u/FoldAppropriate2149

2016 zetec s 140hp, back end feels kinda unstable on de backroads

I’ve reached the point where I genuinely need fresh ideas.

For context, I’m an ICT engineer with 12 years of experience.

Troubleshooting PCs is literally what I do for a living, so I’m not looking for the usual “update your drivers” or “turn XMP off” suggestions unless there’s a very specific reason behind them.

I recently built a completely new AM5 system:

X870E motherboard - tried x870e-e rog and aorus
Ryzen 7 9800X3D- tried 2 brand new CPUs
Rm1000x- tried 2 psu’s
32gb 6000mhz cl30 - tried 3 sets of ram
5070ti strix - tried a 1070 Gtx

The issue is random 0.1% low FPS drops/microstutters across games. The severity varies depending on the game, but it’s enough to make some titles feel awful despite high average FPS. Stress tests are perfect, 3d mark passes with amazing results. These drops can vary, sometimes a drop from 220 0.1% low fps to 130 and sometimes to 50-60-90 in-between. Thermals are perfect too so no thermal throttling.

Examples:
War Thunder - bad
CS2 - bad
Chivalry 2 - bad
Mordhau - bad
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 - mostly okay

What’s driving me insane is that I came from a Ryzen 9 5900X + RTX 3090 system that felt significantly smoother overall.

I’ve spent weeks troubleshooting and have replaced virtually every component in the PC. The only thing I haven’t changed is moving away from the X870E platform entirely.

Here’s what I’ve already tried:

Multiple clean Windows installs from USB.

Windows optimizations (services, scheduled tasks, etc.).

Windows debloating.

Device Manager cleanup and disabling unused devices.

Game Mode, Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling, and other Windows gaming settings on/off.

Numerous NVIDIA drivers using DDU between installs.

NVCleanstall with recommended configurations.
Pretty much every NVIDIA Control Panel setting (G-Sync, power management, shader cache, low latency, etc.).

MSI mode for the GPU.

Various command-line/terminal tweaks.

Disabled audio enhancements.

Disconnected unnecessary USB devices.
Tested with only a basic keyboard, mouse, and monitor connected.

Booted into Linux (Bazzite) and experienced the same issue.

Replaced every internal component except the motherboard/chipset platform.

Countless BIOS changes including C-States, DF States, EXPO on/off, manual RAM timings, memory tuning, PBO variations, and much more.

So please don’t suggest generic BIOS tweaks—I’ve likely already tested them.

At this point I’m wondering if this is:
An X870E platform issue.
Some obscure AM5 latency problem.
A hardware interaction that isn’t widely documented.
Or something else entirely.

Has anyone experienced something similar and actually found the root cause? I’m especially interested in people who solved persistent 0.1% low issues after exhausting the normal troubleshooting process.

I’m genuinely considering either downgrading to a different AM5 chipset or moving back to Intel because this system has completely ruined the experience for me. Just knowing I’ve built an entirely new computer and it’s doing the same thing is just baffling to me and I have no idea what to do. Some people would say my house power is the issue but if that was the case kcd2 wouldn’t run smooth.

If you’ve dealt with something similar and want to go into detail, feel free to message me here or add me on Discord: aim_tekk. At this point I’ll try almost anything that has actual reasoning behind it.

I’ve reached the point where I genuinely need fresh ideas.

For context, I’m an ICT engineer with 12 years of experience.

Troubleshooting PCs is literally what I do for a living, so I’m not looking for the usual “update your drivers” or “turn XMP off” suggestions unless there’s a very specific reason behind them.

I recently built a completely new AM5 system:

X870E motherboard - tried x870e-e rog and aorus
Ryzen 7 9800X3D- tried 2 brand new CPUs
Rm1000x- tried 2 psu’s
32gb 6000mhz cl30 - tried 3 sets of ram
5070ti strix - tried a 1070 Gtx

The issue is random 0.1% low FPS drops/microstutters across games. The severity varies depending on the game, but it’s enough to make some titles feel awful despite high average FPS. Stress tests are perfect, 3d mark passes with amazing results. These drops can vary, sometimes a drop from 220 0.1% low fps to 130 and sometimes to 50-60-90 in-between. Thermals are perfect too so no thermal throttling.

Examples:
War Thunder - bad
CS2 - bad
Chivalry 2 - bad
Mordhau - bad
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 - mostly okay

What’s driving me insane is that I came from a Ryzen 9 5900X + RTX 3090 system that felt significantly smoother overall.

I’ve spent weeks troubleshooting and have replaced virtually every component in the PC. The only thing I haven’t changed is moving away from the X870E platform entirely.

Here’s what I’ve already tried:

Multiple clean Windows installs from USB.

Windows optimizations (services, scheduled tasks, etc.).

Windows debloating.

Device Manager cleanup and disabling unused devices.

Game Mode, Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling, and other Windows gaming settings on/off.

Numerous NVIDIA drivers using DDU between installs.

NVCleanstall with recommended configurations.
Pretty much every NVIDIA Control Panel setting (G-Sync, power management, shader cache, low latency, etc.).

MSI mode for the GPU.

Various command-line/terminal tweaks.

Disabled audio enhancements.

Disconnected unnecessary USB devices.
Tested with only a basic keyboard, mouse, and monitor connected.

Booted into Linux (Bazzite) and experienced the same issue.

Replaced every internal component except the motherboard/chipset platform.

Countless BIOS changes including C-States, DF States, EXPO on/off, manual RAM timings, memory tuning, PBO variations, and much more.

So please don’t suggest generic BIOS tweaks—I’ve likely already tested them.

At this point I’m wondering if this is:
An X870E platform issue.
Some obscure AM5 latency problem.
A hardware interaction that isn’t widely documented.
Or something else entirely.

Has anyone experienced something similar and actually found the root cause? I’m especially interested in people who solved persistent 0.1% low issues after exhausting the normal troubleshooting process.

I’m genuinely considering either downgrading to a different AM5 chipset or moving back to Intel because this system has completely ruined the experience for me. Just knowing I’ve built an entirely new computer and it’s doing the same thing is just baffling to me and I have no idea what to do. Some people would say my house power is the issue but if that was the case kcd2 wouldn’t run smooth.

If you’ve dealt with something similar and want to go into detail, feel free to message me here or add me on Discord: aim_tekk. At this point I’ll try almost anything that has actual reasoning behind it.