Every High consuming game I play make the whole PC freeze every couple seconds

Troubleshooting Persistent Gaming-Induced System Freezing: A Case Study

Introduction

Experiencing regular system freezes during high-demand gaming sessions can be highly frustrating and disruptive. This article presents an in-depth look into a real-world issue encountered on a high-performance gaming laptop, detailing the diagnostic process, attempted solutions, and insights gained. The goal is to provide valuable guidance for users facing similar challenges.

System Specifications

• Laptop Model: ASUS ROG Strix G614JV
• Processor: Intel Core i9-13980HX
• Graphics Card: NVIDIA RTX 4060 Laptop (Driver Version 552.44)
• Memory: 16 GB DDR5 RAM
• Operating System: Windows 11 Home, Version 23H2 (Fully Updated)
• BIOS: Latest Version (Updated via MyASUS)

Issue Overview

Over recent months, the user experienced intermittent stuttering during playing demanding games such as Valorant and Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. These micro-stutters—occurring every 0.5 to 1.5 seconds—significantly impacted gameplay and overall user experience. Despite various troubleshooting efforts, the problem persisted.

Initial Research and Similar Cases

The user referenced a Reddit discussion where others reported similar freezing issues. While some suggested solutions were proposed, they failed to resolve the problem in this particular case. This prompted a systematic approach to isolate potential causes.

Troubleshooting Attempts

1. Driver and Software Updates:
   All system drivers were thoroughly updated, including graphics, chipset, and peripheral drivers.

2. Peripheral and Settings Adjustments:

3. All NVIDIA audio drivers were disabled to eliminate potential conflicts.
4. Several power plan settings were modified to favor performance.

5. NVIDIA Control Panel configurations were tweaked to optimize GPU performance.

6. Game Reinstallation:
   Valorant was uninstalled and reinstalled to rule out corruption or game-specific issues.

Key Observation: Power State Impact

A critical breakthrough emerged when unplugging the laptop from AC power entirely eliminated the system freezes. This suggested a possible power management or power supply issue influencing system stability.

Additional Testing and Insights

• Frame Rate Capping:
  Limiting FPS to lower values (e.g., 60 FPS) noticeably reduced freeze occurrences, even though the game typically runs at much higher frame rates (300+).

• NVIDIA Reflex Settings:
  Disabling NVIDIA Reflex Low Latency markedly diminished freeze frequency,