Game hitching every 5-10 seconds.

[niobian]

I'm having an issue where my game will momentarily stop for a couple seconds at a time every 5-10ish seconds. Otherwise the game runs very smoothly but this start and stopping makes that game nearly unplayable. I am using an Alienware 17 R4 that was running the game perfectly a couple days ago. I would have liked to post this as its own thread in hopes that someone would have a fix but this is a new profile.

 

[SigilFey]

New thread created! Welcome, @niobian!

In answer to your issue, try the following:

1.) In-Game Settings:
Fullscreen
Vsync ON
Frame Limit = 60

GPU Control Panel Settings:
Most functions set to "Controlled by the 3D application"
Refresh Rate = 60 Hz / 120 Hz

Be sure any overclocking / underclocking is disabled. Ensure you're running the game at default clock speeds.

2.) Install / update all Microsoft Redistributables.

3.) Ensure the game is not installed anywhere under Program Files or Program Files(x86). Protected directories can wreak havoc with games. Also, ensure the game is added to the exceptions list for any anti-virus or firewall you may be using. Be sure the witcher3.exe is set to "Run as administrator". Go to the ...\Documents\The Witcher 3\... folder and be sure the Permissions are set to "Everyone".

4.) Frame-timing can be tricky -- especially on newer hardware. The game was truly created for a Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1 environment, so Windows 10, Ryzen chipsets, and i7 / i9 Intel processors can make the game grumpy. In my own experience, I find pulling back is often more effective than trying to push it. Try editing the user.settings file and setting LimitFPS=48. Also try values of 50, 52, 54, and 58. For me, if I have it set to anything other than 48 on my i7-4790K, I get massive stuttering. At a 48 cap, the game is flawless. Solid FPS in all areas. The engine is just super-particular.

But, as I tell people that suffer from the stuttering, while it might hurt our "Power-User" ego to limit a game to low FPS...the actual experience is glorious. I've had several people watch the gameplay on my system and be like, "How do you get it run that smoothly!?" When I explained, some didn't believe me and thought something must be wrong.

 

[niobian]

So its been a while since I wrote the first post and I've come back to the witcher. I did end up fixing the game some how but now I don't know what I did to fix it. the game ran just fine for a few days then I started having the same issue as before. I can play the game for about 5 minutes then it will start halting for a few seconds at a time with about 10 seconds between each halt which makes the game pretty hard to play. My entire computer locks up when it halts. I'll have alt tabbed to look at my monitoring software and then I cant move my mouse for a couple seconds randomly.

The monitoring software shows that my processor is running at about 60ish percent capacity and thermal load is within normal limits. I tried the solutions that you suggested in your response and I'm still not having any luck unfortunately. I tried updating my drivers as well which didn't help.

Got any other tips that might help?

 

[SigilFey]

I'm going to guess that you're using an i7, i9, or Ryzen processor? If so, I'm not sure there's much more to be done except fiddle with the setting indicated until you find the "sweet spot" for your particular system. When it's totally persistent like that, it's normally an issue of frame timing, and it's likely something that's caused by the CPU, not the GPU. (My ongoing theory, having encountered this myself in a few different games now, is that it's down to how hyperthreading works with CPUs that have 4+ cores.)

I get exactly the same thing (micro-hitching every so many seconds) if I use any other setting than Fullscreen, Vsync on in-game, and frame cap manually locked at 48 FPS. That's my magic combo. If I change any one of those settings, the microstutter comes back full-force. You, however, may need to find a different configuration. I'd simply try by testing the Frame Limit value in multiples of 8.

Alternatively, you can sometimes get around it by using Gsync or Freesync if you have it available on your monitor. I've been able to workaround the same type of issue in two other games now by simply disabling Vsync and manually limiting FPS to 72 (using a 144 MHz refresh rate). The frames simply need to be drawn at a tempo that the CPU cores can sync with, and everything is buttery smooth.

The only other thing it's likely to be at this point (if not drivers / configuration) is some 3rd-party program running in the background. Anti-virus is the most common culprit, especially if using aggressive brands, like Norton, McAffee, or Comodo.

 

[niobian]

So I'm trying to troubleshoot here a bit. I think the issue is with the GPU since when the halting happens, it happens everywhere on my computer visually; even if I'm tabbed out, but Sounds still play. What's really strange is that the halting is very consistent, at least in the area that I've been testing it. While in Novigrad, Halts happen every 15 seconds and last for 5. I tried increasing the texture memory budget but, that didn't work. I tried limiting the frames to every even number between 48 and 60, that didn't work either. if anyone has GPU tweaking suggestions I'd like to hear them.

 

[SigilFey]

So I'm trying to troubleshoot here a bit. I think the issue is with the GPU since when the halting happens, it happens everywhere on my computer visually; even if I'm tabbed out, but Sounds still play. What's really strange is that the halting is very consistent, at least in the area that I've been testing it. While in Novigrad, Halts happen every 15 seconds and last for 5. I tried increasing the texture memory budget but, that didn't work. I tried limiting the frames to every even number between 48 and 60, that didn't work either. if anyone has GPU tweaking suggestions I'd like to hear them.

Hmmm. If it's the whole system, that could be one of two things:

1.) OS is corrupted a bit. If Windows has not been reinstalled in several years, and you're using the system heavily (lots of program installations and uninstallations over time), then sometimes the indexing can get garbled, empty Registry keys pile up, lots of Device Manager items wind up being duplicated (like for gamepads or phones or whatever that you tend to plug in and unplug often). Etc. If it's been more that 3 years since you wiped the drive and reinstalled the OS, that might be it. Sometimes, this can be fixed up by running something like CCleaner to clean out the Registry, then checking the file system using an sfc /scannow to repair anything wonky.

2.) Bad memory sector in your RAM. Whole-system hitching can happen if your PC accesses a borked RAM sector, then has to re-write the data to another sector. Especially if the hitching is very regular, this could be it...but it normally affects everything constantly. (It likely won't come and go with any particular game or program.) You can schedule a RAM test through Windows by running mdsched.exe. Schedule the test to happen on restart, and it will run the thorough scan in what looks like a BSoD. Generally, any bad sectors can be detected, repaired, or worked around. However, if the RAM chip is actually damaged, it may not actually find anything. In that case, a simple test is to try running the system on only one RAM stick, then swap it out for the other one. If the hitching appears with one and not the other, you have the answer. (Plus, this is not that big of a deal, as most RAM is insured for life directly through the manufacturer. If you're using most of the common brands, especially gaming RAM like Corsair or G.Skill, you should be able to just send them the damaged stick and they'll send a replacement.)

 

[niobian]

I haven't tried what you suggested in the last post yet, but I'll probably do a clean install of windows soon to see if that helps. A little more info from testing: the issue is the same no matter what I set the in-game graphics presets to. It stalls with the same frequency and for the same duration on low, medium, high and ultra presets.

Post automatically merged: Dec 6, 2020

doing a fresh install of Windows 10 seems to have done the trick for whatever reason.

Post automatically merged: Dec 6, 2020

spoke too soon, right back to the issue I was having before.

Post automatically merged: Dec 6, 2020

Tested my RAM, nothing found. still having the issue. This is very frustrating. I enjoy this game a lot and its very disappointing to not be able to play it.

 

[devivre]

You can also reach out to cdpr support and see if they have an idea:

Technical Support — CD PROJEKT RED

Welcome to CD PROJEKT RED Technical Support! Here you will find help regarding our games and services, as well as answers to frequently asked questions.

support.cdprojektred.com

The only other thing I can think of is disabling the overlay feature of gog/steam - it can mess up the performance sometimes. Also, cloud save features don‘t always work that well either.

 

[SigilFey]

spoke too soon, right back to the issue I was having before.

Hm. Does this affect the entire system constantly? As in, if you restart the PC, does the hitching happen when you load back into Windows...or does it require you to run the game first?

 

[niobian]

Nope only when the game has been running for about 5 minutes

Post automatically merged: Dec 8, 2020

I submitted a ticket to CD Projekt red's technical support so hopefully that yields some fruit.

Post automatically merged: Dec 8, 2020

should I receive any kind of confirmation from the support site when I submit a ticket?

 

[devivre]

should I receive any kind of confirmation from the support site when I submit a ticket?

Usually not, no. And it can take a while until they are able to respond (I don‘t know how long especially with Cyberpunk on the horizon).

 

[niobian]

I think I have figured it out. I plotted my temps and noticed the hitching coincides with a dip in my GPU temp so I'm pretty sure it's thermal throttling. Putting my fans on performance mode in bios seems to make things behave better. I'm thinking bout having my fans replaced

 

[Scapehips]

Maybe you have fried the cpu and now your laptop is throttling while reducing the performance.