Hello, first up, some details to my pc; running win 10 64bit 980 Ti Sc 16GB RAM MSI Z170M Mortar Mainboard i7 6700k CPU For audio hardware; using a 2.1 stereo system and a Razor KaveXTD 5.1 headset/mic Since quite some time, I have had an issue with the audio on my PC. At first, I thought it was an issue with my fairly new headset, that's why I contacted the manufacturer for support, but they couldn't help me any further even after explaining every detail and doing adjustment to my audio settings in windows as well as the headset's software. Just today it came to my mind that the issue actually might not even be with the headset. Since I started hearing it through my 2.1 Stereo as well now. Because before I was only able to hear it through my 5.1 headset, since it has much better audio quality. For some clarification, this issue ONLY happens when I play video games. It NEVER happens when I listen to music or watch videos. Firstly I recorded an off-screen video with my phone, holding the mic of it into the headset to capture the audio issue. Today I captured a gameplay video with a recording software, thinking that if the issue actually is NOT with the headset, I should be able to hear it even in the captured video, and I did. The issue is that the audio sounds crackling, or as if you'd listen to a CD in a CD player, and the CD had a scratch or so, and it skips audio. This does not happen constantly, I can play fine for an hour or 30 minutes, then the issues appear and stays there for 30 minutes, and disappears again. After that, it might come back after an hour or two, but maybe only for a few minutes, and disappears again. Sometimes the issue is really strong and intense, other times it is more subtle. It is really strange and sporadic. Also, I doubt the issue is with the PC soundcard since the headset has its own soundcard. And since I hear the issue though both, my stereo and the headset, It would literally have to be an issue with both then. I will link the video here underneath to whoever wants to hear can do so. The video starts off with a short off-screen clip, you can hear my buddy talk, even his voice is affected by the issue. We talk through a software called Discord. But Discord is not the issue, I have already closed the software while the audio issue was happening, went back into the game, and it was still present. So Discord is not the issue. The second clip is the in-game video captured with Nvidia Experience, it is more subtle in that case, but still noticeable. I have no clue how to fix this or what it could be. So if anyone has an idea, I would be very thankful. Because it really bothers me. Especially after having bought such an expensive headset, and not being able to enjoy it. Thanks. youtube. com/GYGI8xsXiUw
You can use LatencyMon (http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon) to spy after your rig, and may be it would help to see a culprit (for example some driver). Are you sure your OS (and hardware) is not overwhelmed with mega amount of processes (like browser with 1K tabs), or a heavy ones?
Hi! I am not sure if I am supposed to run this software while the issue occurs, or just run it in general? Anyway, I ran the software and took some screenshots. I use MSI live update 6 to check my drivers, and all my drivers are up to date. Usually i close all programs while gaming, occasionally Chrome is open, but never more than 4 tabs. I took screenshots for that as well. 68.media.tumblr. com/ebc057b7de2c19058180f4f4ce604759/tumblr_ok4uayWIpK1t5zptdo1_1280.png 68.media.tumblr. com/43108fde286286d8594ce8a538dbc6f7/tumblr_ok4uc1VKlx1t5zptdo1_1280.png 68.media.tumblr. com/e81f64cfdcaeda73fe0b710515808150/tumblr_ok4ud285Xh1t5zptdo1_1280.png 68.media.tumblr. com/9cc727fe758f7146de22fffbd018fc0b/tumblr_ok4ud7a00n1t5zptdo1_1280.png
Keep the program running as long as it needs for the stutters to appear, if they happen then LatencyMon can tell you without a doubt whats causing it.
Alright, thanks! I will report back once I have had the chance go get results. Since the issue is so sporadic, and I don't always have time for extensive testing. But I will get to it as soon as possible.
Okay, I have let the program run for several hours now. And it reported an issue. Although I didn't really notice the issue as usually. (Probably because I have been playing with my 2.1 stereo where I don't hear the audio break- ups as well as with the headset.) I will paste the results here. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CONCLUSION _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Your system seems to be having difficulty handling real-time audio and other tasks. You may experience drop outs, clicks or pops due to buffer underruns. One or more DPC routines that belong to a driver running in your system appear to be executing for too long. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates. LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 3:10:59 (h:mm:ss) on all processors. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ SYSTEM INFORMATION _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Computer name: NORTHS-PC OS version: Windows 10 , 10.0, build: 14393 (x64) Hardware: MS-7972, MSI, Z170M MORTAR (MS-7972) CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700K CPU @ 4.00GHz Logical processors: 8 Processor groups: 1 RAM: 16346 MB total _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU SPEED _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Reported CPU speed: 4008 MHz Measured CPU speed: 1 MHz (approx.) Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results. WARNING: the CPU speed that was measured is only a fraction of the CPU speed reported. Your CPUs may be throttled back due to variable speed settings and thermal issues. It is suggested that you run a utility which reports your actual CPU frequency and temperature. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event. Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 1289,709736 Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 3,306603 Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1288,176801 Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 0,800099 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ REPORTED ISRs _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal. Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 123,998004 Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0,150689 Driver with highest ISR total time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0,161707 ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 26997687 ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0 ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs): 0 ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0 ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0 ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ REPORTED DPCs _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution. Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 1340,839321 Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: nvlddmkm.sys - NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 376.33 , NVIDIA Corporation Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0,090602 Driver with highest DPC total execution time: nvlddmkm.sys - NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 376.33 , NVIDIA Corporation Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0,214373 DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 68443720 DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0 DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs): 16 DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 50 DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0 DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution. NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit. Process with highest pagefault count: nvcontainer.exe Total number of hard pagefaults 7354 Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 2981 Highest hard pagefault resolution time (µs): 50257,062874 Total time spent in hard pagefaults (%): 0,024688 Number of processes hit: 24 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PER CPU DATA _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 668,297087 CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 123,998004 CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 148,126992 CPU 0 ISR count: 26940383 CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 1340,839321 CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 179,705520 CPU 0 DPC count: 62917838 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 351,206790 CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 82,099052 CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0,118997 CPU 1 ISR count: 57302 CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 146,637725 CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 2,317380 CPU 1 DPC count: 402634 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 292,310903 CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 1,570359 CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0,000002 CPU 2 ISR count: 2 CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 207,689870 CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 2,253879 CPU 2 DPC count: 753753 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 341,308862 CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 3 ISR count: 0 CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 128,002495 CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 1,407551 CPU 3 DPC count: 442491 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 194,694044 CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 4 ISR count: 0 CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs): 174,835828 CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 3,363088 CPU 4 DPC count: 1193579 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 260,502346 CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 5 ISR count: 0 CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs): 121,246257 CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 1,300567 CPU 5 DPC count: 438891 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s): 186,347737 CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 6 ISR count: 0 CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs): 192,392715 CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s): 4,824677 CPU 6 DPC count: 1855042 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s): 236,185186 CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 7 ISR count: 0 CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs): 149,626497 CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s): 1,355281 CPU 7 DPC count: 439558 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I see no criminal there. ISR times are good, DPC times are less good but still normal. 50 ms for a hard page fault resolution is normal too.
Hi NorthFront, had a similar issue on my board and after much trial and error, disabled Realtek through device manager. I wasn't using it but it caused no end of dropouts, click, pops, etc. High memory usage was also a symptom of the problem. Now use Nvidia HD audio driver (default) and all is good... ..let us know if that helped..
Sorry for the late reply. I was actually trying to get proper results this time. Because last time the issue didn't occur, but since the software reported that my system is not ready for real time audio, I thought that would be enough regardless. I was playing for two hours and the audio problem started big time. I have another report copied if that might help and someone may look through it? In case that could help narrow the issue down. Regardless I will try to uninstall/deactivate Realtek HD audio drivers. Thanks! _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CONCLUSION _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Your system seems to be having difficulty handling real-time audio and other tasks. You may experience drop outs, clicks or pops due to buffer underruns. One or more DPC routines that belong to a driver running in your system appear to be executing for too long. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates. LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 2:18:28 (h:mm:ss) on all processors. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ SYSTEM INFORMATION _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Computer name: NORTHS-PC OS version: Windows 10 , 10.0, build: 14393 (x64) Hardware: MS-7972, MSI, Z170M MORTAR (MS-7972) CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700K CPU @ 4.00GHz Logical processors: 8 Processor groups: 1 RAM: 16346 MB total _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU SPEED _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Reported CPU speed: 4008 MHz Measured CPU speed: 1 MHz (approx.) Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results. WARNING: the CPU speed that was measured is only a fraction of the CPU speed reported. Your CPUs may be throttled back due to variable speed settings and thermal issues. It is suggested that you run a utility which reports your actual CPU frequency and temperature. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event. Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 1282,042438 Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 2,790264 Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1257,515520 Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 0,945847 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ REPORTED ISRs _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal. Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 119,208832 Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0,234945 Driver with highest ISR total time: dxgkrnl.sys - DirectX Graphics Kernel, Microsoft Corporation Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0,249649 ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 33002104 ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0 ISR count (execution time 500-999 µs): 0 ISR count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 0 ISR count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0 ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ REPORTED DPCs _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution. Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 1298,653693 Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: nvlddmkm.sys - NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver, Version 376.33 , NVIDIA Corporation Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0,218161 Driver with highest DPC total execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernelmodustreiber-Frameworklaufzeit, Microsoft Corporation Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0,523875 DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 67502776 DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0 DPC count (execution time 500-999 µs): 27 DPC count (execution time 1000-1999 µs): 24 DPC count (execution time 2000-3999 µs): 0 DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution. NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit. Process with highest pagefault count: beservice.exe Total number of hard pagefaults 21382 Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 9985 Highest hard pagefault resolution time (µs): 65497,731038 Total time spent in hard pagefaults (%): 0,003862 Number of processes hit: 35 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ PER CPU DATA _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 478,546016 CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 119,208832 CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 153,291324 CPU 0 ISR count: 28481131 CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 1298,653693 CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 208,976226 CPU 0 DPC count: 55896691 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 224,330868 CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 118,271208 CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 12,639608 CPU 1 ISR count: 4520950 CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 174,370010 CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 118,766305 CPU 1 DPC count: 6048397 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 65,711998 CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 3,250499 CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0,000020 CPU 2 ISR count: 23 CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 182,243014 CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 3,230046 CPU 2 DPC count: 809366 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 87,919302 CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 3 ISR count: 0 CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 121,818363 CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 1,944104 CPU 3 DPC count: 749835 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 86,472778 CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 4 ISR count: 0 CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs): 197,678144 CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 4,612107 CPU 4 DPC count: 1435970 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 92,792263 CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 5 ISR count: 0 CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs): 149,299651 CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 1,446799 CPU 5 DPC count: 543387 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s): 85,435172 CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 6 ISR count: 0 CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs): 158,255988 CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s): 6,752550 CPU 6 DPC count: 1458691 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s): 91,682333 CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0,0 CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s): 0,0 CPU 7 ISR count: 0 CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs): 171,196108 CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s): 2,468942 CPU 7 DPC count: 560490 _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
And again I see no bad data in report. May be problems are not in OS kernel where LatencyMon collects its data.
My two cents. Disable the Realtek on-board audio, in the BIOS and install a Creative Labs Sound Blaster Z sound card. Assuming you connect the headset to four 3.5mm (1/8") mini-jacks on the Realtek on-board audio (green, orange, black, pink). How do you have the 2.1 speakers connected to the PC?
Aren't Razor KaveXTD 5.1 headset/mic USB headsets? They don't bypass your soundcard right? Then it shouldn't have anything to do with soundcard. Can you test sound while watching 4k videos on Youtube? I am wondering if issue happens as GPU 3D clocks kicking in or CPU starts to heat up. As already might been mentioned, disable on-board sound on BIOS and make sure Nvidia doesn't affect your sound. (remove nvidia HDMI audio driver to be save)
Hello! So, I have disabled the onboard audio in the BIOS, which only left me with my headset as a capable audio source, but the problem was still continuing to be an issue, unfortunately. My headset is plugged in via USB only, in the back of my PC. And my 2.1 Stereo is connected via 3.5mm audio jack also in the back of my PC. I did watch a 6min 4K video on youtube in fullscreen. My sound was fine. CPU was around 50-60°C and GPU around 50°C.
Interesting. Maybe we could narrow down the problem. Have you tried to run games in window mode? "alt+enter" should work to switch mode. Does running CPU or GPU benchmark also cause sound to crack? (listen to music while running Prime95 / FurMark)
Hello, yes the problem does also exist in windowed mode. I have also tried FurMark, both in 1080p and 4k, with and without AA. No sound issues there. I have just gotten to to test the game.
The problem is because its a Creative product. JK JK I think.........Try different driver revisions and see if that stops the crackling. Use the onboard audio temporarily and see if you get crackle. If not, then its the SB card / drivers. gl