Question Audio Crackling, Restarting, FPS Drops, and Windows didn't Load Correctly

[Make it Slide]

Alrighty here we go, I have been having some problems for almost a year now with my PC. Problems encountered are audio crackling, fps drops, and black screen restarts. I've been procrastinating this badly and would just keep restarting it until it worked eventually. Finally I went in to a Computer repair shop and they updated bios, updated audio driver, updated graphics driver (all of which I had already tried awhile ago) took out a faulty SSD, and ran a bunch of tests all of which passed. I have taken it there 3 times the past three weeks annnd I don't think they can help me. I have found some posts that were similar to mine and they fixed a lot of these problems with bio updates, but that is not the case for me.

Here is my Latencymon and whysoslow info:

https://imgur.com/a/a6hYd5g

View: https://imgur.com/a/a6hYd5g


Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700K CPU @ 3.80GHz, 3792 Mhz, 8 Core(s), 16 Logical Processor(s)

BaseBoard Product MPG Z490 GAMING EDGE WIFI (MS-7C79)

Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 32.0 GB Corsair CMW32GX4M4C3600C18 DDR4

GPU NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti

PSU: Corsair RM 750

Let me know if anybody has any ideas it would be greatly appreciated or if any more information is needed..

 

[Misgar]

When the computer shop changed the SSD, did they clean install a fresh copy of Windows, or did they clone your old SSD on to the new drive (potentially bringing across any driver problems on the old drive).

500GB SATA and M.2 NVMe drives are so cheap now, my first choice would be to unplug your existing Windows drive and install Windows on a new drive.

The default drivers applied by Windows should suffice to get the hardware going, but might not be the latest versions. My suggestion is to stick with the default audio driver for the time being.

You may find that Windows has not downloaded the latest NVidia driver for the 3080. Again, I suggest sticking with the default video driver, until you've run a few tests.

If you've been heavily overclocking your CPU, RAM and GPU, revert to stock settings in the BIOS.

Install a few programs/games that cause problems. See if the new Windows installation with default drivers and no overclocking is stable.

If no problems occur, apart from known problems with some games that could be fixed with the latest NVidia driver, you'll know there's something wrong with the Windows setup on the old SSD.

Enable System Restore (if you're running Windows 10). It should be enabled by default in 11.

Create a Restore Point.

Update to the latest Audio driver. Run a set of tests to see if crackling noises appear on the speakers.

Create another Restore Point.

Update to the latest NVidia driver. Run another set of tests and see if the computer behaves.

It's a good idea to create a new Restore Point before adding any new drivers or software.

If faults reappear, your old Windows SSD was probably not the culprit.

At this point it might be wise to set the BIOS back to the manufacturer's base setting.

If the problem persists, you will now have to swap out any components you can, e.g. RAM, GPU, PSU, CPU, mobo (in order of difficulty) and see if the fault clears. Obviously this is not possible unless you have a large box of spare parts.

If no faults appear, you might have fixed it (but with no overclock).

If the memory was overclocked, enable XMP and test again.

If the CPU was overclocked, enable the same level of boost and retest.

If the GPU was overclocked, enable the same level and retest.

Good luck.

You don't mention your CPU cooler.

If it's liquid cooling, how long has it been installed? Some coolers end up with corrosion blocking the vanes in the water block or radiator, reducing cooling. If the radiator is mounted vertically, do the pipes enter at the top or the bottom? Are the radiator inlet pipes above or below the water block? Are you sure the coolant hasn't leaked out?

Air cooler faults are easier to diagnose. You can see if the fans are running and check the vanes for crud.

You might benefit from re-pasting the cooler/CPU, but unless you're seeing very high temperatures, I doubt that's the problem. Ditto cleaning the computer. More harm is done by ham-fisted cleaning than benefit gained, if the computer is less than one year old like yours.

if nothing works, chuck the computer in the bin or give it to a friend, start saving your money and buy a new rig.

 

[thestryker]

What audio device are you using? If it's onboard audio try disabling it in the BIOS and run tests again. If all goes well then you'll know the source of the problem. If that happens to be the case uninstall all of the software/drivers related to it and then download the latest drivers from the motherboard makers website.

 

[Make it Slide]

When the computer shop changed the SSD, did they clean install a fresh copy of Windows, or did they clone your old SSD on to the new drive (potentially bringing across any driver problems on the old drive).

500GB SATA and M.2 NVMe drives are so cheap now, my first choice would be to unplug your existing Windows drive and install Windows on a new drive.

The default drivers applied by Windows should suffice to get the hardware going, but might not be the latest versions. My suggestion is to stick with the default audio driver for the time being.

You may find that Windows has not downloaded the latest NVidia driver for the 3080. Again, I suggest sticking with the default video driver, until you've run a few tests.

If you've been heavily overclocking your CPU, RAM and GPU, revert to stock settings in the BIOS.

Install a few programs/games that cause problems. See if the new Windows installation with default drivers and no overclocking is stable.

If no problems occur, apart from known problems with some games that could be fixed with the latest NVidia driver, you'll know there's something wrong with the Windows setup on the old SSD.

Enable System Restore (if you're running Windows 10). It should be enabled by default in 11.

Create a Restore Point.

Update to the latest Audio driver. Run a set of tests to see if crackling noises appear on the speakers.

Create another Restore Point.

Update to the latest NVidia driver. Run another set of tests and see if the computer behaves.

It's a good idea to create a new Restore Point before adding any new drivers or software.

If faults reappear, your old Windows SSD was probably not the culprit.

At this point it might be wise to set the BIOS back to the manufacturer's base setting.

If the problem persists, you will now have to swap out any components you can, e.g. RAM, GPU, PSU, CPU, mobo (in order of difficulty) and see if the fault clears. Obviously this is not possible unless you have a large box of spare parts.

If no faults appear, you might have fixed it (but with no overclock).

If the memory was overclocked, enable XMP and test again.

If the CPU was overclocked, enable the same level of boost and retest.

If the GPU was overclocked, enable the same level and retest.

Good luck.

You don't mention your CPU cooler.

If it's liquid cooling, how long has it been installed? Some coolers end up with corrosion blocking the vanes in the water block or radiator, reducing cooling. If the radiator is mounted vertically, do the pipes enter at the top or the bottom? Are the radiator inlet pipes above or below the water block? Are you sure the coolant hasn't leaked out?

Air cooler faults are easier to diagnose. You can see if the fans are running and check the vanes for crud.

You might benefit from re-pasting the cooler/CPU, but unless you're seeing very high temperatures, I doubt that's the problem. Ditto cleaning the computer. More harm is done by ham-fisted cleaning than benefit gained, if the computer is less than one year old like yours.

if nothing works, chuck the computer in the bin or give it to a friend, start saving your money and buy a new rig.

Thanks for the reply!

Clean install of windows 10 for your first question.

I will try some of the following that you have suggested and will let you know how it goes.

Also it is liquid cooled, vertical mount and pipes enter on the bottom, radiator inlet pipes are below water block.

 

[Make it Slide]

What audio device are you using? If it's onboard audio try disabling it in the BIOS and run tests again. If all goes well then you'll know the source of the problem. If that happens to be the case uninstall all of the software/drivers related to it and then download the latest drivers from the motherboard makers website.

I use an audio-technica ATH-AD900X headset, this thru realtek HD audio

I will give this a shot and let you know!

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