Easy Anti Cheat messing up my pc.

Question

Easy Anti Cheat messing up my pc.

endeictic 20

Only after Closing any game protected by easy anti cheat, my pc lags and stutters continuously until restarting the computer. The only way to prevent it is by ending the Easy anti cheat task via task manager IMMEDIATELY on closing a game. However, the stuttering and lag immediately happens again when I relaunch games without restarting the computer first. This has been happening since December 2025(when I got this pc). I have spoke to AMD and NVIDIA, responsible for my CPU and GPU, each have said it must be a problem with Easy anti cheat. Due to the task ending nature. Updating windows, rolling back and updating/reinstalling drivers has had no effect and the problem has remained even after updating my bios and my CPU chipset as well as when there are no background processes/applications running at the same time after running in a cold boot environment where the issue still occurred. Tried anything you'd first think of. Talked to Epic Games who just sent me to Microsoft support after their 'basic troubleshooting' while claiming its not in their range of support despite their control over it. And there not being an option to contact anyone/thing regarding anything other than a ban appeal. just FAQsHas anyone experienced this and been able to fix it? Its been inconveniencing me for too long.

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Answer accepted by question author

Alex-L 12,560 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi endeictic

Based on what you've described, the fact that the stuttering starts only after closing an Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) protected game, immediately stops if the EAC process is terminated, and persists across Windows, BIOS, chipset, and GPU driver updates points more toward an EAC-related conflict than a GPU or CPU driver issue.

To narrow this down further, can you post:

Your full system specifications (CPU, motherboard, GPU, RAM).
Windows version and build (winver).
Whether the issue occurs in all EAC-protected games or only specific titles.
A screenshot of Task Manager > Details sorted by CPU usage after exiting a game while the stuttering is occurring.
Any warnings or errors in Event Viewer > Windows Logs > System around the time you close the game.

Also, please avoid posting personal information or serial numbers, as this is a public forum. Once we can see which process, driver, or hardware interrupts spike when EAC remains running, it may be possible to identify the specific conflict.

endeictic 20 Reputation points

2026-08-16T14:51:25.9633333+00:00
AMD Ryzen 5 8400F 6-Core Processor (4.20 GHz), Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.6 GB usable) kingston fury 6000MT/s, GeForce RTX 5060Ti 16Gb, motherboard: B650 UD AX-Y1

Windows 11 Home Version 25H2 OS build 26200.9168

all as far as i've tried. fortnite, Apex Legends and rocket league.
endeictic 20 Reputation points

2026-08-16T15:01:17.1066667+00:00

game was closed at 15:32
Alex-L 12,560 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-17T14:41:07.6466667+00:00

Hi endeictic

Thanks for providing the details. Since the issue occurs in Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Rocket League, it doesn't appear to be a game-specific problem. Your system specs are also well above the requirements.

The screenshots show higher CPU usage from the System process after exiting the game, while Event Viewer does not show an obvious error at the time of the stuttering. Since the lag persists until reboot and returns when launching another EAC-protected game, this points more toward an Easy Anti-Cheat driver/service interaction than a GPU or CPU issue.

To gather more evidence, I would suggest running LatencyMon while the stuttering is occurring to see whether a specific driver is causing excessive DPC/interrupt latency. That may help identify whether EAC itself or another kernel-level driver is involved. Microsoft has also documented previous compatibility issues involving certain Easy Anti-Cheat driver versions and Windows.
endeictic 20 Reputation points

2026-08-17T15:18:17.48+00:00

DPC results after 3min 30sec:

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 2878.750

Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: nvlddmkm.sys - NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 596.49 , NVIDIA Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 3.441055

Driver with highest DPC total execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 3.706037

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 7541594

DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0

DPC count (execution time 500-10000 µs): 35

DPC count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 0

DPC count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 4

DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0
endeictic 20 Reputation points

2026-08-17T16:44:56.2533333+00:00

alright, it seems it is fixed. thank you, much appreciated.
Alex-L 12,560 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-18T14:25:37.6233333+00:00

Hi endeictic

First of all, thank you so much for taking your time trying my suggestions and I'm glad that the issue has been resolved. If you found my answer helpful, please feel free to mark it as "Accepted Answer" - this will help other members from the community that are facing the same issue get the much needed solution.

Once again, thank you for your time and I hope you have a great day!

1 additional answer

Your answer

endeictic 20 Reputation points

2026-08-16T14:51:25.9633333+00:00

AMD Ryzen 5 8400F 6-Core Processor (4.20 GHz), Installed RAM 32.0 GB (31.6 GB usable) kingston fury 6000MT/s, GeForce RTX 5060Ti 16Gb, motherboard: B650 UD AX-Y1

Windows 11 Home Version 25H2 OS build 26200.9168

all as far as i've tried. fortnite, Apex Legends and rocket league.
endeictic 20 Reputation points

2026-08-16T15:01:17.1066667+00:00

game was closed at 15:32
Alex-L 12,560 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-17T14:41:07.6466667+00:00

Hi endeictic

Thanks for providing the details. Since the issue occurs in Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Rocket League, it doesn't appear to be a game-specific problem. Your system specs are also well above the requirements.

The screenshots show higher CPU usage from the System process after exiting the game, while Event Viewer does not show an obvious error at the time of the stuttering. Since the lag persists until reboot and returns when launching another EAC-protected game, this points more toward an Easy Anti-Cheat driver/service interaction than a GPU or CPU issue.

To gather more evidence, I would suggest running LatencyMon while the stuttering is occurring to see whether a specific driver is causing excessive DPC/interrupt latency. That may help identify whether EAC itself or another kernel-level driver is involved. Microsoft has also documented previous compatibility issues involving certain Easy Anti-Cheat driver versions and Windows.
endeictic 20 Reputation points

2026-08-17T15:18:17.48+00:00

DPC results after 3min 30sec:

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 2878.750

Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: nvlddmkm.sys - NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 596.49 , NVIDIA Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 3.441055

Driver with highest DPC total execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 3.706037

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 7541594

DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0

DPC count (execution time 500-10000 µs): 35

DPC count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 0

DPC count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 4

DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0
endeictic 20 Reputation points

2026-08-17T16:44:56.2533333+00:00

alright, it seems it is fixed. thank you, much appreciated.
Alex-L 12,560 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-18T14:25:37.6233333+00:00

Hi endeictic

First of all, thank you so much for taking your time trying my suggestions and I'm glad that the issue has been resolved. If you found my answer helpful, please feel free to mark it as "Accepted Answer" - this will help other members from the community that are facing the same issue get the much needed solution.

Once again, thank you for your time and I hope you have a great day!

Answer 1

endeictic 20

Ok, i ran it again with the EAC game open, same 3min 30sec and it stated

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 4575.10

Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: ndis.sys - Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS), Microsoft Corporation

with a fix being disable WLAN adapter. So I turned off the wifi on my pc so only ethernet is enabled and working, then the stutters happening prior, instantly stopped. For now its working but i'll run some restarts and relaunches to see if it starts again.

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