We generally keep the video driver updated for a graphics card, but do not update the audio drivers that often. Well, it happens rarely but audio drivers may also cause stuttering, specifically audio stuttering, which is skipping of audio, audio lag, audio slurring and freezing of audio playback for micro-seconds. Also, I would suggest that you should always download the video driver of your graphics card from the GPU’s official site only, because if you download it from third party site, then it may be possible that the driver is tempered with or contains some malicious harmful code. It does prove helpful in troubleshooting video driver related problems that occur with graphics cards from time to time. DDU is a small utility that completely removes every trace of the older video driver, including the registries and other related files.
To clean install older or new video drivers, it is better to use Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) for uninstalling video drivers. You must remember that the latest video drivers are not always better, and not one driver suits all graphics cards the same, so you should test all recent video drivers to find out which driver version works best for you. However, sometimes the latest graphics driver can also be the root of the problem, and in such cases, it is better to revert to the older stable drivers. It is always recommended to install the latest video drivers for the latest games. Video driver or graphics driver is also one of the major causes of stuttering in games. How much VRAM should your graphics card have?.You can also use the system requirements lab CYRI (Can You Run It) tool to check whether your system meets the minimum system requirements for that particular game or not.
For modern-day AAA games, 16GB of RAM should be there, and the amount of VRAM that you need for gaming at 1080p should be 4GB. Both play a very important role in the smooth running of games, and it is generally a good idea to have more than the amount that is recommended for the game. RAM is the system memory that you can install on your motherboard, while VRAM is the Video Memory that you have on your graphics card. Every PC game has some minimum system recommendations stated by the game company that you must fulfill in order to play it properly at decent graphics settings & resolution, or in some cases even to run it. If you don’t have enough RAM and VRAM (Video Memory) than what is recommended for the game then you can face frequent game stuttering. Related: Best Graphics Card Overclocking Utilities Less RAM & VRAM The same thing applies to GPU or graphics cards too. I have encountered this issue personally in some games, where the game would even crash several times in the middle if I had overclocking done to my CPU. You can also downclock your CPU / GPU for further testing because some users have reported success in doing so. So, disable the overclocking of your CPU / GPU and run it on the stock frequencies only. This generally happens when the overclock is unstable, but sometimes it can also happen when the overclock is pretty stable in other applications or in benchmarks. If you have overclocked your CPU / GPU then it is one of the major factors that can cause stuttering in games. Here are various causes of stuttering in games with their proper solutions and fix.
Must Read: How to Fix Low GPU Usage in Games for Higher FPS Game Stuttering Causes with their Fix So, to help out gamers that are struggling with the stuttering problem, here I am going to list down the main causes of game stuttering with their proper solutions or fixes. The main thing is that there is no single cause for stuttering, and you need to figure out the root problem by taking into account all the factors. I have personally encountered stuttering several times in various games, and most of the time I have managed to it after hours of testing and research.
In some cases, the hardware is the culprit while in some software or drivers can cause the problem, and in rare cases, both hardware and software are at fault. Stuttering in games occurs due to either hardware or software issues, or even both. Also, you can still game without losing control on low frame rates, but in stuttering, it surprises you with sudden jitters and hiccups that make you lose control in the game, especially when it is a faced paced FPS game. I think stuttering is more annoying than getting low FPS, because during low FPS you might know its cause, and can take proper measures to increase to some extent. However, in some cases stuttering may lead to lower frame rates that can be very troublesome. Stuttering may or may not lead to lower FPS, as it is possible that you are getting an average of 60 FPS in the game, but having terrible stuttering issues.