FFXIV in game fps stutter
So for the past 1-2 months (can't remember exactly how long it's been it's all a maddening blur) I've been having issues with what I call a fps tick in the game. Basically when panning camera or moving and having background pan along I will get a random fps stutter that feels like a double rendered frame. When changing some settings the "tick" will be more or less severe at times. And recently I've gotten pretty close to seeing what is happening but haven't determined the cause.
With frame rate set to 1/1 and monitor hz at 120 (native 165 but rarely get that high) I notice a fps difference in the settings display. When I'm active in the game this displays 118 at it's highest, when I'm inactive out of the game it displays 119-120. This seems to cause an fps double render in order to get this 119th or 120th frame whatever it is. I play on controller so I'm able to freely move around whether or not the window is active or inactive. When inactive and the display reading 119 fps the tick is not present, when active in the window and display reads 118 fps the tick is there. Sometimes I opt to play inactive and just make due with gsync not working correctly.
Recently when I tried setting frame rate to none it would still be 118 in game but climb higher when inactive. When monitor is set higher to 165hz it will go higher than 118 when in game, and it'll also do the same tick if fps gets high enough to cap in an inn or some solo instance etc. 60hz doesn't show it in the display settings but I still see the tick on screen. Those 3 options are the only settings I have on my 1440p monitor. I use a 1080p monitor with similar hz settings on the side and have tried moving the game over there but it's the same issue, active in game 118, inactive 119; I don't think it's the monitors for this reason.
I've tried numerous settings to troubleshoot, gsync on/off, vsync on/off, power management settings, full screen is better but doesn't completely eliminate the issue and I want to run the game in borderless for alt tab ease as well as some overlays I like to use not working in fullscreen. I've ran virus/malware/disk cleaning scans, I've reinstalled the game, even done a full os reinstall, which was very saddening to see it didn't fix the issue at all. I've changed gpu scheduling settings, gamebar settings, hardware acceleration for other apps and browsers, replaced DP cables for monitors, just about anything you can think of for general troubleshooting I've tried. I'm convinced it's in the game, but friends I mention it to say they don't have it, so makes me think it's client side somehow. I have tried riva tuner to lock at 118 but it made my game artifacty and didn't seem to work right so I stopped using it. The list goes on for general troubleshoot and performance increasing settings. The game runs fine outside of a few visual/audio lag since the new expansion dropped, I assume just bugs with patch as others have had similar lag spikes.
I've hired 1 tech to come look at the computer he didn't seem to help much or know much about gaming, basically a waste of time and money. I've chatted with friends and relatives somewhat savvy with computers, shown videos to other players, sometimes it's hard to capture since it's an fps issue and phone locks at 60hz but I have captured it on video. I've been talking to another tech over the phone and wanting to setup a remote access view, this one seems much more knowledgeable about games but a bit more expensive. He insists it's something in the game, and to try fullscreen, which I admit does help, but as mentioned previously I don't want to run in fullscreen since I get blackscreen problems when alt tabbing or clicking back into game and my overlays don't work in fullscreen. There are plenty of people I know that play this game in borderless windowed and claim to not get the ticks I've shown them.
I have noticed some server lag as well, but that's common with new content and I can tell the difference there, plus this has happened for months leading up to the expansion. It's been very saddening to try to muster through the new expansion getting further and further behind from friends already working on the extremes and I'm still at 85 msq. I love this game and its community and I just want to be rid of this tick, but not sure if this is something in the game or hardware etc. I can post my config stats in a later reply if that helps. But I'm quite desperate at this point since this game is just about all I play and I love it dearly.