Let’s be honest, stuttering in games is one of the most annoying things that can happen while you’re playing online.
You’re in the middle of an intense match, perfectly lining up that headshot or dodging a boss’s attack, and then… the screen freezes for a second or two. That stutter, that hitch, that tiny freeze—whatever you call it—completely ruins the moment. Worse, it can cost you the game.
So, what is this stuttering thing, why does it happen, and more importantly, how can you fix it?
Let’s get into it.
What is Stuttering in Games?
Stuttering is when your game doesn’t play smoothly. It’s not the same as low FPS (frames per second) or lag, though those can be related.
Stuttering feels more like the game pauses for a split second or keeps hitching every few seconds, even if your frame rate seems stable.
One second you’re at 144 FPS, the next—freeze. Then back to normal. It’s jarring, unpredictable, and super frustrating, especially in competitive online games.
Why Does Stuttering Happen in Online Games?
There’s no single cause for stuttering, which makes it tricky to fix. Sometimes it’s your hardware. Other times it’s your internet connection. And occasionally, it’s the game’s fault (yeah, looking at you, unoptimized early access titles).
In online games, a few extra culprits come into play because of the added complexity of network communication.
Here are some common causes:
- Network issues: Packet loss, high ping, or jitter can cause microfreezes or rubberbanding that feels like stuttering.
- Background apps: Updates, cloud syncs, or streaming software using up bandwidth or CPU power.
- Outdated drivers: Your GPU or network drivers might not be up to date, leading to weird performance issues.
- Thermal throttling: Your system might be overheating and slowing down to protect itself.
- VRAM or RAM bottlenecks: Not enough memory or improper usage can cause the game to pause while it loads new assets.
- Game engine bugs or bad optimization: Sometimes, the game itself just doesn’t behave well on certain systems.
Fixing Stuttering in Online Games
Now that you know the usual suspects, let’s look at what you can actually do to make your games run smoother.
1. Check Your Internet Connection First
Since we’re talking about online gaming, your connection is the first place to look. You could have the best PC in the world, but if your ping spikes or your packets don’t arrive on time, you’ll feel it in-game.
- Run a speed test. Look not just at download speed, but also ping, jitter, and packet loss.
- Use a wired connection. Wi-Fi is convenient, but it introduces instability. Ethernet is your best friend here.
- Make sure no one else on your network is streaming 4K movies or downloading massive files while you’re trying to clutch a ranked match.
2. Use NoPing to Stabilize Your Connection
If your internet seems decent but you’re still getting stutters or weird lag spikes in online games, you might want to try a tool like NoPing.
NoPing is a gaming-optimized network tool that routes your traffic through faster, more stable servers, reducing ping and packet loss. It can make a huge difference in how your connection feels—especially if the game’s own servers aren’t great for your region or if your ISP uses suboptimal routing.
What NoPing does:
- Reduces ping by selecting better routes.
- Minimizes packet loss and jitter.
- Improves overall stability in online games.
It supports hundreds of titles—from MMOs to shooters to MOBAs—and it’s easy to test if it makes a difference for your setup.
Here’s how to use NoPing to fix stuttering:
- Sign-up through the website and download NoPing (you can test it for free).
- Open NoPing and search for your game inside the software
- Once you find it, click on it and, on the next screen, select “Choose automatic” or “Choose manual” and click “Continue”. We recommend choosing automatic, as NoPing’s technology analyzes all routes on a global scale and automatically selects the best option for you.
- On the next screen, click on “Optimize Game”.
- And that’s it, you can start playing your game with optimized ping!
You can test different servers within NoPing to see which gives you the lowest latency.
3. Update Your Drivers
You’ve heard this before, but it’s still one of the easiest and most important things to do. Stuttering can often be fixed by updating:
- Your GPU drivers (NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel).
- Your network drivers (especially important for online games).
- Your motherboard BIOS (less common, but can help with memory and CPU issues).
Many driver updates include performance fixes or tweaks specifically for popular games, so don’t sleep on this.
Source: Algodoo
4. Lower Some In-Game Settings
Counterintuitively, maxing out your graphics settings isn’t always the problem—especially if you have a good GPU. But some settings can cause stutter regardless of frame rate.
Try turning down or disabling these:
- V-Sync: Can cause input lag or microstutters on some systems.
- Motion blur: Adds GPU load and can make stutters feel worse.
- Ray tracing: Looks nice, but eats performance.
- High-resolution textures: Can cause VRAM bottlenecks and hitching.
- Shadow quality: Often a big hit to performance for very little gain.
Focus on finding a stable frame time (how long each frame takes to render), not just high FPS numbers.
5. Close Background Apps and Limit Startup Programs
You’d be surprised how many things run in the background and mess with your games:
- Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox syncing files.
- Chrome with 30 tabs open.
- Windows Update silently downloading in the background.
- RGB lighting software doing who-knows-what.
Use Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) to see what’s using your CPU, RAM, and disk. Close what you don’t need. Also, clean up your startup apps using the Startup tab or a tool like MSConfig.
6. Check for Overheating and Throttling
If your CPU or GPU gets too hot, it’ll slow itself down to avoid damage. This can cause consistent stuttering or hitches in games. Monitor your temps using tools like:
- HWMonitor
- MSI Afterburner
- HWiNFO
If temps are above 85–90°C consistently, consider:
- Cleaning out dust from your fans and heatsinks.
- Reapplying thermal paste (if you know what you’re doing).
- Improving airflow in your case.
- Undervolting or adjusting your fan curve.
7. Install the Game on an SSD
Still using a traditional HDD? That could be your problem. Games today stream in tons of assets, especially open-world or online titles. If your drive is too slow, your system pauses to load stuff in—and that feels like stuttering.
Installing your game (and OS, ideally) on an SSD massively improves load times and overall performance.
8. Limit Your Frame Rate
If your system is pushing out way more frames than your monitor can handle (like 300 FPS on a 144 Hz monitor), it can cause inconsistent frame pacing and stuttering.
Use the game’s settings or a tool like RivaTuner to cap your FPS just slightly below your refresh rate. For example, cap at 141 FPS for a 144 Hz display. This gives your system room to “breathe” and creates smoother gameplay.
9. Try Different Servers (if the Game Allows It)
Some games let you choose your region or server. If you’re stuttering in matches consistently, the server you’re connected to might be overloaded or too far away.
Switching to a different region—even temporarily—can reveal if it’s a server-side issue.
Fixing stuttering in games, especially online ones, can feel like chasing ghosts. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but with some patience and a bit of trial and error, most issues can be resolved.
Here’s a quick recap:
- Check your internet connection.
- Use tools like NoPing to improve stability.
- Keep your drivers up to date.
- Tweak in-game settings and background processes.
- Monitor temps and keep your hardware clean.
- Consider moving your game to an SSD.
Once everything’s running smooth, you’ll notice not just better performance—but a better experience. And in competitive gaming, that can be the difference between victory and defeat.
Try NoPing now for free and play more than 2000 titles with optimized ping!
