I'll be more comfortable with it after using it a bit.

....................

I guess, here's another question for Kiwis:

Sometimes I stream and for awhile my default software has been OBS. Now, the throttling happens even when I'm not using OBS but part of me has wondered if that program might be making it worse and if there's a more lightweight alternative? (I suspect the answer is "no" but it does not hurt to ask).

I'm also gonna test out other emulators since usually I use Mednafen and I can't recall if I've ever had a throttle happen with other emulators... it could be Mednafen is just really inefficient. (this wouldn't explain the throttling I get while playing something like Doom 3--original, not BFG Edition--but it would be nice to fix it for at least one program).
 
My best guess is that some update or installed service has finally pushed that wimpy little dual-core CPU as far as it can go.

skykiii said:
Really? Even with Recall and that apparent AI thing?
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It's not enabled on desktop CPUs.
 
There's no real lightweight capturing software that doesn't need an external capture card to take the load. Your specs are awful bro. Specifically your processor. OBS and gaming are both intensive programs; medium range laptops/desktops can handle it now but your system isn't even a quad core
 
Post Reply said:
You game and stream on a dual core NUC? Absolute madlad.
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Yep.... the things that happen when both space and budget are a concern...

In fact space is still a concern, so if I replace this thing it might have to be with another mini PC rather than a fully built one.
 
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skykiii said:
Yep.... the things that happen when both space and budget are a concern...

In fact space is still a concern, so if I replace this thing it might have to be with another mini PC rather than a fully built one.
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Get mini-atx. Even with smaller builds it's more so about how you optimise cooling than actual case size. If you have an external dock for your GPU then that takes away a lot of the burden already. Your GPU, while not the best, would still be okay for most game at lower settings.
 
skykiii said:
Yep.... the things that happen when both space and budget are a concern...

In fact space is still a concern, so if I replace this thing it might have to be with another mini PC rather than a fully built one.
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The gaming line of NUCs have decent GPUs. They aren't cheap, though.
 
How are you playing games on a pentium or athlon or celeron in the year of our lord 2020+4? If you manage playable framerates then color me impressed.

Also changing your thermal paste and dusting it out couldn't hurt.
 
skykiii said:
What are we calling "not cheap?"
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Don't get a NUC. They were designed for corporate purposes as an alternative to laptops, not for consumer needs.

I cannot stress this enough but there are multiple form factors that are perfect for confined spaces that aren't smaller than most 6 packs of beer.

You can also get creative with how you place a PC. It doesn't have to be on the floor or desk. You can get specific mounts to hold towers to a wall like network exchange, or if there's space alternatively within the same room but not at the desk then use cable extensions or wireless alternatives and have the actual desktop situated somewhere else other than a desk.

All you're doing if you get a NUC is set yourself up for future issues and the same thermal throttling that you're experiencing now. Modern processors and cooling are far more efficient than your current processor both with thermals and energy consumption, but even they will struggle with how little space there is for cooling; add in a GPU to one and the situation is made even worse. They DO NOT work out long term which is why no one uses them. There's also no real upgrability with NUC long term as, once again, components will be limited due to constrictions in space.

Maybe just consider a higher-end laptop. Laptop hardware is leaps from where it was even 6/7 years ago and will keep up with the sort of performance you'd likely be getting with a NUC.

And if you're truly stretched for cash then consider buying a usb powered laptop style external cooler to force more air in or out.
 
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This doesn't fix the underlying issue but the "Lossless Scaling" app you can buy on steam doubles/triples my framerate. I play Arma 3 which is notoriously aids and I go from 20-30fps in city fighting to 90fps.
 
The Backwards Man said:
How are you playing games on a pentium or athlon or celeron in the year of our lord 2020+4? If you manage playable framerates then color me impressed.

Also changing your thermal paste and dusting it out couldn't hurt.
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Its not any of those, its a Core i5 7260U.

And yeah shockingly even Doom Eternal used to play fine on it with no major hiccups until the same time every other game did. And that was a game I expected to have performance issues. When these random drops happen while playing a freaking NES game tho, that worries me.

Magnitude2717 said:
This doesn't fix the underlying issue but the "Lossless Scaling" app you can buy on steam doubles/triples my framerate. I play Arma 3 which is notoriously aids and I go from 20-30fps in city fighting to 90fps.
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That... sounds like some black magic. I would assume anything to do with "scaling" would make the performance worse.

Londo said:
I cannot stress this enough but there are multiple form factors that are perfect for confined spaces that aren't smaller than most 6 packs of beer.
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Yeah, I don't need something gigantic or really, anything powerful--something that can run Doom Eternal at a consistent framerate (because Doom Eternal is the only modern-ish game I own) would be fine. I assume if it can run that, then streaming NES games would be no issue.

Heck this NUC itself was something I intended to use as a movie device. Gaming was a side-hustle.

A laptop would be a fine enough option as well (especially as I like to take movies and games to friends' houses and show them stuff), and I'm open to recommendations.
 
skykiii said:
That... sounds like some black magic. I would assume anything to do with "scaling" would make the performance worse.
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Fuck yeah it is, the term I've heard for this is "frame generation" No idea how it works but its a godsend.
 
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