[LePoilu]

   Quote: Originally Posted by dsopocy

Limiting RAM is known to be a viable workaround only for motherboards based on the nVidia nForce4 chipset - so apparently your motherboard uses another chipset.

You right, got a Intel 45 Express chipset

   Quote: Originally Posted by dsopocy

One known root cause of crackling and popping on Creative X-Fi sound cards is excessive latency on PCI bus requests (see reference in one of my earlier posts). One thing that you can do to troubleshoot your issue is to check Device Manager to see if there is any resource sharing going on between your sound and video cards.

I'll check that

[dsopocy]

FYI, I just installed the updated 64-bit Win 7 beta drivers for the nVidia GeoForce video cards. I was hoping that they might clear up the PCI bus contention that is likely at the root of the subject problem with nVidia nForce4 motherboards. No such luck. The crackling and hissing still exist - maybe marginally less (probably wishful thinking on my part) - with my full 6GB RAM enabled, and disappears when I limit RAM to 2048MB.

Dale

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[bloke]

   Quote: Originally Posted by dsopocy

FYI, I just installed the updated 64-bit Win 7 beta drivers for the nVidia GeoForce video cards. I was hoping that they might clear up the PCI bus contention that is likely at the root of the subject problem with nVidia nForce4 motherboards. No such luck. The crackling and hissing still exist - maybe marginally less (probably wishful thinking on my part) - with my full 6GB RAM enabled, and disappears when I limit RAM to 2048MB.

Dale

this d/l states it is wddm1.1, doesnt that mean its that the same as the win update driver?

would the pci latency timer setting make any difference (default is 32)? havnt tried it myself. just a thought.

on another note, my new (1 wk old) asus HDAV1.3 deluxe card also has crackling issues, i already posted a thread but with no luck.

HDAV1.3 (deluxe) windows 7 sound problems

the thread shows the problems i had but sounds very similar to you creative owners are having, could just be an issue with windows 7 openAL or something?

[Stabgotham]

Hi everyone! Am I the first AMD based motherboard owner to have an issue on here?

I have the following:

OS: Windows 7 x64 (Build 7048)
MB: MSI K9A2 Platinum
Proc: AMD X2 5000+ BE
Mem: 4GB OCZ DDR2 800 (2 x 2GB)
Audio: Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic
Drivers: SBXF_W7DRVBETA_US_2_18_0008.exe

My issue is this. I'll use Youtube as an example. I can click on one video and have flawless sound. Click on another video and all I can hear through my headphones is a bass-y, booming sound that is both faint and sporadic. It's not a carckle or a pop like other people state they are having. Mine is almost like having a subwoofer in my ears, but a subwoofer that is light, weak, powerless, and inconsistent.

I do see that Creative release updated beta drivers on 3-4-09 for the XtremeAudio. Can I use these drivers with my XtremeMusic? Anyone know?

Also, I wish I could get on the Creative forums to read what Daniel_K is saying. I got IP banned with all the other upset peeps last year when Creative slapped Daniel_K for creating modded drivers for Vista. Sucks that they don't allow you to ever come back or even view the forums.

[dsopocy]

   Quote: Originally Posted by bloke

this d/l states it is wddm1.1, doesnt that mean its that the same as the win update driver?

Not in my case. Before installing the download referenced in my previous post, Device Manager still showed a driver date (after Windows Update) corresponding to the beta released in January. After installing the referenced updated beta driver, my driver date is 2/26/2009.

   Quote: Originally Posted by bloke

would the pci latency timer setting make any difference (default is 32)? havnt tried it myself. just a thought.

Very possibly. Creative recommends experimenting with different settings, starting at 32. (I don't have that option with my Phoenix BIOS and nForce4 motherboard.) However, Creative identifies a variety of other possible culprits re X-Fi crackling and popping (see links in my previous posts). Of course, these are pertinent to the Creative X-Fi cards. I would research the site of your video and sound card providers for other possibilities.

   Quote: Originally Posted by bloke

on another note, my new (1 wk old) asus HDAV1.3 deluxe card also has crackling issues, i already posted a thread but with no luck.

http://www.sevenforums.com/sound-audio/4675-hdav1-3-deluxe-windows-7-sound-problems.html

the thread shows the problems i had but sounds very similar to you creative owners are having, could just be an issue with windows 7 openAL or something?

My best guess is that there have been one or more changes in how Win 7 interfaces with these devices and memory that is exposing device interface issues that either did not exist or were effectively masked in XP and Vista.

Dale

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[Hellfight]

Hi guys!

Same problem here. Spontaneous crackling and distortion. Flawless operation in Vista, only shows up in 7. I have observed some interesting points. It seems like Spotify plays back it's music in a way that makes the distortion problem disappear by itself in less than a second after it starts (maybe due to how its using the buffers or smth) Usually, when the sound distorts in media player or Fallout 3, i can only reset it by going to the control panel and set the sample rate to something else.

Relevant specs:
Asus A8N SLI Premium, latest BIOS
AMD Athlon X2 4600+
2GB Corsair XMS3500
Creative Audigy 2 ZS
GeForce 8800GTS G92

Drivers from WU, except latest nvidia drivers from website.

It is really a shame that creative cannot get around to firing whoever is responsible in their driver team and coming up with some new strategies. The Vista drivers were horrendous for quite some time, and when they finally get around to fixing those, they are almost obsolete.

[thunder2008]

Hmm, some interesting points Hellfight. Perhaps the guys at Creative will get the Windows 7 drivers updated faster this time around.

[bloke]

can ppl that are having problems try this: set your speakers in creative sound panel to 7.1, my setup cuts out when scrolling in 5.1 but if i enable 7.1 it crackles but doesnt cut out. also if i enable headphones it wont crackle or cut out at all.

see if you guys get the same results?

i tried changing the PCI Latency settings in bios but no change. which leads me to assume it is either driver or o/s issues. (more than likely drivers)

[dsopocy]

   Quote: Originally Posted by bloke

can ppl that are having problems try this: set your speakers in creative sound panel to 7.1, my setup cuts out when scrolling in 5.1 but if i enable 7.1 it crackles but doesnt cut out. also if i enable headphones it wont crackle or cut out at all.

see if you guys get the same results?

i tried changing the PCI Latency settings in bios but no change. which leads me to assume it is either driver or o/s issues. (more than likely drivers)

I'm only using 2.1 speakers and the problem remains severe under all conditions (even system sounds) at RAM > 3GB with either 2 or 2.1 speaker configurations. My SB0460 (X-Fi Extreme Music) does not support 5.1 or 7.1.

Dale

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[dsopocy]

FYI. I just finished an upgrade install of the 64-bit Build 7057. The new build looks great, but unfortunately the Creative X-Fi crackling and popping problem remains unresolved. There wasn't even a slight attenuation of the problem with the drivers installed with the upgrade. Build 7057 includes neither the latest beta Windows 7 nVidia GeoForce video drivers nor the latest X-Fi drivers. Installing the latest beta Windows 7 nVidia video drivers did not affect the problem; neither did installing the more lastest drivers from Creative.

Once I have backed up my current install, I will try a clean install just to cover all the bases, but I'm not optimistic. Our only hope appears to be in Creative's hands at this point.

Dale

P.S.
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