Audio Pops/Stuttering, Diagnostics included, Please help :'(

Discussion in 'Soundcards, Speakers HiFI & File formats' started by Luxangel7, Dec 20, 2014.

  1. Luxangel7

    Luxangel7 Guest

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    Hello everyone,


    I am new here but I really hope someone can grace me with a Christmas miracle and help me out.

    I am experiencing audio pops and crackling in everything I do with audio, games, movies, browsing, music, etc. and I'm at a loss on how to fix it.

    My Setup: (custom build)

    Windows 7 64 bit
    asrock x79 extreme9 mobo
    Intel i7 4820k 3.7 ghz (was oc'ing to 4.2 for the past month or so, no longer)
    16gb ram (tested, says it's ok)
    500gb ssd drive and 3 tb 10k speed hdd
    Nvidia GTX 780ti (not oc'd)
    Sound Blaster Z

    I've reinstalled audio drivers, nvidia drivers, and done all windows updates.

    I've run latency monitoring tests, and below are the two screenshots, from the standard test and from the in depth test.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]



    I have checked my power settings in the control panel and made sure I am not "cpu throttling" and before I venture into the uncomfortable land of BIOS updates I was hoping someone here could help.

    I'm not an expert, but from the "advanced" test, it seems one core is having really high latency, does that mean my processor is dying? :(

    Any kind soul out there who can help, I would really greatly appreciate it, thank you in advance.
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2014
  2. Luxangel7

    Luxangel7 Guest

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    my apologies to users, mods, admins etc. had to post 5 times to provide screenshots of the diagnostic latency tests I ran. I'm new and don't quite see how to delete a post I made, so mods please feel free to delete posts after the first one including this one, thank you.
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2014
  3. RagDoll_Effect

    RagDoll_Effect Ancient Guru

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    What are your temps? Does it seem to be seeking the HDD when it stutters?
    Does the visuals in games and stuff also stutter at the same time?

    regards
    ,RagDoll.
     
  4. Luxangel7

    Luxangel7 Guest

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    Hey Ragdoll,

    My temps are good, my graphics card is well within normal temps and my processor on idle averages at about 22-24 degrees celsius. Not sure what you mean exactly about the HDD but if you mean if it happens when I'm trying to access something on the hard drive, then no. It happens on it's own with no input from me.

    I do notice a very slight and very temporary increase in processor temp whenever I access a file or start a new program, but I think that's normal, no?

    No effect on visuals in game either.

    Thank you for answering my call for help btw.
     

  5. RagDoll_Effect

    RagDoll_Effect Ancient Guru

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    Ok, that narrows it down. Try another slot for the sound card, also try disabling on board sound, including hdmi. If that don't work, try a different soundcard or onboard sound. This will narrow it down directly to the soundcard...

    regards,
    Ragdoll.
     
  6. Pill Monster

    Pill Monster Banned

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    What Creative drivers are you using? Is onboard sound disabled?
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2014
  7. Luxangel7

    Luxangel7 Guest

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    I've moved my sound card from the PCI 1 slot to the PCI 16 slot furthest from the processor and gpu, as well as tried without it completely, and the problem persists.

    As for onboard sound, I am a bit at a loss for that, as I've disabled all audio devices in device manager, removed my sound card, and my motherboard technically doesn't come with onboard audio (mobo is asrock x79 extreme9) yet I am not only still able to plug in usb headphones and get sound ( I assume because they have their own mini sound card integrated in the headset) but I still get the audio problem.

    I am using creative sound blaster z drivers: SBZ_CD_L13_1_00_28

    and as I mentioned above I don't have onboard audio with my motherboard, and I checked my BIOS and I don't see an option to enable/disable it there either.

    Thank you for your help in troubleshooting this, both of you.
     
  8. RagDoll_Effect

    RagDoll_Effect Ancient Guru

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    You do have add on sound, check it here, soundcore 3D 7.1 channel.

    It should say it in the BIOS somewhere...

    http://www.asrock.com/mb/intel/x79 extreme9/

    edit: whoops didn't see that you already said that... Well, in that case, it's not the soundcard... Ok, what you should do is reset your BIOS, have everything standard, also try downclocking your ram even below spec...

    regards
    ,RagDoll.
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2014
  9. Luxangel7

    Luxangel7 Guest

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    Oh yeah I missed that in the manufacturer page, I still can't seem to find it in the device manager or the BIOS setup though, would you mind telling me how to disable the onboard audio if you can? I'm a bit stumped...

    And unfortunately while I'm not a noob, I'm not quite an expert either, instead of attempting to downclock the ram, could I just format my pc and do a clean install of windows? I haven't done so yet, because of the hassle, but unless you don't think that would solve anything I'm planning on backing up everything and wiping the hell out of everything...
     
  10. Pill Monster

    Pill Monster Banned

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    Are those def the right drivers? Do SBz and Soundcore3D use the same set?

    Could be a few things, drivers or maybe other hardware. I would uninstall everything one by one, including the GPU and NIC (network card).

    Update the bios too, it's easier than u think.

    Btw it's possible the card won't show in bios since it's an add on device.
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2014

  11. Luxangel7

    Luxangel7 Guest

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    ok thanks for the advice, so do you suggest I reformat or do you think that wouldn't change anything?
     
  12. Athlonite

    Athlonite Maha Guru

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    Page 81 of you manual say it's in the Advanced\South Bridge configeration screen

    check make sure onboard audio is set to off or disabled

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2014
  13. Luxangel7

    Luxangel7 Guest

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    Thank you Athlonite and everyone else for continuing to help me, it is always humbling to learn new things.

    I have successfully reset my BIOS but to no avail. I have disabled the onboard audio (thank you for pointing me in the right direction for that) but it has had no effect.

    I don't know if this matters but the clicking/popping/distortion only happens when certain sounds are played, and it is definitely something I can reproduce.

    For example, on a youtube video the sound of a clock ticking creates a pop and while playing Elite: Dangerous simply rotating my ship will cause pops or maintaining forward throttle will cause distortion.

    Has the moment come now to format my PC? Will that help? I am really looking for the "kill switch" to this issue so I can enjoy some nice games during this xmas vacation period....

    again, thx to everyone who is trying to help, it means a lot.
     
  14. Cap

    Cap Guest

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    I had similar problems but only in games, what i did was install drivers from sound blaster z cd 6.0.101.2020 newer drivers give me problems, did not try the SBZ_CD_L13_1_00_28 yet, and disable amd hd audio device in device manager. Perfect for me. Try it and in your case is nvidia hd audio device.
     
  15. Luxangel7

    Luxangel7 Guest

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    I don't know if this will work since I get this issue with USB headsets and no sound card installed, but I will try. I cannot find the driver version you spoke of though.

    Could you be so kind as to link me where I can dl it or maybe upload the version yourself? Thanks again.
     

  16. RagDoll_Effect

    RagDoll_Effect Ancient Guru

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    What speakers/headset are you using ?
     
  17. Luxangel7

    Luxangel7 Guest

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    I've tested with the following:

    Plantronics Gamecom 780
    Bose QC15
    Plantronics Stereo Wireless headset

    the problem is present on all listening devices I use, and I am really truly stumped because I have disabled onboard audio, reset BIOS, disabled all other audio devices and switched the sound card to another slot, among all the rest I've already posted here.

    The only strange thing I notice is that recently when I restart my PC it takes a long time for my internet connection to be "recognized" or w/e, and until that happens my entire PC just hangs. (nothing launches/opens etc)

    Could that be affecting my audio?

    And could someone kindly answer my question about formatting my PC? Should I do it?
     
  18. RagDoll_Effect

    RagDoll_Effect Ancient Guru

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    I doubt it, but you could try unplugging the internet altogether and everything else apart from graphics card and soundcard, including printers and everything...
     
  19. Luxangel7

    Luxangel7 Guest

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    I started up Elite Dangerous and set it so the distortion would keep going and removed every single device from my computer, no luck.

    Can I ask another question, apart from formatting my PC, which I will try in a bit, would flat out replacing the motherboard solve this issue? I don't care if it's brute force solution or going to cost me, I just want to fix this, I feel like my entire PC is messed up...

    Also, the in depth analysis screen shows that one of my cpu cores has a red latency value, could it be that the core is going bad/malfunctioning?

    In short, would replacing the cpu or the mobo fix this without troubleshooting every little possible thing hoping for a miracle? :(
     
    Last edited: Dec 21, 2014
  20. RagDoll_Effect

    RagDoll_Effect Ancient Guru

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    If you know how to install a cpu, I would reinstall the current one, with a good amount of Thermal Paste and make sure all the push pins are in properly on the intel HSF. Or, if your using a third party cooler, make sure it's properly installed...
     

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