Is the i5-14600KF frequency unstable in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2?
The screen tearing became absolutely unbearable while trekking through the ruins of Chernobyl. The lack of fluidity comes from the i5-14600KF aggressively jumping between 3.8GHz - 5.3GHz while crunching complex AI logic. I first tried slapping the system into 'Ultimate Performance' mode, but while the average FPS went up by maybe 4 frames, the 1% lows were still stuck above 45ms—a total band-aid solution that left me feeling pretty disappointed. I rebooted into the BIOS, swapped the Load Line Calibration from Auto to L2 mode, and manually locked the Vcore at 1.28V. Monitoring via RTSS, the frame time intervals collapsed from a chaotic 12ms - 35ms range down to a tight 9ms - 14ms, and the game finally felt fluid. I did run into two Blue Screens of Death (BSOD) during the initial setup, but everything stabilized once I dialed the ring bus frequency back from 4.8GHz to 4.6GHz. The CPU now stays around 65℃ - 72℃, which is manageable. After four grueling rounds of Cinebench stress tests, the clocks aren't dropping anymore, and my RAM temps are hovering between 58℃ - 63℃.