Constant Micro Stutters

[keisentraut]

Running the Quest 3 on an AMD 9800x3d / RTX5080 / 64GB DDR5 using Virtual Desktop.  No matter what settings I use, I get micro stutters. I feel like I tried everything I can find on YouTube.  One thing that is puzzling me is when you look at my Frame Time, it looks like a heart beat and I'm guessing the stutters are happening each time that timing "line" pops up and down.  Does anyone have any clue as to what could be causing this?  

I've tried this on Potato mode as well as God mode.  It's the same story each time.

[sleighzy]

Could be anything. Please attach your DCS log file (C:\Users\username\Saved Games\DCS\dcs.log) after replicating the issue. Also run the Windows DxDiag tool, save the report, and attach here as well. 

Is SSW set to Auto in Virtual Desktop? What is the refresh rate set to for the headset? Pixel density in DCS is set to 1.0 under the VR tab, and is Quad Views on or off? (just asking as these won’t show up in the DCS log). 

[keisentraut]

SSW = I've tried disabled and always enabled. I don't run it on Auto.

Refresh rate = I've tried 72, 80, 90 and 120

Pixel Density = 1.0

Quad Views = Off

dcs.log DxDiag.txt

[keisentraut]

Here's one where I loaded into Nevada at 72hz.  Single helicopter, no scripts, and my frame time was hovering around 17-18ms.  Didn't even take off.

dcs.log

[Qcumber]

5 hours ago, keisentraut said:

Here's one where I loaded into Nevada at 72hz.  Single helicopter, no scripts, and my frame time was hovering around 17-18ms.  Didn't even take off.

dcs.log 107.82 kB · 1 download

Have you tried adjusting settings so that you can maintain a steady 72fps with a frame interval if less than 13.9 ms? Do you use OXRTK and is Turbo mode enabled? 

Could you please post an image of the VD in game overlay so that we can see your bitrate etc? 

[keisentraut]

Like I mentioned above, I can run the whole game in potato mode and it still stutters.  Hoping something in the log files sheds some light...

[Qcumber]

28 minutes ago, keisentraut said:

Like I mentioned above, I can run the whole game in potato mode and it still stutters.  Hoping something in the log files sheds some light...

I was thinking more about the stability of your connection rather than the resolution. If the bitrate is too low or variable you will get stutters. What do the latencies look like in the VD overlay? 

[keisentraut]

Ahh...that part is pretty good.  I'm using the Quest codec maxed out at 200bit and I have a wireless transfer of around 2400 mbps using a wireless 6e router that is 3 feet from my headset and it's the only thing on it.  PC is connected to the router via ethernet.  My latencies from the game and the connection are usually around 10ms.  That said, the DCS FPS overlay is showing all those spikes.  Whatever is happening is definitely on DCS and/or my computer side...

I get the same issue if I use a link cable, go potato mode, etc...

[LOW_Hitman]

if not done until yet, give it a try and disable HAGS. That solved that micro stutter issue for me.

[Qcumber]

26 minutes ago, keisentraut said:

Ahh...that part is pretty good.  I'm using the Quest codec maxed out at 200bit and I have a wireless transfer of around 2400 mbps using a wireless 6e router that is 3 feet from my headset and it's the only thing on it.  PC is connected to the router via ethernet.  My latencies from the game and the connection are usually around 10ms.  That said, the DCS FPS overlay is showing all those spikes.  Whatever is happening is definitely on DCS and/or my computer side...

I get the same issue if I use a link cable, go potato mode, etc...

Thanks. Are you noticing any fluctuations in the decoding latency? 

If you have time I would be interested in reviewing your data as I am currently working on a VR benchmarking method. If you are interested please see the link below. You can PM me the dara if that is easier. 

 

 

[Mr_sukebe]

What’s the polling rate of your mouse?  If you have a Logitech similar to mind, try reducing the polling rate to 250 or 125.

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

ED apparently "fixed" the polling rate issue, but regardless of that it's always a good idea to set it pretty low especially in VR.
I'd check your windows power plan, or even disable the Power service altogether: there's a lot more that those power plans do behind the scenes that isn't shown on the default Windows UI, and it is known to sometimes cause stutters (but it depends on which module, as not all of them seem to suffer from it).

[keisentraut]

I dropped my polling rate to 125.  Disabling HAGS did nothing to improve my situation.  

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

Did you check if it's perhaps something that's running in the background, that's not needed for DCS?

[keisentraut]

1 hour ago, Raven (Elysian Angel) said:

Did you check if it's perhaps something that's running in the background, that's not needed for DCS?

Yes.  As far as I can tell... the computer is running really lean.

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

1 minute ago, keisentraut said:

Yes.  As far as I can tell... the computer is running really lean.

Is it related to any particular map or module, or is it a general issue?
I have a very similar system to yours. Perhaps you could share a mission file that gives you the most problems, and I can have a look?
There are issues with stuttering that were introduced a few patches ago so that would be up to ED to fix, but I think that's a different issue than what you are experiencing... In any case, if you want I can take a look (tomorrow as it's bed time now  ).

[Qcumber]

14 minutes ago, keisentraut said:

Yes.  As far as I can tell... the computer is running really lean.

I would really like to help but you have not really answered the question I asked about maintaining the minimum frametimes. The only data that you have shown is at 45 fps and/or with high frametimes. In my experience if you exceed 13.9 ms with 72Hz you will get stutters. Even with reprojection. 

The other issue is if you are using OXRTK (or QVFR) Turbo mode. This can help. But in some cases it can make stutter worse. 

[Dangerzone]

On 6/15/2025 at 6:27 AM, keisentraut said:

Running the Quest 3 on an AMD 9800x3d / RTX5080 / 64GB DDR5 using Virtual Desktop.  No matter what settings I use, I get micro stutters. I feel like I tried everything I can find on YouTube.  One thing that is puzzling me is when you look at my Frame Time, it looks like a heart beat and I'm guessing the stutters are happening each time that timing "line" pops up and down.  Does anyone have any clue as to what could be causing this?  

I've tried this on Potato mode as well as God mode.  It's the same story each time.

Not sure if this checklist might be helpful for you:

https://forum.dcs.world/topic/374746-june-2025-dcs-vr-optimization-stutterjitter-generic-checklist/#comment-5657256

 

[keisentraut]

Another observation.... the DCS FPS seems to constantly go between a red CPU Bound - Main Render Threat and a yellow message.  They flicker back and forth constantly.  I think every time they change, I get a small stutter.  So if I put Virtual Desktop to run at 72 hz, it doesn't matter if the DCS FPS slider is maxed out at 300.  It only outputs 72 frames.  And because of that, my outputted frames are usually constantly changing between 70-72FPS creating the stuttering.  Is there anyway to override that 72 frame output cap and put it to...say 75 frames so Virtual Desktop is always receiving "at least" 72 frames from DCS?

 

[Dangerzone]

41 minutes ago, keisentraut said:

Another observation.... the DCS FPS seems to constantly go between a red CPU Bound - Main Render Threat and a yellow message.  They flicker back and forth constantly.  I think every time they change, I get a small stutter.  So if I put Virtual Desktop to run at 72 hz, it doesn't matter if the DCS FPS slider is maxed out at 300.  It only outputs 72 frames.  And because of that, my outputted frames are usually constantly changing between 70-72FPS creating the stuttering.  Is there anyway to override that 72 frame output cap and put it to...say 75 frames so Virtual Desktop is always receiving "at least" 72 frames from DCS?

 

That's the exact issue I've been having. Not sure if you've had a chance to go through the checklist of mine posted above your post, but the solution for me (which apparently isn't a good solution, but did work) was to use RivaTuner to set the FPS at exactly 72fps. (Not above). This changed the messages from flashing orange/red to a green GPU Bound - giving an theoritical FPS limit too, which is much higher than the 72FPS that I'm limiting at. People far more knowlegable than I say that there should be no need to use RivaTuner, so take this advice with a grain of salt, but if it helps for now... it's worth giving a try with the caviet of keeping an eye on the 'chat' about stuttering because you may need to disable it once there's further updates.

(Because all this though seems to have only occurred since 2.16. I don't think ED have acknowledged that there even is an issue - but I suspect (hope) that they do know of this and have found an issue, and will hopefully be addressed with the next update, because numerous people are noticing issues since the latest update). 

As per the thread above, if this works for you, it's an indication of a deeper issue that using Turbo mode may fix - however as mentioned in my case, while Turbomode made things significantly better, I still have times where using RivaTuner works better (albeit even though it shouldn't). IDK why and am still investigating.

I have the same issues as yours though in VR, yet I run Pimax. I was wondering if it was a Pimax related issue, but given it's introduced with DCS 2.16, plus it's happening to non-Pimax headsets too - all fingers appear to be pointing to DCS.

[keisentraut]

25 minutes ago, Dangerzone said:

As per the thread above, if this works for you, it's an indication of a deeper issue that using Turbo mode may fix - however as mentioned in my case, while Turbomode made things significantly better, I still have times where using RivaTuner works better (albeit even though it shouldn't). IDK why and am still investigating.

OMG... Turbo mode fixed my stuttering!!!!!!  I wasn't even using the toolkit.  My VR is now butter-smooth when I dial in my settings ingame.  THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

[Dangerzone]

41 minutes ago, keisentraut said:

OMG... Turbo mode fixed my stuttering!!!!!!  I wasn't even using the toolkit.  My VR is now butter-smooth when I dial in my settings ingame.  THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I guess that answers my question as to whether you read the checklist. 

And the thanks goes to @actually_fred for putting me on the right path with this... I'm just paying it forward. 

If you start having issues in the future, it may not hurt to go through that checklist. I'm not saying it's all correct - but I think you'll find it far more exhaustive than a few you-tube video's (many of which will take up 10 minutes of your time to make just 4 suggestions)  

[SharpeXB]

22 hours ago, Mr_sukebe said:

What’s the polling rate of your mouse?  If you have a Logitech similar to mind, try reducing the polling rate to 250 or 125.

if you’re still having that problem you might want to report it here. It appears that they believe this is solved, but it’s not.

 

[Mr_sukebe]

2 hours ago, SharpeXB said:

if you’re still having that problem you might want to report it here. It appears that they believe this is solved, but it’s not.

 

Why report it?
I don't believe it's DCS.  I think that it's Windows.

In addition, we have a very simple workaround.  It's worth making people aware.

[SharpeXB]

21 minutes ago, Mr_sukebe said:

Why report it?
I don't believe it's DCS.  I think that it's Windows.

In addition, we have a very simple workaround.  It's worth making people aware.

Well there must be something they can do because they fixed it previously and it hasn’t always been a problem. Dropping the polling rate to 125 is kinda noticeable so not an ideal solution. Other sims don’t exhibit any trouble with this, it’s a DCS thing. 

Edited June 16 by SharpeXB