Audio Crackle/Pop On New Rig

[Corsa1r]

So I recently built a computer for the first time, and everything has been great. I currently have:
Case: Tt F51 Suppressor
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A
CPU: i7 6700K 4.6ghz
Cooling: Corsair H60 Liquid
RAM: Corsair Dominator DDR4 3000mhz
VIdeo Card: GTX 1070 SC
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 650W
OS: Windows 10 Pro

The rig performs beyond expectations for gaming and schoolwork. However, I recently noticed some audio 'crackle' under different circumstances and to different degrees. It happens MOSTLY on flash videos being played on Youtube or similar through Firefox. It's less severe but still happens using Internet Explorer. The crackles are random, and if I replay a part of a song over and over, the crackle happens at different portions in the audio streamed every time. When I play audio that's on my HDD/SSD or play games, the popping doesn't happen often, but happens.

I tried removing and re-installing my Realtek audio drivers (have the most current), and it did not help. I tried removing any and all OC's on my hardware - no dice. I want to say I started noticing it on September 3rd when the Anniversary update for Windows 10 was automatically installed. I can't confirm that, but I only put the computer together at the end of August...I was thinking of simply reformatting and seeing what it shows me then. Does anyone have any other ideas as to what it could be and what I should do? Thanks.

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

go here and go down to audio then download the first of the four options and install it then restart your pc.
https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards/Z170-A/HelpDesk_Download/

 

[photonboy]

http://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

It may be a driver issue. This will tell you. Since it started recently this seems likely. Perhaps the wrong driver was installed by Microsoft.

*I had video issues and used DDU to clean them up, then reinstalled the video drivers. I then went into Microsoft Updates and noticed it was downloading new NVidia drivers... aaargh!

My issue came back. I then removed the drivers again, reinstalled them and it's been okay ever since.

 

[Corsa1r]

I am trying to install the audio update from Asus' website, but Windows 10 keeps re-installing the broken drivers after i uninstall them on computer restart...

 

[photonboy]

I am trying to install the audio update from Asus' website, but Windows 10 keeps re-installing the broken drivers after i uninstall them on computer restart...

Hmmm... perhaps try the following...

(it may also not be the audio driver. As said LatencyMon can test and may show a DIFFERENT driver responsible for preventing the audio driver sending new data quick enough for each packet)

Solution #1:
1) confirm problem still exists.

2) remove your driver using "Programs and Features" like normal

3) Allow Microsoft to apply the update

4) See if that works. It might not the be the OPTIMAL driver, but if works then that is a good solution until you find a better one.

SOLUTION#2:
Update the motherboard BIOS. Latest is 2016/09/02 (a week ago). It's version 2001. It just says "improve system stability" so probably won't help.

SOLUTION#3:
Try using each one of these (can't link right to the page):
https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z170-A/HelpDesk_Download/
a) "TUF" driver 6.0.1.7727, or
b) Realtek "6.0.1.7727", or
c) Realtek driver "R.279" with file size of 128412k from the Realtek site. It's dated a few months ago, and probably an update to the 2nd driver above.

The FIRST one may have Asus code tacked on. So ideally it's probably the one you should use and may optimize towards the "SupremeFX" implementation. Perhaps your motherboard Manual gives some indication.

It's a moot point whether it is potentially "better" if the audio crackles though in the future maybe install it if you settle for something else now.

4) Test system memory using Memtest86 www.memtest86.com
- run a full pass (roughly 30 minutes per 8GB), or until errors

5) back to LatencyMon.. if it gives any ideas then temporarily DISABLE the drivers. Mine suggested it might be the Intel network driver. I think it may have solved it, but reinstalling the driver did not. I had to go from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 then it went away (though a clean W8.1 might also have worked). Really not sure what the exact problem is only that is was likely a driver latency issue.

6) Spare drive?
If so then:
a) Create W10 Anniversary install media
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows10 (i.e. download, stick in USB stick or DVD, run it, then wait for the file to download and apply to your USB or DVD)
b) unhook all other drives (at least the SATA cable from back of HDD and SSD to prevent accidental erase of data.)
c) Install W10 (do not enter a key. just skip. do not activate your copy)
d) Do NOTHING. Simply check MS Updates until there is nothing left to update.

Is the sound fine? Great. The driver may not be optimal but you've ruled out hardware issues. Worst-case you can install from scratch.

e) If sound is okay, then apply the "TUF" driver version or whatever the Asus site says is the latest. Test. If fine, wait a while and see if Microsoft screws it up.

7) *IMPORTANT*
You can uncheck the option to allow non-Microsoft updates. It's:
- left-click "Start"-> Settings-> Update and Security-> Advanced Options

You can also "defer" an update but I think it has to be downloaded first. I'm a bit confused. It says it can delay updates for a few months for MICROSOFT stuff, but not for Microsoft security updates and says nothing about other drivers so I guess that's NOT deferable, though it can be DISABLED as said above. Sigh.

So again, you can DISABLE updates for non-MS Products which should apply to Realtek audio, video card etc by my logic at least.

8) REMOVE the video card if really stumped. that will use the Intel CPU's iGPU. If it's an NVidia driver issue (which may not be directly NVidia's fault) then the issue may disappear. Obviously not ideal but a troubleshooting step if really stumped.

Summary:
That's where I'm at right now. Start with the easiest first.

 

[photonboy]

A lot of stuff above, but to confirm something... if everything starts working THEN Microsoft applies a driver and that messes things up it's a driver issue. Probably the wrong driver which as I said happened to me, but then reinstalling the second time worked.

So you can probably avoid anything I wrote above if not related to this. So with that in mind I would change my first attempt to:
1) update BIOS if newer exists
(which will change some settings such as CPU overclock. I would stay at default for a few weeks to ensure no issues, except perhaps just enabling "XMP")

2) UNCHECK the ability to apply non-Microsoft updates as discussed above

3) Download the newest audio drivers from Asus site (the "TUF" version), but don't install yet.

4) REMOVE current audio drivers (programs and features)

5) INSTALL the drivers you just downloaded

6) TEST. (if works, hopefully it lasts)

Other:
If it works, then MS updates again and it then fails again, try updating again. Seems silly but it worked for me with my NVidia drivers. Installed them, problem went away. Went to MS updates right away, saw it was already downloading and going to apply. Reboot. Problem with video back. Reinstalled SAME exact video drivers. Problem gone. No more MS Update of wrong driver (didn't even disable non-MS Updates) yet the problem went away and hasn't come back yet.

Other:
If really stuck contact Asus but I don't know what they would add to the above. If it has worked then changes right away with new drivers it's not a Warranty issue, nor an issue with the speakers or headphones.

 

[Corsa1r]

Thank you so much for the plethora of potential solutions. Before I begin, I forgot to mention I did use DPC Latency Checker and all latencies registered in the green with no unusual spikes over the course of an hour. LatencyMon seems to be a bit more sophisticated, though so I'll give it a go. Also, I have been using a particular 'always live' youtube channel to monitor the crackles. Today i switched out the computer plugged in here for another I have and one type of crackle on the channel actually is playing through on this one too. Keep in mind, I've tried 3 different sets of speakers and a usb headset. So, I'm going to continue to test and even try plugging in one or both computers in another part of the house to rule out any weird ground problems from the outlets down here. I'll report back after I do what you've laid out.

 

[photonboy]

Hey,
Try burning a Linux Mint (or distro you like) to DVD or USB stick, then run directly from that disc.

Boot up and run FIREFOX, then test those sites and whatever else you have that cause audio crackle.

I'm trying to rule out any potential HARDWARE issue.

It may be a small learning curve there.

 

[Corsa1r]

I still haven't had a chance to try every thing you suggested, but I did run LatencyMon, and didn't have anything that I could perceive as problematic with the exception of one 'reddish' hard page fault... will need to run it again and see what it gives me.

I tried several different Realtek audio drivers as well as what you suggested, and no dice. Memtest showed no errors over an hour, and the Intel app for testing my cpu showed that working very well. I will be installing a new hdd in the computer later tonight or tomorrow and installing a fresh copy of Win10 to test (since I sort of suspected the Anniversary update as being the problem), but if that still shows errors, I'll go the Linux route. I'll also try everything else you suggested and report back.

 

[Corsa1r]

So, I finally got around to re-installing windows on a new hdd. I simply loaded up the windows 10 pro cd and didn't install any updates (or connect to the internet). I immediately booted up a flash drive with a white noise clip that's an hour and a half long, I played it for at least 30 minutes while doing some homework and I didn't hear a single pop/crackle. So, if the Anniversary update is the problem (as I still believe it probably is), then I wonder what I should do moving forward?

EDIT: Nevermind, the crackling came back again. My sound crackles don't seem to line up with anything in Latencymon even though sometimes I'm getting moderately high latency for nvidia drivers, it doesn't coincide with any noises. I'm going to run through everything again and possibly install linux to get to the bottom of the potential hardware problem.

 

[QwerkyPengwen]

I noticed you are overclocking your CPU. Does your ram run at 3000mhz stock? If your ram is stock 3000 it might be the overclock on your CPU. Try resetting it to default and run your audio tests again. If no cracks or pops then your overclock is to high and I would recommend bringing out down to 4.4ghz. If problem persists then we might be looking at electrical interference. Is your PC plugged directly into the wall or is it plugged into a power strip?

 

[Corsa1r]

Hey there. So I finally got around to booting up linux, and while I didn't notice the problem anywhere near as often, I still had it from time to time. The same story with stock clocks on ram and cpu. It happened less, but still happened, so now I removed my video card am running from onboard graphics, I immediately am noticing MUCH less incidence of it. Getting it every 20 or so minutes now. So does this mean that the motherboard's shielding is bad and is taking alot of EMI from the video card possibly? And if so, is that a manufacturing defect of the mobo, or not?

 

[Corsa1r]

Hey Simply, the ram I have was advertised for 3000mhz, but you technically have to oc it in the bios to get it there. When I set the cpu to regular clocks (as well as everything else), I still got the pops/crackles, and when I underclocked I noticed it a bit less, but it's hard to tell for sure since it's such a random thing. I have tried plugging the pc directly into the wall in several areas of the house, and also through two different high-quality power strips. It always ends up being the same, seemingly.

 

[Corsa1r]

Update: I think I fixed it!!! PCH voltage on the mobo was always at a default of 1.00, and after much reading, it seemed like something that no one really ever touched except under certain overclocking circumstances. I bumped it up by .015 while at stock clocks during a crackling episode, and the awful sound disappeared.... I brought it back down to 1.00, and it started again. Tested it again +.015, and it was gone, and let it run for an hour, smooth sailing. I then overclocked to 4.6ghz (where a large part of the bad crackling happened), bumped the slider up to 1.05 total, and the audio is clean and crisp. I'm hoping it stays that way, and thanks for all the helpful suggestions!

 

[darwins76]

you say this is the first time you have built a pc, may i ask if the case has audio jacks on the front as well as the back, if so have you checked both? as it is possible that you have badly rooted the wire from the sound card to the audio jacks on the front of the case, if those wires are touching a fan case or power cable etc, it could be getting interference when the system steps up or down

 

[Corsa1r]

Darwins76, the thought had occurred to me, so I did check the wiring, then ended up disconnecting the headers for the front audio panel connectors on the case entirely, with no change. The crackling sound always came through speakers connected through the aux ports on both ends, as well as any usb headsets on any usb port, so like I said above, it looks like the voltage was the problem, as I've been testing, and haven't had any issues since bumping up the PCH voltage slightly. Thanks for the tip.