Author Topic: Need Help - Sound is choppy, disrupted, crackling  (Read 1554 times)

Exiled

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Need Help - Sound is choppy, disrupted, crackling
« on: November 11, 2006, 01:32:11 am »
Hello I just started playing PS.  As the title reads, I am having sound issues.  All sounds wether music, or ambient is choppy, continusouly disrupted and crackling.  I would hate to have to play without sound.  I have run the updater.
I have a fast DSL connection, Windows XP, GeForce 3 (i think)  and an updated soundcard and driver.
Any suggestions?
If you see me trapsing through the greenland between Ojavan and Hydlaa I am an Enkidukai named Myraui Qidu.  :love:
Come say hello.
Thanks. 
« Last Edit: November 11, 2006, 01:59:21 am by Exiled »

Elvicat

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Re: Need Help - Sound is choppy, disrupted, crackling
« Reply #1 on: November 11, 2006, 02:45:24 pm »
is it by any chanse a onboard sound card, realtek based like sometihing starting with alcXXX?


Idoru

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Re: Need Help - Sound is choppy, disrupted, crackling
« Reply #2 on: November 11, 2006, 02:59:07 pm »
Try lowering your Audio hardware acceleration slider. Control panel -->Sounds and Audio Devices---->Speaker settings (Advanced button)---->Performance (tab)

Ive heard this works in some cases of choppy audio.

Youre not overclocked are you?

"May there only be peaceful and cheerful Earth Days to come for our beautiful Spaceship Earth as it continues to spin and circle in frigid space with its warm and fragile cargo of animate life."

Exiled

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Re: Need Help - Sound is choppy, disrupted, crackling
« Reply #3 on: November 14, 2006, 09:17:54 am »
is it by any chanse a onboard sound card, realtek based like sometihing starting with alcXXX?
It's a Creative SoundBlaster AudioPC (ES 1371, ES 1373) (WDM)

I tried try your suggestions about the accelerating.  I reduced it to low.... nothing has changed.    What does overclocked mean?

« Last Edit: November 14, 2006, 09:27:52 am by Exiled »

Idoru

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Re: Need Help - Sound is choppy, disrupted, crackling
« Reply #4 on: November 14, 2006, 09:57:45 am »
if you dont know what overclocking is then it probably isnt overclocked ;). its done to make a PC run faster than intended, if you increase your FSB some soundcards react badly,

"May there only be peaceful and cheerful Earth Days to come for our beautiful Spaceship Earth as it continues to spin and circle in frigid space with its warm and fragile cargo of animate life."

neko kyouran

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Re: Need Help - Sound is choppy, disrupted, crackling
« Reply #5 on: November 14, 2006, 10:03:09 am »
Not to say that you haven't when you say you have, but mind telling us the driver version you are running for your sound card?  We do get the occasional person that comes here with a problem, saying they have updated drivers, when in all actuality, they don't and when they do update them, things run smoother.  Better safe to ask and error on the side of caution you know.

Exiled

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Re: Need Help - Sound is choppy, disrupted, crackling
« Reply #6 on: November 14, 2006, 09:45:31 pm »
Not to say that you haven't when you say you have, but mind telling us the driver version you are running for your sound card?  We do get the occasional person that comes here with a problem, saying they have updated drivers, when in all actuality, they don't and when they do update them, things run smoother.  Better safe to ask and error on the side of caution you know.

Of course -- that's a logical place to begin.  :thumbup:   Well, It's the latest available driver for this card I have ever been able to find.  (Creative Technology Ltd. 6/11/2002 , 5.12.1.5017) The card and driver has been able to run far more demanding sound processes than planeshift...... 
Any ideas what I can do?
« Last Edit: November 14, 2006, 09:49:26 pm by Exiled »

neko kyouran

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Re: Need Help - Sound is choppy, disrupted, crackling
« Reply #7 on: November 15, 2006, 05:10:53 am »
Internet digging shows me that your card is, in computer terms, old as dirt.  (First made nearly 10 years ago.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_Blaster#Ensoniq_AudioPCI-based_cards

Your card does not support:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SoundFont

I'm not sure if PS uses this or not, but from what I read, this is what I am leaning towards.  My suggestion would be to get a new sound card.  Basing on what you stated about the other specs of your computer (geforce 3), I'm going to take a stab and say the whole system is, again in computer terms, old as dirt.  I'm going to lean towards the idea that it is choppy and crackling due to it just not being able to play the sound correctly due to the cards age.

Idoru

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Re: Need Help - Sound is choppy, disrupted, crackling
« Reply #8 on: November 15, 2006, 05:52:12 am »
Soundfonts are just libraries little wave files used in music synthesis, I wouldnt have thought this would be the problem. However, as you say, it is old as dirt. I was going to suggest disabling any EAX system that was running but I dont think it would support that either ;)

chances are that your computer as a whole isnt up to the job of running PS and decoding the mp3s that the music is stored in at the same time. if you run anti-virus software try disabling it while running PS. same goes for virtually anything youre running except windows itself and PS.

If it still doesnt work, try just turning the music off.

"May there only be peaceful and cheerful Earth Days to come for our beautiful Spaceship Earth as it continues to spin and circle in frigid space with its warm and fragile cargo of animate life."

Exiled

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Re: Need Help - Sound is choppy, disrupted, crackling
« Reply #9 on: November 15, 2006, 06:23:02 pm »
"Old as dirt" , huh?    Oh my, now I'm starting to feel old as dirt  :(

When I got the system it was top of the line....  I guess time flies when your having fun.

Thanks for the replies.... perhaps it is time to for a video and sound card upgrade.  Will a a new video card sharpen up the graphics at all?


Idoru

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Re: Need Help - Sound is choppy, disrupted, crackling
« Reply #10 on: November 15, 2006, 06:51:35 pm »
An upgrade may be a good idea, upgrading your video card would allow you to run in  a higher resoloution, this would make the graphics sharper, it may also allow you to run with the multisampling options turned up. this however depends on the maximum resoloution of your monitor.

The other thing that you need to consider is whether any of the current cards would work in your system, things have moved on a little since you bought your system. when exactly did you buy it? If it uses onboard graphics it means you probably wont have an AGP slot because the onboard system will be hard-wired into it. PCI video cards are quite uncommon now.... as are AGP cards to be honest. currently the standard is PCI-Express, its a much faster interface than AGP and PCI. sticking a new sound card in your system should be quite simple, not much has changed there, they nearly all use PCI sockets to connect.

If you only have PCI or AGP socket available you could probably get an AGP card from an online store or a shop but if you need a PCI card your best bet is Ebay or something like that, I doubt many stores will still stock them. the final option would be a new motherboard and CPU, if you get one with an onboard graphics and sound you should be able to run the game no problem, it would cost you about 100 pounds (180 US$) for  the pair. obviously onboard hardware isnt the best way to go. But its about twice that price to get a decent upgrade with seperate videocard and soundcard.

"May there only be peaceful and cheerful Earth Days to come for our beautiful Spaceship Earth as it continues to spin and circle in frigid space with its warm and fragile cargo of animate life."

neko kyouran

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Re: Need Help - Sound is choppy, disrupted, crackling
« Reply #11 on: November 16, 2006, 02:29:10 am »