So what the heck is happening to my CPU?

Okay, so i've found out this issue is not my SSD or GPU.. But it's my CPU!!.. I'll get random (and i mean random) maybe once a day or maybe twice a day, 10 seconds worth of really bad stuttering and then it fixes it self and goes back to normal, it's Noticable in games i don't think it's happened outside of games. But i've found out it's my CPU! Because since if you press (Windows + G) And bring up the little performance graph, which i pinned so it's always displaying.

But anyhow, i've noticed when gaming let's say Conan exiles, my cpu is like 80%, gpu 60% ram 56% or whatever. And the game is running fine. Then when the stuttering starts for 10 seconds or less the CPU usage goes down to 7-14%

My CPU specs

PROCESSOR / CHIPSET

• CPU AMD Ryzen 7 3750H / 2.3 GHz
• Max Turbo Speed4 GH

So what's happening? Is my CPU randomly unclocking?

Use CPUID HWMonitor or a similar program to rule out overheating. Use the laptop plugged in and set it to high performance. Disable all bloatware from startup, delete the video driver with DDU and reinstall it, upgrade Windows. You could also reinstall Windows but that's a pain in the ass and it could still be a hardware issue.

Sounds like thermal throttling. Laptops can be notorious for getting too hot and overheating if used for what they weren't specifically designed for.

If you get a mid-ranged laptop that can do casual gaming and everyday things, if you do heavy gaming on it, it's not well designed to handle the constant heat output the system has and will eventually start hitting the thermal limits of the CPU and/or GPU. The system then automatically drops voltage/speeds to alleviate some of the heat getting generated to drop the temperature into a safer range. In doing so you'll experience stuttering/hitching.

Even if you bought a "gaming" laptop, that doesn't mean it's well designed either. You can still run into overheating issues.

As suggested above, find a program to monitor temps of your CPU and GPU. Usually around 100C most laptop CPUs start to throttle. Ideally you'd like to see your CPU temp stay around 85 (but lower is better) when in use. You may need to adjust down settings or get a laptop cooling pad. You may need to even clean out the laptop if you've had it for a while since dust/dirt build up happens overtime which restricts air flow and proper dissipation of heat.

Try lowering graphics or other games - maybe it's the game that's broken isn't it in alpha or something?

I saw YT video where someone plays it on ultra with GTX1060 and it deeps to 30fps sometimes - with that kind of graphic which is horrible - so it may be just the game is poorly coded.

Even happens on Games like cnc Remaster. Though i wonder if its tied to my battery?

@thingta42:

So, same thing keeps happening among different games yet you don't list any steps you've done to try and resolve or at least figure out the problem.

No one can help you if you don't do the work needed to be done on your end.

Doubt that C&C Remaster will throttle your rig that much - but I wouldn't exclude the option yet - try checking temps while gaming (MSI Afterburner)

Make sure your system is up to date (Windows fully updated, drivers and BIOS)

@gerygo: Well playing conan and it happened in space of like 5mins checking my temps now and it says 96c on the cpu

It could also be Windows.

I've seen the cpu usage drop to 14% or so when the stuttering happens.

Well there you have it, shouldn't run move than 70C - of course it's throttling on 96C.

Clean the air vents out of dust and reapply thermal paste - never done this on a laptop so if you've got a warranty still valid I'd send it.

Although I read that 105C is within the operation range limit but I don't think it's neither healthy to the CPU nore it works 100% at intended without throttling.

Well my gpu is at 71c while playing the game.

the thermal limit of the Ryzen 7 3750H is 105°. getting near to that like you are it is most definitely causing throttling and forcing the CPU to limit it's speeds and power intake to avoid failure.

the best option for this setup would be to manually set all your laptop fans to 100% when gaming and like GeryGo stated, reapply a better thermal paste. possibly lowering the game's resolution and making sure a dedicated GPU is handling all physics processing can also help lower CPU usage a bit.

really the best option would be to get(or build) a system that really is designed for gaming though. you may seriously degrade the life of this CPU too fast by constantly overheating. hopefully warranty would cover the failure, but then you'd just be in the same boat again.