System Stutter - Graphics System Controller Firmware Interface is being reset - GSCx64

[passage2308]

It happens on a A530M dGPU laptop using Intel uhd iGPU. 
It happens in hybrid mode (igpu and dgpu are both on).
The stutter issue reoccurs when opening the Steam application.

It happens at other times too, but it's hard to know why. When the system stutters I look at the event viewer and see GSCx64.

"The Intel(R) Graphics System Controller Firmware Interface is being reset.

- <Event xmlns="http ://schemas.microsoft. com/win/2004/08/events/event">

- <System>

  <Provider Name="GSCx64" />

  <EventID Qualifiers="32775">1</EventID>

  <Version>0</Version>

  <Level>3</Level>

  <Task>0</Task>

  <Opcode>0</Opcode>

  <Keywords>0x80000000000000</Keywords>

  <TimeCreated SystemTime="2025-07-10T11:14:09.1767789Z" />

  <EventRecordID>28939</EventRecordID>

  <Correlation />

  <Execution ProcessID="4" ThreadID="9084" />

  <Channel>System</Channel>

  <Computer>DESKTOP-**bleep**</Computer>

  <Security />

  </System>

- <EventData>

  <Data />

  <Binary>00000000010000000000000001000780000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000</Binary>

  </EventData>

  </Event> "

*What didn't work?

-OEM provided drivers.

-DDU and OEM provided drivers.

-DDU and newest drivers.

[RandyT_Intel]

Hi @passage2308,

Thank you for posting here in our community. To effectively diagnose and address the issue you're experiencing, I kindly ask you to provide detailed responses to the following questions. This information will help us isolate the problem and determine the most appropriate course of action.  

• Please provide the SSU log report and share it here so I can review your system's configuration. 
• When did the issue first occur? 
• Have you made any software or hardware changes to the system recently? What version of Steam are you running?
• Are there any other applications running concurrently with Steam that might be resource-intensive?
• Have you noticed if the stuttering occurs with other applications or games, or is it specific to Steam?
• Have you tried disabling hybrid mode to see if the issue persists when using only the dGPU or iGPU?
• Are there any background processes that seem to increase in activity during the stuttering?
• Is your laptop connected to the internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet when the stuttering occurs? Does changing the connection type have any effect?
• Have you checked for any overheating issues or hardware malfunctions, such as faulty RAM or storage?
• Is there any physical damage or wear on the laptop that might affect performance?
• Have you tried reinstalling Steam or performing a clean boot to isolate the issue?

Please note that this is an OEM device, so we will try to assist you with general troubleshooting steps. However, if the issue persists, you will have to contact the Original Equipment Manufacturer of your device. Your device manufacturer may have altered features, incorporated customizations, or made other changes to some components for better compatibility with your system.

I look forward to your response and am committed to resolving your issue promptly. 

Warm regards,  

Randy T.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[RandyT_Intel]

Hi @passage2308,

Just checking in on my previous message regarding your inquiry. Have you had a chance to review it? If you need more information or have any questions, feel free to reach out. I'm here to help!

Regards,  

Randy T.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[passage2308]

*SSU Log attached. 

*When did the issue first occur?

I don't know. When the system experienced momentary hangs, it was seen in the event viewer that this error occurred at the same time.

*Have you made any software or hardware changes to the system recently? What version of Steam are you running?

When I first got the laptop, I upgraded the ram to 32GB. No software changes. Steam is always updated to the latest version automatically.

*Are there any other applications running concurrently with Steam that might be resource-intensive? 

Only Edge Browser.

*Have you noticed if the stuttering occurs with other applications or games, or is it specific to Steam?

Yes. Even just when opening the task manager, sometimes the screen may go black and freeze may occur. When checked, gscx64 warning is seen in event viewer. Rarely, even when rewinding a YouTube video, the momentary lag and the problem appears in the event viewer.

*Have you tried disabling hybrid mode to see if the issue persists when using only the dGPU or iGPU?

The problem does not occur when using only the dGPU or iGPU. However, in hybrid “auto” mode, when the computer wakes from sleep without the power cable connected, the dGPU is disabled to save power, which may cause a brief stutter and a gscx64 notification in the Event Viewer.

*Are there any background processes that seem to increase in activity during the stuttering?

Yes, werfault.exe

*Is your laptop connected to the internet via Wi-Fi or Ethernet when the stuttering occurs? Does changing the connection type have any effect?

I use both. In both cases, the problem persists.

*Have you checked for any overheating issues or hardware malfunctions, such as faulty RAM or storage?

No i didn't. But I have another laptop that is exactly the same and it has the same problem. 

*Is there any physical damage or wear on the laptop that might affect performance?

The laptop has not sustained any damage under my supervision. It is in good cosmetic condition.

*Have you tried reinstalling Steam or performing a clean boot to isolate the issue?

No. The problem wasn't specific to Steam anyway. Yes, but unfortunately it is not possible to create the same problem constantly with Steam.

Yes, this is an OEM device, but the error message is related to the Intel driver.  I also read that there are a730m devices that have this problem.

It could be Intel, Lenovo, or Windows. Maybe both. 

good luck!

[RandyT_Intel]

Hi @passage2308,

The error message may indicate a temporary issue or instability in the graphics subsystem. It’s often not seen in earlier Windows builds (like 22H2 or 23H2), which suggests a possible compatibility issue with newer updates or drivers.

Here are a few suggestions:

• Roll back to a previous stable Windows version if the issue began after an update.
• Temporarily disable either the iGPU or dGPU to test system stability.
• If the issue continues, consider a system restore or OS reinstall to rule out software conflicts.

I reviewed the SSU logs and confirmed that all updates have been applied. This could point to a conflict between the OS and drivers possibly related to compatibility or handshake issues with the latest build.

Let me know how it goes. I look forward to your update.

Regards,

Randy t.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[RandyT_Intel]

Hi @passage2308,

Just checking in were you able to try the steps I previously provided?

Regards,

Randy t.

Intel Customer Support Technician

[passage2308]

Hi Randy,

           Roll back to a previous stable Windows version if the issue began after an update.

It is not possible for me to try this without disrupting my work. I'll try to do it at a convenient time.

           Temporarily disable either the iGPU or dGPU to test system stability.

Yes, doing this works. It requires restarting your computer, and adjusting these options based on what you're doing creates unnecessary hassle. I would prefer to use hybrid mode.

           If the issue continues, consider a system restore or OS reinstall to rule out software conflicts.

I reinstalled the OS before, but it did not solve the problem. 

Something strange happened today. In hybrid mode, the screen started to glitch for a few seconds. The image was torn and shaken. The gscx64 warning occurred again. 

[passage2308]

Today, the same problem occurred on my friend's computer while using Solidworks. While he was working on the program, the screen went black, and the laptop restarted. At that very moment we see that the gscx64 error occurs. 

We see many gscx64 errors in the event viewer, sometimes even 10 in a chain within the same seconds.

We put the laptop in dgpu mode, but dgpu mode means more power consumption and higher temperatures, so we don't want to use it in this mode for a long time. When using dGpu mode, compared to Hybrid mode, even when the graphics card is idle, it becomes 55 celcius instead of 40 celcius.

There is good news too. With the new cyberpunk 2.3 update and xess frame generation the a530m performs on par with the rtx 3060 which is incredible. (Crowd level and texture quality have to be low due to 4gb vram) But xess frame generation does not work in hybrid mode and only works in dgpu mode. I realized something was wrong as the smoothness of the image did not match compared to the reported fps and so I tried the dgpu mode and voila. This situation actually shows how many problems there are still in the drivers. Intel graphics cards still don't work properly right out of the box without tinkering. These are things that an average home user wouldn't bother with; they might not even realize that frame generation isn't working in hybrid mode. 

Maybe you guys in Intel really need to get your hands on a mobile Intel dGPU laptop and do some optimization.

good luck!

[RandyT_Intel]

Hi @passage2308,

Thank you for your response. Please allow me some time to further investigate this issue. I’ll check internally to see if we can identify an alternative solution for this system concern. I’ll provide an update here as soon as I have more findings.

Regards,  

Randy T.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[passage2308]

Thank you, Randy, for your patience in trying to resolve the issue. I'll wait to hear from you.

I accidentally accepted your answer as the solution. I hope it's possible to fix this. (Okay, luckily, I found the way to reverse this.)

By the way, today I created a Windows 11 installation USB with the Windows media creation tool and reinstalled the system and the problem was not solved. 

I'm aware that there are still very few laptops with Intel Arc Discrete graphics cards, so I understand that these issues are currently occurring. I believe these issues will be resolved as they become more widespread. If you need any further information to resolve the issue, please feel free to ask.

Good luck!

If I disabled gscx64 in Device Manager, will that do any harm? I tried it and didn't feel any difference. However, I'm not sure about disabling this driver as I don't know what it manages.

[RandyT_Intel]

Hi @passage2308,

Thank you for your continued patience.

I’ve tested the latest graphics driver version 32.0.101.6989 and was unable to reproduce the issue. I recommend updating your system to this driver version and checking if the problem persists.

To help me further isolate the issue, could you please provide the following:

• An updated Event Viewer log showing the error, including the timestamp of when the issue occurred.
• The exact brand and model of your laptop, if not already shared. This information is important for identifying any device-specific factors that may be contributing to the graphics reset issue.

Looking forward to your response so I can continue investigating.

Regards,  

Randy T.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[passage2308]

Hi Randy, 

I'm on 6989 too.

It's normal that you were unable to reproduce the issue. It's probably device specific. I have two of the same laptop and they both have the same problem. 

The problem occurs in hybrid mode. Which means: dGPU and iGPU is enabled. 

The problem does not occur in "dgpu or igpu ALONE" mode.

My device is: Lenovo LOQ 15IAX9I 

Which is the only laptop model in the world that uses the A530M.

You have very few laptops with dgpu, these are all:

A530M:

Lenovo LOQ 15IAX9I

A730M:

Medion Erazer Major X10

A370M:

Dell XPS 15 9530
Lenovo Yoga 7 16IAH7
Asus ZenBook Pro 15 Flip UP6502ZD
HP Spectre x360 16-f1180ng
Acer Swift X SFX16-52G-77RX
Asus ZenBook Flip 15 Q539ZD

A350M:

Samsung Galaxy Book2 15
Asus VivoBook S15 OLED K5504

[RandyT_Intel]

Hi @passage2308,

There are instances where the GSCx64 issue does not appear even when using hybrid GPU mode, but these cases are inconsistent and depend heavily on factors such as system configuration, driver versions, and workload type. In certain low-power or non-intensive tasks like video encoding or background processing hybrid mode may function without triggering the issue. However, this behavior is not guaranteed.

While it's technically possible to run hybrid mode without encountering the GSCx64 issue, the setup is not reliably stable across all systems. If you're comfortable configuring how your system uses the integrated (iGPU) and discrete (dGPU) graphics, you might consider following a guide that helps you customize GPU usage per application. This approach doesn't disable hybrid mode but rather optimizes hardware utilization based on the software you're running whether it's resource-intensive or lightweight.

Simplified steps:

Configure Graphics Preferences per App:

• Go to Settings > System > Display > Graphics.
• Add each application (e.g., games, editing software) and set “High Performance” to use the Intel Arc GPU 
• This allows hybrid mode to offload lighter tasks to the iGPU and heavier ones to the Arc GPU.

Looking forward to your response.

Regards,  

Randy T.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[passage2308]

Hi Randy,

I tried this method before and it didn't solve the problem. Is there any specific application I should choose?

The fact that you mentioned this made me think that the problem might be related to the mux switch? Can it be solved with driver support? For example, on Nvidia, it is possible to switch between graphics cards without restarting the computer; this option is available in the driver application.

Do you have devices with my configuration? Will you take steps to resolve the issue, or do you consider it a harmless issue? Please let me know. I'm guessing you're prioritizing the desktop market, and frankly, I'm not very hopeful. 

As I stated before, it causes micro stutters, rarely crashes and other quality of life problems. 

[RandyT_Intel]

Hi @passage2308,

Unfortunately, the only method currently available from our end is the one I previously shared, which involves configuring the default GPU through the Windows system settings. To set a specific GPU for your application or game, you need to associate it manually so the system knows which GPU to use. By default, this is set to "Let Windows decide." However, I understand you’ve already tried this and it didn’t resolve the issue.

Regarding the third-party GPU software you mentioned. I'm surprised to hear it allows switching GPUs without requiring a system reboot. That suggests a more advanced driver integration on their part. May I ask if you’ve personally tried that method? If so, did it resolve the issue you were encountering?

If that approach worked, I’d be happy to coordinate this internally as feedback for potential future driver improvements. Previously, similar functionality was available in the Intel Graphics Command Center, which has since been discontinued.

Also, we were able to replicate the issue using a similar setup and graphics card, although not identical to your laptop brand. This leads me to believe the issue may be related to hardware compatibility or system configuration that needs attention from OEM.

Please allow me some time to confirm this internally. I’ll follow up with a final update once I have more information. Thank you for your continued patience.

Regards,  

Randy T.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[passage2308]

*May I ask if you’ve personally tried that method? If so, did it resolve the issue you were encountering?

No, my laptop has Intel igpu and dgpu. It's driver software and user interface is Intel. That feature i told you about is on nvidia. But if you had this similar feature before, it would be nice if you bring it back. Even though it wouldn't fix the problem(?), I wouldn't have to restart to switch between high performance and power saving gpus. 

Even if Intel suspects the root cause lies with the OEM (the laptop manufacturer), it’s still your responsibility to communicate the findings upstream. Intel has direct technical channels with OEMs, unlike me as an end user. Passing the responsibility to me would mean I’d have to explain a low-level bug to an OEM support agent who may not understand the nuance or even have the right escalation route.

So, while fixing it might be the OEM’s job, reporting it and helping the OEM reproduce and understand it is absolutely within Intel’s responsibility.

If there is anything I can help with, I look forward to hearing from you.

[RandyT_Intel]

Hi @passage2308,

The implementation of a MUX (Multiplexer) Switch in laptops is a strategic decision that rests with each individual laptop manufacturer. A MUX Switch is a hardware component that allows a laptop to dynamically switch between integrated and discrete graphics, providing users with the flexibility to optimize performance or battery life based on their needs.

While Intel is committed to providing exceptional support and resources for its products, it is important to understand the distinct roles and responsibilities within the technology ecosystem. Intel, focuses on designing and manufacturing processors and related technologies that power a wide range of devices, including laptops through the NUC laptop series. However, the relationship between Intel and laptop manufacturers is primarily business-to-business, centered around the integration of Intel's technologies into the manufacturers' products.

To provide a focused approached in addressing the stuttering issue, it is best that you contact your manufacturer directly to address the Graphics System Controller Firmware Interface is being reset by the system.

• Based on investigation and reproduction - the issue can't be reproduced despite our multiple attempts to use the following drivers:
  • 32.0.101.6989 (Latest)
  • 32.0.101.6987 WHQL Certified
  • 32.0.101.6972
  • 32.0.101.6913 WHQL Certified
  • 32.0.101.6881 WHQL Certified

To ease your experience in contacting your laptop manufacturer, please share this public community thread so they can continue their investigation on the issue with Hybrid mode.

Regards,  

Randy T.  

Intel Customer Support Technician  

[passage2308]

Hi Randy,

Thanks for explaining those technical terms like mux switch and limits of the intel's responsibility. 

However, you told me before you could reproduce the problem in the similar products and Intel did not release a new driver since then, so the issue must be still reproduceable. 

Are we 100% clear that the problem is not caused by Intel? The fact that you were able to reproduce the same problem in other brands makes me think it could be a broader issue rather than OEM specific. It feels unusual that Intel is not acknowledging any responsibility in this matter.

I reached out to Lenovo as well, but unfortunately, they appear to be just as uninformed on the issue as Intel.
LOQ-15IAX9I-Hybrid-Mode-Stutters-problem-intel-GSCx64 - English Community - LENOVO COMMUNITY

I also submitted a ticket to Lenovo support and shared both forum threads where I explained the problem.