Tenlethar Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 (edited) Hello Guys, i have an issue with Skyrim that seems to be a bit out of line. I would like to mention that i have done lots of research on this issue and i have tried the common solutions that are suggested when encountering sound issues. When playing Skyrim, occasionally i will get a strange popping/ticking noise that will repeat every second or so, and it will stay like that for a while (say, sometimes 30 seconds, sometimes a few minutes) then go away again. This does not only occur ingame, it also occurs when i launch the game and the intro screen is shown. I have not recorded it but i found a that quite resembles the issue. I have also seen some texture flickering occuring once, like a short strobe effect (texture flickering like 10 times within a second or two) and that was accompanied with a strange crackling noise. Aside from these issues i have not encountered any problems with sound being too low or anything like that. Unfortunately the guy at YouTube has not posted any potential solutions. I messaged him, asking whether he was able to fix the issue, but received no response. Problem Solving Upon my research i stumbled upon a lot of people who had sound issues, even though none of them seemed to be similar to mine. However, it was suggested to change the audio output to 44khz @ 16-bit. I tried that, but the problem was persistent. I then read some post about onboard sound possibly causing issues. Well, until then i was using my normal RealTek onboard sound module. But as i am determined to solve the issue, i went and bought myself a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE PCI card. However, even with that card i was able to notice no difference whatsoever. Unfortunately, i don't know what else to try :unsure: Any constructive input is highly appreciated. Thank You! My Specifications I am using the latest NVidia drivers along with the latest drivers for the Audigy SE. I encountered the problems in Skyrim Vanilla, both, patched around 1.5 and then to the very latest version. PSU: ENERMAX MODU82+ with 625 WattsTower: COOLER MASTER Xcalade 690, PURE Black EditionCPU: Intel Quad Core i7-920 4x2,67 GhzCooling: Thermalright AXP-140 + Enermax Twister Cluster 120x120x25Mainboard: Gigabyte X58A-UD3R rev. 2.0 RAM: 6 GB DDR3 Kit PC3-1600 Mhz, CL8Graphics: NVIDIA / ZOTAC GTX 480 AMP! Overclocked Edition Harddrive: 35,2035,201SATA II SAMSUNG SpinPoint F3, 500GB, 16MB CacheCD-Rom: DVD-+R/-+RW SATA LG GH-22NS40, Bulk, BlackOS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit DVDScreen: SAMSUNG 2233 RZ TFT @ 120 Hz Note: My system is not overclocked (only the graphics card, but by factory default). Edited July 21, 2012 by Tenlethar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiegril Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 I don't have your answer, but I looked at the video you linked to, and that one has the sound occurring only with interface buttons. It sounds like yours is more random, from your description? Have you tried basic troubleshooting, such as removing all mods, completely uninstallingreinstalling the game from Steam, verifying cache?Also have you ruled out it being a problem with your earphones (if you use them) or the audio jack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenlethar Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 I don't have your answer, but I looked at the video you linked to, and that one has the sound occurring only with interface buttons. It sounds like yours is more random, from your description? Have you tried basic troubleshooting, such as removing all mods, completely uninstallingreinstalling the game from Steam, verifying cache?Also have you ruled out it being a problem with your earphones (if you use them) or the audio jack? Hello & Thank You for your response. You are correct in assuming that mine is occurring randomly. It will just start during normal gameplay, and it will fade away after a while just the same. Needless to say, its still pretty annoying. Yes, i have uninstalled / reinstalled the game completely. I use the vanilla version without mods. I was about to install some mods but i won't play the game with this sound popping issue, so i decided to wait with installing mods, just until i have this figured out. I use Bose Desktop speakers but i can safely say that the audio jack is fine, that this crackling stops immediately when i exit the game and that thus it comes from the game. I use this machine a lot and i never have or had any similar issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitzen Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Have you tried things like running DXDIAG in windows to check the sound? I would normally attribute something like this to drivers, but since you completely switched sound hardware, that seems unlikely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenlethar Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 Have you tried things like running DXDIAG in windows to check the sound? I would normally attribute something like this to drivers, but since you completely switched sound hardware, that seems unlikely. I have not tried that. I can though. It is -however, as you say, unlikely, as i am experiencing this issue with Skyrim exclusively. For instance, i ran The Witcher 2 all through the complete game, without a single issue. Sometimes i have a dream, and in that dream i see a Bethesda devteam with the skills of CDProject Red :sad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blitzen Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 The last things you can try are: 1. Uninstall any sound drivers, make sure that windows update is on, reboot, and let windows find and install drivers. That has fixed the problem for a number of people with sound issues like this, even when they are using Creative products with Creative drivers (believe it or not).2. Check if BIOS updates are available and, if so, do the update. This would be a last resort. I always feel like messing with a system at this level is risky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenlethar Posted July 24, 2012 Author Share Posted July 24, 2012 The last things you can try are: 1. Uninstall any sound drivers, make sure that windows update is on, reboot, and let windows find and install drivers. That has fixed the problem for a number of people with sound issues like this, even when they are using Creative products with Creative drivers (believe it or not).2. Check if BIOS updates are available and, if so, do the update. This would be a last resort. I always feel like messing with a system at this level is risky. Alright! Thank You again for your great input. It seems that the issue is resolved. The ironic part is that i was able to resolve it using onboard sound (RealTek). Upon further research i more and more dove into the impression that Creative is old and outdated. This starts with the super-oldschool installer they provide. When downloading the latest drivers i noticed that they were many years old. I personally believe Creative is just trying to stay in the low-end business even though there is nothing about their SE product line to justify that. Anyway. The issue of the popping noises DID occur with the RealTek as well, at first. I followed blitzen's advice and flashed my BIOS which was still at FA (by now Gigabyte had release FH, so that's quite some freshness, plus: Gigabyte seems to be fairly active in the field of keeping their BIOS up-to-date). After updating, i also downloaded the 64-Bit Edition of their drivers. At least that is how i understood it. This driver includes something called Dolby Surround Home Center (or a title to that effect). Ever since i did this, i have not experienced any sound issues in Skyrim (except for the fact that when i jump into the water, i don't get ANY kind of splash sound, which i found annoying but was unable to figure out <=> Input appreciated :thumbsup: ). The popping/crackling noise seems to be gone. It is important to mention that i also overclocked my system from 3.06 to 4.00 GHZ stable (after reporting the issue here, and after updating BIOS and RealTek). But i don't think that the CPU utilisation has much to do with all of that. Thank You! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgiegril Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Thanks for taking the time to explain your solution...it may save someone hours of frustration!BTW, I have Creative and they work fine, but I agree there have been a number of people with issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deleted1932859User Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 (edited) use windows default drivers not creative - how can you go from Sound Card to onboard crappy sound :P Edited April 28, 2014 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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