Cycling ping leading to FPS drops

[HelloItsOnyx]

I am unsure as to what is causing this issue...

Useful specs:

CPU - i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6 cores enabled

GPU - Nvidia GeForce GTX 980

RAM - 48GB DDR4

Mouse polling rate - 500 (can be set to 1000)

ISP and internet speed test results - Comcast Xfinity 110mbps/20mbps DL/UL

All drivers are current/up to date, as well as Windows updates current/up to date for feature update 21H1. I do not lag in any game other than Apex Legends. FPS will cycle between 30 and 90, sometimes barely over 100 (my FPS prior to this was a consistent 144, same as monitor refresh rate), correlating with ping swings from 25 (my regular) up to 90 as soon as I get into the game lobby (after main menu loading screen, prior to entering any version of the game itself as well as while in said games). I have seen all 3 of the red indicators as far as the game acknowledging potential causes, but MAINLY see the one I believe is linked to ethernet connectivity issues (looks like two wires and a break between them, ish?).

I'm pretty stumped. I've tried putting optimized video settings for my specs, V-sync on and off, resetting Windows, uninstalling/reinstalling Apex Legends itself, Origin and Steam, only having Steam or Origin installed one at a time and both at the same time, disabling game mode, allowing Apex Legends through my firewall and disabling the firewall entirely, changing mouse polling rate, disabling full screen optimizations, and changing my DNS.

The weird thing about this is that sometimes when I would reset Windows the game would work fine for about a day, and with automatic updates to my PC disabled and verifying that nothing else was installed without my knowledge, the issue would come back. This has been ongoing since last split, about a month and a half now total. No clue what is going on. PLEASE help. Thanks in advance!

[EA_Kent]

Hi @HelloItsOnyx, 

Can you share a DxDiag when you've got the chance? You can find more details on how to pull one up at the EA Help website. Once you have the text file please attach it to this thread. Thanks!

/Kent

[HelloItsOnyx]

Attached is a text document for a dxdiag performed this morning, 2JUL2021 at 0729. Thanks again for your help.

[EA_Kent]

@HelloItsOnyx 

Thank you!

Looking through the DxDiag I noticed that your PC is using a Killer network card. Have you checked to make sure you have the most recent version of the Killer Network drivers installed? You can find more details on how to install them at the Intel support website. 

Let me know if you're still having any trouble after installing them. Thanks!

/Kent

[HelloItsOnyx]

My drivers are all up to date. Just double-checked at their website as well. Notta.

[EA_Kent]

@HelloItsOnyx 

Thanks for checking!

What happens if you start your PC in a Clean Boot before launching Apex Legends? If there's anything else running that could be causing this that may help get around it. You can find more information on how to set up a Clean Boot at the EA Help website. 

Let me know how that goes once you're able to give it a shot. Thanks!

/Kent

[HelloItsOnyx]

I'm not sure what happened, but I'm not longer experiencing the stuttering. The only changes that I've seen have been Windows security/intelligence updates going through. I guess that works? Well, thanks for your help.

[HelloItsOnyx]

Well, just kidding I guess. Logged in and played just fine for a couple hours today just fine - now it is back. No new updates...

I tried a clean reboot and it's still horrendous. I spoke too soon.

[EA_Kent]

@HelloItsOnyx, 

Thanks for following up and letting me know. 

Are you still seeing the same issues with your ping spiking? 

/Kent