My audio often crackles in games, but nowhere else

[phisad42]

They start crackling in few minutes, through speakers, earphones and headphones. This has only started happening recently.

I've tried reinstalling and uninstalling sound drivers and have noticed that I have two High Definition Audio Drivers within system devices in device manager. I've also tried quite a few things from these forums after I searched for 'crackling' and 'popping'...


1.) Right click sound icon, select sound settings. Turn off all enhancements for headphones, speakers and earphones. DID NOT WORK

2.) Limit fps to 60? WORKS IN SOME

3.) Before giving up, I would try opening Task Manager, selecting "details", find your audio program, right click on it, select "Set Priority" and try raising it particularly if below "Normal" DID NOT WORK

3) Go to the Advanced tab. Select from the drop-down box 16 bit, 44100 Hz (CD Quality). Then click Apply and OK to save the change. DID NOT WORK

4.) Set link management to off in power settings (I’d already done this but not on battery) DID NOT WORK



My laptop specs:

Chassis & Display	Recoil Series: 17" Matte QHD 240Hz sRGB 100% LED Widescreen (2560x1600)
Processor (CPU)	Intel® Core™ i9 24 Core Processor 13900HX (5.4GHz Turbo)
Memory (RAM)	64GB Corsair 4800MHz SODIMM DDR5 (2 x 32GB)
Graphics Card	NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 4090 - 16.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive	4TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
2nd M.2 SSD Drive	4TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
Memory Card Reader	Integrated SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor	1 x 330W AC Adaptor
Power Cable	1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery	Recoil Series Integrated 99WH Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste	LIQUID METAL PERFORMANCE COOLING
Sound Card	Nahimic by SteelSeries 2 Channel HD Audio
Bluetooth & Wireless	GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ Wi-Fi 6E AX1675i M.2 GAMING + BLUETOOTH 5.3
USB/Thunderbolt Options	1 x THUNDERBOLT 4 PORT + 3 x USB 3.2 PORTS
Keyboard Language	RECOIL 17 SERIES RGB BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD
Operating System	Windows 11 Professional 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [MUP-00005]
Operating System Language	United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media	Windows 11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software	Microsoft® Office Home & Student 2021 (1 Digital License)
Anti-Virus	Norton 360 For Gamers: 1 User, 3 Devices - 1 Year Subscription
Browser	Firefox™
Notebook Mouse	INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam	INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty	3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee	1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Insurance	Simplesurance Purchase Protection inc. Accidental Damage & Theft
Delivery	STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time	Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Welcome Book	PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland

 

[SpyderTracks]

Bump

 

[phisad42]

Just noticed this, after a bit more research, that using msinfo32 and looking at conflicts/sharing shows the following:

Memory Address 0x84300000-0x843FFFFF Intel(R) PCI Express Root Port #9 - 7A30
Memory Address 0x84300000-0x843FFFFF Standard NVM Express Controller

Memory Address 0x84200000-0x84203FFF Standard NVM Express Controller
Memory Address 0x84200000-0x84203FFF Intel(R) PCI Express Root Port #13 - 7A34

Memory Address 0x83000000-0x840FFFFF Intel(R) PCIe RC 010 G5 - A70D
Memory Address 0x83000000-0x840FFFFF NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU

Memory Address 0x84400000-0x8440FFFF Realtek Gaming 2.5GbE Family Controller
Memory Address 0x84400000-0x8440FFFF Intel(R) PCI Express Root Port #3 - 7A3A


Anything interesting? After all, if it only happens in games it suggests its a GFX problem?

 

[phisad42]

Tried a few more things:

• Disable the bottom high-definition audio driver (I have 2 of them and the bottom one, the one with hardly any events, I disabled) SEEMS TO WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For a while at least

• Right click sound icon, select sound settings. Turn off all enhancements for headphones, speakers and earphones. DID NOT WORK

• Limit fps to 60? WORKS IN SOME Resident Evil 7, for instance

Before giving up, I would try opening Task Manager, selecting "details", find your audio program, right click on it, select "Set Priority" and try raising it particularly if below "Normal" DID NOT WORK

3) Go to the Advanced tab. Select from the drop-down box 16 bit, 44100 Hz (CD Quality). Then click Apply and OK to save the change. DID NOT WORK

Set link management to off in power settings (I’d already done this but not on battery) DID NOT WORK

but I also really don't like having to remind myself not to ever use the sleep function on my PC or else reboot after waking up just so my audio doesn't have issues? DID NOT WORK

Made a little better, but did not fix the problem permanently: Changing the frequency of monitors from 144 and 75 Hz to 60 Hz DID NOT WORK

 

[SpyderTracks]

Tried a few more things:

• Disable the bottom high-definition audio driver (I have 2 of them and the bottom one, the one with hardly any events, I disabled) SEEMS TO WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For a while at least

• Right click sound icon, select sound settings. Turn off all enhancements for headphones, speakers and earphones. DID NOT WORK

• Limit fps to 60? WORKS IN SOME Resident Evil 7, for instance

Before giving up, I would try opening Task Manager, selecting "details", find your audio program, right click on it, select "Set Priority" and try raising it particularly if below "Normal" DID NOT WORK

3) Go to the Advanced tab. Select from the drop-down box 16 bit, 44100 Hz (CD Quality). Then click Apply and OK to save the change. DID NOT WORK

Set link management to off in power settings (I’d already done this but not on battery) DID NOT WORK

but I also really don't like having to remind myself not to ever use the sleep function on my PC or else reboot after waking up just so my audio doesn't have issues? DID NOT WORK

Made a little better, but did not fix the problem permanently: Changing the frequency of monitors from 144 and 75 Hz to 60 Hz DID NOT WORK

You’ve got a conflicting duplicate device I think and doesn’t look like the Realtek driver is installed.

Just delete both high def audio drivers, reboot, then install the Realtek driver from your account.

Have you reset windows, or clean installed at any point?

Also, have you still got Norton installed? That needs to be removed using their uninstaller, you can’t uninstall it through programs and features.

Also, are you plugging audio devices in through the case jack or motherboard or usb?

 

[phisad42]

I did as you said and deleted both and reinstalled, but they both installed themselves again. I tried to install the Reltek driver but I got this message towards the end of its install:

Install Realtek Audio Driver Failure!!

[Error code: -0001]

No driver supported in this driver package


In answer to your other question - "Have you reset windows, or clean installed at any point?" I did a repair once, but that's all.

"Also, have you still got Norton installed? That needs to be removed using their uninstaller, you can’t uninstall it through programs and features." I do have it installed but why would I uninstall it?

"Also, are you plugging audio devices in through the case jack or motherboard or usb?" I have earphones in the earphone socket. I also have a USB headset plugged into hub that's plugged into the laptop.

After I rebooted having unistalled both drivers I now have this in msinfo32:

IRQ 17 High Definition Audio Controller
IRQ 17 High Definition Audio Controller

Memory Address 0x84300000-0x843FFFFF Intel(R) PCI Express Root Port #9 - 7A30
Memory Address 0x84300000-0x843FFFFF Standard NVM Express Controller

Memory Address 0x84200000-0x84203FFF Standard NVM Express Controller
Memory Address 0x84200000-0x84203FFF Intel(R) PCI Express Root Port #13 - 7A34

Memory Address 0x83000000-0x840FFFFF Intel(R) PCIe RC 010 G5 - A70D
Memory Address 0x83000000-0x840FFFFF NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU

Memory Address 0x84400000-0x8440FFFF Realtek Gaming 2.5GbE Family Controller
Memory Address 0x84400000-0x8440FFFF Intel(R) PCI Express Root Port #3 - 7A3A

 

[Martinr36]

"Also, have you still got Norton installed? That needs to be removed using their uninstaller, you can’t uninstall it through programs and features." I do have it installed but why would I uninstall it?

because its nearly as bad a system hog and corrupter as what it supposedly is fighting, uninstall it and just use windows defender

 

[SpyderTracks]

I did as you said and deleted both and reinstalled, but they both installed themselves again. I tried to install the Reltek driver but I got this message towards the end of its install:

Sorry, not following, what do you mean when you say you reinstalled? Where did you source the realtek driver?

"Also, are you plugging audio devices in through the case jack or motherboard or usb?" I have earphones in the earphone socket. I also have a USB headset plugged into hub that's plugged into the laptop.

But which headphone socket? The case or the motherboard? What make and model headphones are they? Do they have an included mic?

The USB headset is likely using its own sound card so will be bypassing the system sound, so ignore that for testing.

 

[phisad42]

Sorry, not following, what do you mean when you say you reinstalled? Where did you source the realtek driver?



But which headphone socket? The case or the motherboard? What make and model headphones are they? Do they have an included mic?

The USB headset is likely using its own sound card so will be bypassing the system sound, so ignore that for testing.

Sorry, not following, what do you mean when you say you reinstalled? Where did you source the realtek driver?

I got the driver from PCS, but I tried many of them and always had that error, suffice to say I've now got it installed going by this:

-Press the Windows key + X
-Go to Device Manager
-Expand the Sound, video and game controller
-Look for Audio device High Definition Audio Bus
-Right-click and click "Update Driver"
-Look for "Browse my computer for driver"
-Click "Let me pick drivers available drivers on my computer"
-Choose an old driver or other name of driver then select it and hit next until it installs (in other words extract the RT drivers folder you downloaded to the desktop and keep trying until you find which folder within that folder it will pick up the driver from).

The audio went for 1hr 45 minutes before the crackles set it, so it's an improvement.

But which headphone socket? The case or the motherboard? What make and model headphones are they? Do they have an included mic?

Not sure I understand either! I only have one earphone socket on my laptop. My earphones are:

Yinyoo KZ ZS10 Pro Earphones 4BA 1DD Hybrid IEM, Hifi In Ear Headphones Earbuds 0.75mm 2 pin Cable, 1 Dynamic 4 Balanced Armature Driver KZ Headsets (Glare Gold, With mic)​

My headphones are (they do have a mic):

ABKONCORE CH60 Gaming Headset with True 7.1 Surround Sound for PC, PS4, Laptop, Bass Vibration, Noise Cancelling, Soft Earmuffs Headphones with Mic, LED Light, in-line Controller for FPS Games-BLACK​

But this problem is recent even though I've had the laptop a couple of months. It happens through earphones, headphones, speakers. I unplugged earphones and headphones but the crackles still appeared.

 

[DarkPaladin]

Audio crackling could be caused by a wide variety of issues. I would recommend trying these solutions in the following order:

1) My audio settings are currently 48000Hz 24bits. You could try this setting in Realtek .

2) Turn on "Prefer Maximum Performance" in your power plan to see if it solves the issue.

3) Reinstall your Realtek drivers. Sometimes this can fix the issue.

4) Use DDU to fully clean your GPU drivers and download the latest confirmed drivers with the least amount of issues.

5) I believe NVIDIA had an issue with DPC latency for around 7 months and only recently fixed it with the newer driver releases for the 3000 series GPU's.

DPC latency can cause issues such as audio crackling, but there's no guarantee this is the issue here.

A temporary workaround would involve trying drivers that didn't have the DPC latency issue, which I believe the December 2022 drivers did not have. The fixed drivers are 536.67 which is what I'm currently using.