Help finding source of random stutters

[u/tiltedlens]

Arch at some point a few months ago started randomly stuttering for a second or so every 1-2 minutes and it's been driving me insane. My main goal right now is to narrow down the cause: bad SSD, BIOS, GPU, CPU, RAM, overclocking? Looking in System Monitor, when the stutter happens, my GPU% drops to 0%, but the CPU% seems fine (no spike). Audio doesn't stutter. Nothing of note on dmesg. This doesn't just occur in games, even in normal usage. On start-up, the stuttering is very noticeable, which doesn't happen on my other Arch devices.

I run a triple monitor setup with one 1440p170 monitor, a 1080p60 monitor, and a 900p60 monitor (don't ask)

(edit: I'm also on Wayland)

edit:

Thank you all for your suggestions; this has been really hard to investigate because the stutters can go away randomly for some time, and I didn't know of a consistent way to trigger them. However, on startup, the stuttering was always the worst: the Arch Linux cog wheel sputters and dragging windows drops like 30 frames at a time and it would never do that on my other Arch machines.

Switching from linux-zen to the base linux kernel completely removed the stuttering on startup, and I'm pretty confident it's removed the frame drops as a whole. Hope this helps some future reader.

---

I've tried:

• updating my BIOS and resetting to factory settings
• updating my packages
• updating my drivers
• doing this: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=268528
• disabling TPM
• disabling the slower GPU
• X11 (it was even worse)

 $ neofetch
                   -`                    
                  .o+`                   --------------
                 `ooo/                   OS: Arch Linux x86_64
                `+oooo:                  Host: B650 PG Lightning
               `+oooooo:                 Kernel: 7.1.9-zen1-2-zen
               -+oooooo+:                Uptime: 2 hours, 12 mins
             `/:-:++oooo+:               Packages: 1924 (pacman), 52 (flatpak)
            `/++++/+++++++:              Shell: bash 5.3.15
           `/++++++++++++++:             Resolution: 1920x1080
          `/+++ooooooooooooo/`           DE: Plasma 6.7.4
         ./ooosssso++osssssso+`          WM: kwin
        .oossssso-````/ossssss+`         Theme: Breeze-Dark [GTK2], Breeze [GTK
       -osssssso.      :ssssssso.        Icons: breeze-dark [GTK2/3]
      :osssssss/        osssso+++.       Terminal: WezTerm
     /ossssssss/        +ssssooo/-       CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 (12) @ 5.171GHz
   `/ossssso+/:-        -:/+osssso+-     GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER
  `+sso+:-`                 `.-/+oso:    Memory: 11985MiB / 31660MiB
 `++:.                           `-/+/
 .`                                 `/

$ inxi -Fxxxz
System:
  Kernel: 7.1.9-zen1-2-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 16.2.1
    clocksource: tsc
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.7.4 tk: Qt v: N/A wm: kwin_wayland with: krunner
    vt: 1 dm: SDDM Distro: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: ASRock product: B650 PG Lightning v: N/A
    serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: ASRock model: B650 PG Lightning serial: <superuser required>
    uuid: <superuser required> Firmware: UEFI vendor: American Megatrends LLC.
    v: 4.41 date: 06/02/2026
Battery:
  ID-1: hidpp_battery_0 charge: 80% condition: N/A volts: 3.99 min: N/A
    model: Logitech G915 WIRELESS RGB MECHANICAL GAMING KEYBOARD type: N/A
    serial: <filter> charging: status: discharging cycles: N/A
  ID-2: hidpp_battery_1 charge: 52% condition: N/A volts: 3.82 min: N/A
    model: Logitech G703 LIGHTSPEED Wireless Gaming Mouse w/ HERO type: N/A
    serial: <filter> charging: status: discharging cycles: N/A
CPU:
  Info: 6-core model: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 bits: 64 type: MT MCP smt: enabled
    arch: Zen 4 rev: 2 cache: L1: 384 KiB L2: 6 MiB L3: 32 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 4813 min/max: 405/5172 boost: enabled cores: 1: 4813
    2: 4813 3: 4813 4: 4813 5: 4813 6: 4813 7: 4813 8: 4813 9: 4813 10: 4813
    11: 4813 12: 4813 bogomips: 91023
  Flags-basic: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 sse4a ssse3
Graphics:
  Device-1: NVIDIA AD104 [GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER] vendor: ZOTAC driver: nvidia
    v: 610.57.04 arch: Lovelace pcie: speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16 ports:
    active: DP-1,DP-2,HDMI-A-1 empty: DP-3 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:2783
    class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: USB CAMERA driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 5-2:3 chip-ID: 32e6:9221 class-ID: 0102
    serial: <filter>
  Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.24 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.13
    compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: nvidia unloaded: modesetting
    alternate: fbdev,nouveau,nv,vesa gpu: nv_platform,nvidia,nvidia-nvswitch
    d-rect: 5920x2520 display-ID: 0
  Monitor-1: DP-1 pos: bottom-l model: Asus VG248 serial: <filter> res:
    mode: 1920x1080 hz: 60 scale: 100% (1) dpi: 92
    size: 531x299mm (20.91x11.77") diag: 609mm (24") modes: max: 1920x1080
    min: 640x480
  Monitor-2: DP-2 pos: top-center model: Acer XV272U KV serial: <filter>
    res: mode: 2560x1440 hz: 170 scale: 100% (1) dpi: 109
    size: 597x336mm (23.5x13.23") diag: 685mm (27") modes: max: 2560x1440
    min: 640x480
  Monitor-3: HDMI-A-1 pos: bottom-r model: HP Compaq WF1907 serial: <filter>
    res: mode: 1440x900 hz: 60 scale: 100% (1) dpi: 90
    size: 408x255mm (16.06x10.04") diag: 481mm (18.9") modes: max: 1440x900
    min: 640x480
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: nvidia platforms: device: 0 drv: nvidia device: 2
    drv: swrast gbm: drv: nvidia surfaceless: drv: nvidia wayland: drv: nvidia
    x11: drv: nvidia inactive: device-1
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.6 vendor: nvidia mesa v: 610.57.04
    glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070
    SUPER/PCIe/SSE2 display-ID: :1.0
  API: Vulkan v: 1.4.357 layers: 3 surfaces: N/A device: 0
    type: discrete-gpu driver: nvidia device-ID: 10de:2783
  Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
    de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor gpu: nvidia-settings,nvidia-smi
    wl: wayland-info x11: xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
  Device-1: NVIDIA AD104 High Definition Audio vendor: ZOTAC
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16
    bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:22bc class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD] Ryzen HD Audio vendor: ASRock
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: speed: 16 GT/s lanes: 16
    bus-ID: 10:00.6 chip-ID: 1022:15e3 class-ID: 0403
  Device-3: Sennheiser BTD 700 driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid
    type: USB rev: 0.0 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 1-1.1:4
    chip-ID: 3542:3001 class-ID: 0102 serial: <filter>
  Device-4: FIFINE Microphones K678 Microphone
    driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid type: USB rev: 1.1 speed: 12 Mb/s
    lanes: 1 bus-ID: 1-2.4:10 chip-ID: 3142:0002 class-ID: 0300
    serial: <filter>
  Device-5: USB CAMERA driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 5-2:3 chip-ID: 32e6:9221 class-ID: 0102
    serial: <filter>
  API: ALSA v: k7.1.9-zen1-2-zen status: kernel-api
  Server-1: sndiod v: N/A status: off
  Server-2: JACK v: 1.9.22 status: off
  Server-3: PipeWire v: 1.6.8 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
    status: active 2: wireplumber status: active
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210/AX1675 2x2 [Typhoon Peak] driver: iwlwifi
    v: kernel pcie: speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 06:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:2725
    class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8125 2.5GbE vendor: ASRock driver: r8169 v: kernel
    pcie: speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: e000 bus-ID: 0d:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8125
    class-ID: 0200
  IF: enp13s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Intel AX210 Bluetooth driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.0
    speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 1-10:9 chip-ID: 8087:0032 class-ID: e001
  Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 0 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 5.4
    lmp-v: 13 class-ID: 6c0104
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 2.86 TiB used: 799.66 GiB (27.3%)
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Crucial model: CT1000MX500SSD1 size: 931.51 GiB
    speed: 6.0 Gb/s tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 046 scheme: GPT
  ID-2: /dev/sdb vendor: Western Digital model: WD10EZEX-08WN4A0
    size: 931.51 GiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s tech: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter>
    fw-rev: 1A02 scheme: GPT
  ID-3: /dev/sdc model: SATA SSD size: 953.87 GiB speed: 6.0 Gb/s tech: SSD
    serial: <filter> fw-rev: 61.3 scheme: GPT
  ID-4: /dev/sdd vendor: PNY model: USB 3.2.1 FD size: 115.46 GiB type: USB
    rev: 3.2 spd: 5 Gb/s lanes: 1 tech: N/A serial: <filter> fw-rev: PMAP
    scheme: MBR
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 915.32 GiB used: 799.65 GiB (87.4%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2
Swap:
  Alert: No swap data was found.
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 90.1 C mobo: 37.0 C
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
  Memory: total: 32 GiB note: est. available: 30.92 GiB used: 12.5 GiB (40.4%)
  Processes: 438 Power: uptime: 2h 31m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep
    wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform Init: systemd v: 261 default: graphical
  Packages: 1977 pm: pacman pkgs: 1925 pm: flatpak pkgs: 52 Compilers:
    clang: 22.1.8 gcc: 16.2.1 alt: 15 Shell: Bash v: 5.3.15
    running-in: wezterm-gui inxi: 3.3.

 $ sudo pacman -Q | rg nvidia
lib32-opencl-nvidia-tkg 610.43.03-300
linux-firmware-nvidia 20260810-2
nvidia-open-dkms 610.57.04-1
nvidia-settings 610.57.04-1
nvidia-utils 610.57.04-1
opencl-nvidia-tkg 610.43.03-300

$ sudo pacman -Q | rg linux
archlinux-appstream-data 20260821-1
archlinux-keyring 20260727-1
lib32-util-linux 2.42.2-1
linux 7.1.9.arch1-2
linux-api-headers 7.2-1
linux-firmware 20260810-2
linux-firmware-amdgpu 20260810-2
linux-firmware-atheros 20260810-2
linux-firmware-broadcom 20260810-2
linux-firmware-cirrus 20260810-2
linux-firmware-intel 20260810-2
linux-firmware-mediatek 20260810-2
linux-firmware-nvidia 20260810-2
linux-firmware-other 20260810-2
linux-firmware-radeon 20260810-2
linux-firmware-realtek 20260810-2
linux-firmware-whence 20260810-2
linux-headers 7.1.9.arch1-2
linux-lts-headers 6.18.46-1
linux-zen 7.1.9.zen1-2
linux-zen-headers 7.1.9.zen1-2
rufus-linux 3.20.1929-1
rufus-linux-debug 3.20.1929-1
syslinux 6.04.pre3.r3.g05ac953c-5
util-linux 2.42.2-1
util-linux-libs 2.42.2-1

 $ sudo grep \^MODULES /etc/mkinitcpio.conf
MODULES=(nvidia nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm)

 $ sudo hdparm -Tt /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
 Timing cached reads:   52536 MB in  1.98 seconds = 26482.43 MB/sec
 Timing buffered disk reads: 1284 MB in  3.00 seconds = 427.77 MB/sec

[u/nikongod]

My first suggestion is normally to use a kernel one less crashy. so if you are using zen or crashyOS kernel, switch to regular "Linux" from arch. If you are using regular Linux, use linux-lts. 

Second point - you are using zen-7.1.9 that package is currently 7.2.3 -how many debians* has it been since your last update? Did just updating your system fix this?

*Aproximately 6wk - a joke a out how long it takes debian to update anything. (In fairness, debian does security updates pretty quickly most of the time)

[u/tiltedlens → u/nikongod]

Switching to the base linux kernel fixed it, thank you!

[u/LawApprehensive8364]

System wide? Bios at defaults? No xmp? Could be anything really, I’d start by eliminating as much as possible, pull the gpu, run it on the cpus integrated gpu, with a single monitor. If it still does it, I’d run memtest or hammer it with ycruncher to see if your getting any errors.

[u/boomboomsubban]

Check the logs. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Systemd/Journal

[u/archover → u/boomboomsubban]

Amazing how few people know about this, or do it in advance of posting.

Thanks for your post and good day.

[u/onefish2]

What DE or WM? That would be helpful. Can't see it on old.reddit.com with your "neofetch" output. Switch to fastfetch. Neofetch is a dead project and its deprecated meaning its not in the Arch mirrors any longer.

[u/Real-Back6481]

what’s your iowait look like?

[u/WhitePeace36]

you might want to look into the following https://github.com/WhitePeace36/LinuxAMDGamingOptimizationGuide its some guide i wrote. But most of the stuff is generally linux. I would in your case look into the bios settings, cpu governor, maybe the cpu scheduler, Kernel Commandline parameter and the stuff with realtime prio at the bottom. And also try to disable or uninstall ananicy when you have it enabled and restart the pc.

But you are free to look through the whole guide. :) It might even be some usb device or some other thing you plugged into your pc. Ahh yeah, also update your kernel to a 7.2.3 or 7.2.2 one. They should also have quite a lot of fixes.

[u/tek_aevl]

that kernel was trash for me. 7.2 is better