I recently built a new PC, and Counter-Strike 2 stutters for about 1–2 seconds at exactly 300-second intervals. I also feel that aiming becomes inconsistent after the first match of the day. The issue appears during online play but not in offline mode, which makes me suspect the wired network adapter or another network-related process.
System: Ryzen 7 9800X3D, ASUS Dual RTX 5060 8GB, Gigabyte X870 Aorus Elite Gaming WiFi7, 32GB DDR5-6000 CL30, Corsair RM750x, Windows 11 25H2.
Windows was freshly installed, and I also tested a customized installation with most services disabled. BIOS, chipset, LAN, audio, USB, Wi-Fi, and graphics drivers are current. I used DDU for the NVIDIA driver, disabled Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, integrated graphics, RGB utilities, and dynamic lighting, and removed the motherboard RGB controller. The problem occurs with default BIOS settings as well as with EXPO enabled.
I tested the CPU, memory, GPU, VRAM, power supply, storage, and temperatures without finding errors or thermal throttling. Lowering the game settings, changing DNS to Cloudflare, disabling NVIDIA Reflex, reinstalling audio drivers, and trying both Realtek and Microsoft audio drivers did not help. The stutter also occurred offline during some tests, although it is much more noticeable in online play. Event Viewer does not show an obvious repeating error. What else could cause a stutter at such an exact interval, and how can I isolate or fix it?
4 Answers
Since you have already ruled out temperatures and most hardware stress tests, I would focus on capturing what changes exactly when the stutter occurs. Record frametime, packet loss, ping, CPU/GPU usage, disk activity, and DPC latency in a lightweight log. A one-second frametime spike without network loss points to a local driver or scheduled task; a simultaneous ping spike points toward the network adapter, router, or connection.
Because the problem is tied to online play, test the network path rather than only changing DNS. Run a continuous ping to your router and another to a reliable internet address while playing. If the router ping spikes too, investigate the Ethernet link, cable, switch, or adapter driver. If only the external ping spikes, it may be the router or ISP. Also compare the motherboard's wired adapter with Wi-Fi or a separate USB Ethernet adapter; that can quickly confirm whether the onboard NIC is involved.
An exact five-minute interval often points to a scheduled task, service, driver timeout, or a device repeatedly retrying an operation. Check Event Viewer under Windows Logs > Application and System, but also use Task Scheduler and Reliability Monitor. Look for warnings or errors that repeat at the same time, especially network, storage, audio, or graphics-driver events. A clean custom installation makes a normal Windows task less likely, but it does not completely rule out a driver or firmware timer.
Use a latency tool such as LatencyMon or Windows Performance Analyzer while reproducing the issue. Check whether a network, audio, storage, or graphics driver produces a DPC/ISR spike at the five-minute mark. You can also temporarily disable the onboard Ethernet adapter and play over Wi-Fi, or install an inexpensive USB Ethernet adapter. If the stutter disappears, try an older motherboard LAN driver, disable Energy Efficient Ethernet and Interrupt Moderation, and test a different cable and router port.
The fact that DNS changes did nothing is expected if this is packet loss or link-level latency. DNS is only involved when resolving names, not during an established game connection.