******************************UPDATE*************************************
I have since determined that this stuttering issue has nothing to do with my GTX 670, but rather, is caused by an old expansion card I had connected to my motherboard to add a couple extra SATA ports for the use of connecting a couple DVD drives (Rosewill RC-215 VIA VT6421 RAID Controller).
I recently purchased another HDD, and used the VIA card to connect it, and that was about the time that I first began noticing the stuttering issue. I should have put two and two together right away, but I kind of forgot that I even had the card on my mobo since I just swapped out the connections from a DVD drive that I never use to the new HDD. I must not have had a HDD plugged into the VIA card when I originally tested by using only the integrated graphics because once I realised that the problem might be the VIA card I tested again with the integrated graphics and a HDD connected to the VIA card, and I got stutters then.
It seems that the solution is to replace the RC-215 with the VT6421 chipset and replace it with a card with a better chipset like the Marvell 88SE9130.
new thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2394571&highlight=
**********************END UPDATE***********************
Original Post:
Firstly, my PC components:
- CPU: i7 2700k
- Mobo: Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H rev 1.0
- GPU: Gigabyte Windforce GTX 670
- OS: Windows 8.1 pro
- RAM: Samsung low voltage 4GB x4
- Storage: OS on SSD, everything else on 3TB 7200rpm HDDs
Surround sound receiver (Onkyo NR-515) connected via GPU's HDMI
For the past few weeks I have noticed that once or twice per hour (on average) any games, videos, or music I am playing suffer an audio/video freeze/stutter for about a half-second.
I tried to record a number of these stutter events with a few different screen capture programs. Interestingly, each time I would play it back, the recording contained no audio or video stutter.
Monitoring running processes and CPU utilization with task manager and process lasso showed no unusual programs popping up or CPU spikes during the stutter events. Maxxing out the CPU by using Handbrake to encode videos while playing media did not cause a higher rate of stutter events compared to times when the media player was pretty much the only program running (CPU > 5%).
Here is a link to another forum where I tried to troubleshoot this problem http://www.eightforums.com/general-...second-audio-video-stutter-windows-8-1-a.html
Today, I installed the 2700k's HD3000 graphics and configured the BIOS to use only the integrated graphics (and not the 670), and the stutter problem went away. So the problem must be due to the Nvidia card.
I have had this PC running perfectly for nearly 2 years, without any problems like this at all. The GPU stays cool (idles in the mid-to-high 30s, and rarely goes above 55C) and I clean everything regularly.
I have tried at least 5 of the most recent Nvidia drivers but the stutters continue to occur. I have completely reinstalled windows 8.1, and the motherboard drivers straight from the gigabyte website. I've tried uninstalling the realtek audio drivers. And I have checked that all the connections to all of my devices are secure.
Right now I am stumped, and am assuming that this must be a problem with the GTX 670's hardware, so I will be contacting Nvidia or Gigabyte tommorow for assistance.
Does anyone have any ideas on what may be happening here?
Thanks in advance.
***EDIT
Description of the stutter:
It's like everything lags out for a half second, and then a half-second's worth of audio data comes bursting out in one instant. It's like a digital fart. When playing music really loudly the stutter sound sounds like it could possibly damage my speakers (not to mention my ears)***
I have since determined that this stuttering issue has nothing to do with my GTX 670, but rather, is caused by an old expansion card I had connected to my motherboard to add a couple extra SATA ports for the use of connecting a couple DVD drives (Rosewill RC-215 VIA VT6421 RAID Controller).
I recently purchased another HDD, and used the VIA card to connect it, and that was about the time that I first began noticing the stuttering issue. I should have put two and two together right away, but I kind of forgot that I even had the card on my mobo since I just swapped out the connections from a DVD drive that I never use to the new HDD. I must not have had a HDD plugged into the VIA card when I originally tested by using only the integrated graphics because once I realised that the problem might be the VIA card I tested again with the integrated graphics and a HDD connected to the VIA card, and I got stutters then.
It seems that the solution is to replace the RC-215 with the VT6421 chipset and replace it with a card with a better chipset like the Marvell 88SE9130.
new thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2394571&highlight=
**********************END UPDATE***********************
Original Post:
Firstly, my PC components:
- CPU: i7 2700k
- Mobo: Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H rev 1.0
- GPU: Gigabyte Windforce GTX 670
- OS: Windows 8.1 pro
- RAM: Samsung low voltage 4GB x4
- Storage: OS on SSD, everything else on 3TB 7200rpm HDDs
Surround sound receiver (Onkyo NR-515) connected via GPU's HDMI
For the past few weeks I have noticed that once or twice per hour (on average) any games, videos, or music I am playing suffer an audio/video freeze/stutter for about a half-second.
I tried to record a number of these stutter events with a few different screen capture programs. Interestingly, each time I would play it back, the recording contained no audio or video stutter.
Monitoring running processes and CPU utilization with task manager and process lasso showed no unusual programs popping up or CPU spikes during the stutter events. Maxxing out the CPU by using Handbrake to encode videos while playing media did not cause a higher rate of stutter events compared to times when the media player was pretty much the only program running (CPU > 5%).
Here is a link to another forum where I tried to troubleshoot this problem http://www.eightforums.com/general-...second-audio-video-stutter-windows-8-1-a.html
Today, I installed the 2700k's HD3000 graphics and configured the BIOS to use only the integrated graphics (and not the 670), and the stutter problem went away. So the problem must be due to the Nvidia card.
I have had this PC running perfectly for nearly 2 years, without any problems like this at all. The GPU stays cool (idles in the mid-to-high 30s, and rarely goes above 55C) and I clean everything regularly.
I have tried at least 5 of the most recent Nvidia drivers but the stutters continue to occur. I have completely reinstalled windows 8.1, and the motherboard drivers straight from the gigabyte website. I've tried uninstalling the realtek audio drivers. And I have checked that all the connections to all of my devices are secure.
Right now I am stumped, and am assuming that this must be a problem with the GTX 670's hardware, so I will be contacting Nvidia or Gigabyte tommorow for assistance.
Does anyone have any ideas on what may be happening here?
Thanks in advance.
***EDIT
Description of the stutter:
It's like everything lags out for a half second, and then a half-second's worth of audio data comes bursting out in one instant. It's like a digital fart. When playing music really loudly the stutter sound sounds like it could possibly damage my speakers (not to mention my ears)***
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