Question Audio issues causing me to lose my mind - Please help!

[andsoitgoes]

Okay, so I have an unnecessarily complicated setup, as I do a bit of streaming and I've enjoyed playing around with apps like Voicemeeter Potato as well as utilizing my system to do as many cool things as possible.

My specs are relatively solid, so I'm trying to figure out and understand the why this is happening. I picked up LatencyMon to figure out how to get back control of my sound output, and while I've struggled with weird lags in the past, this is the first time something has conclusively told me what the heck is going on.

Here are my system specs

And here is the report from LatencyMon

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. If I wasn't so deep into my current system setup I would full on just wipe and reinstall, but if I can fix it... I'd much prefer not to have to throw away days of downtime to get me back to where I am.

 

[drivinfast247]

What problems are you having?

48gb RAM?

 

[helpstar]

check windows with dism commands
check hard drives with manufacturer's tool
reinstall latest audio drivers
run memtest
check the speed (MHz/GHz) of the ram in windows Taskmanager
48GB might be problematic
which sticks are you using ? make and exact model numbers

 

[andsoitgoes]

What problems are you having?

48gb RAM?

Yes - I was trying to be fiscally responsible, they're the same brand/make/speed (G.Skill Trident Z DDR4 3600) the only difference is that I have 2 16gb DIMMs and 2 8gb DIMMs

This was an issue prior to changing the RAM, as well. It was an impetus in adding more.

check windows with dism commands
check hard drives with manufacturer's tool
reinstall latest audio drivers
run memtest
check the speed (MHz/GHz) of the ram in windows Taskmanager
48GB might be problematic
which sticks are you using ? make and exact model numbers

- DSIM passes
- All drives (NVME M.2 PCIE 3 or 4) pass all tests
- I’m using the XMP profile running the DIMMs at 3600
- This was an issue long before the change from 32 to 48 and also prior to running my ram at full speed
- mentioned above, but 2x 8gb, 2x 16gb DDR4 G.Skill TridentZ 3600mhz ram

 

[drivinfast247]

Yes - I was trying to be fiscally responsible, they're the same brand/make/speed (G.Skill Trident Z DDR4 3600) the only difference is that I have 2 16gb DIMMs and 2 8gb DIMMs

This was an issue prior to changing the RAM, as well. It was an impetus in adding more.


- DSIM passes
- All drives (NVME M.2 PCIE 3 or 4) pass all tests
- I’m using the XMP profile running the DIMMs at 3600
- This was an issue long before the change from 32 to 48 and also prior to running my ram at full speed
- mentioned above, but 2x 8gb, 2x 16gb DDR4 G.Skill TridentZ 3600mhz ram

Have you uninstalled any additional audio software from your PC?

 

[American2021]

reinstall latest audio drivers

This one right here should be checked imo.

A lot of times people put in a new sound card and then use the Windows drivers instead of the new sound card manufacturer's driver for the new sound card and that leads to these sorts of problems. Or, they don't have a sound card at all and are using a newer motherboard's audio but not the newer motherboard audio driver.

That said, it should be understood that if using a sound card and the sound card is older, or the motherboard audio is being used but the motherboard is older: then it's best in my experience to use the latest Windows driver for whatever is being used to generate the audio (either a sound card or the audio output on the motherboard). This is because hardware manufacturers stop updating drivers for the old hardware they made while the latest Windows operating system (e.g. Windows 11) continues updating their drivers until the operating system is no longer supported.

So in my experience, new hardware then use the hardware manufacturer's driver. But, old hardware then use the latest Windows driver.

 

[andsoitgoes]

Have you uninstalled any additional audio software from your PC?

I did a full wipe.

Am using Voicemeeter for VAIO, but even after the full wipe with none of that installed, I was experiencing issues.

This one right here should be checked imo.

A lot of times people put in a new sound card and then use the Windows drivers instead of the new sound card manufacturer's driver for the new sound card and that leads to these sorts of problems. Or, they don't have a sound card at all and are using a newer motherboard's audio but not the newer motherboard audio driver.

That said, it should be understood that if using a sound card and the sound card is older, or the motherboard audio is being used but the motherboard is older: then it's best in my experience to use the latest Windows driver for whatever is being used to generate the audio (either a sound card or the audio output on the motherboard). This is because hardware manufacturers stop updating drivers for the old hardware they made while the latest Windows operating system (e.g. Windows 11) continues updating their drivers until the operating system is no longer supported.

So in my experience, new hardware then use the hardware manufacturer's driver. But, old hardware then use the latest Windows driver.

Not using any separate hardware. Just my motherboard and I’m routing that through a controller for my mic.

But as soon as I finished setting up windows I immediately installed my motherboard’s audio drivers (as well as the chipset)

So unfortunately not the sound card itself.

i followed multiple guides making a variety of changes, and while it is better I will still regularly get hit with high latency from either the DirectX driver or the Nvidia Kernel driver.

 

[American2021]

Not using any separate hardware. Just my motherboard and I’m routing that through a controller for my mic.

But as soon as I finished setting up windows I immediately installed my motherboard’s audio drivers (as well as the chipset)

So unfortunately not the sound card itself.

i followed multiple guides making a variety of changes, and while it is better I will still regularly get hit with high latency from either the DirectX driver or the Nvidia Kernel driver.

1. How old is the MSI MS-7C35 motherboard that you're using?
2. Is the controller that's attached to your computer a USB controller or does it use a propriety PCI card?
3. Is the microphone using a 1/4" jack, a USB cable, or some other technology to plug into the controller which is attached to your computer?
4. I know you're playing around with third-party apps which are not the problem, as evidenced by Latmon showing the problem is not coming from them. However, are you using third-party software to manage the controller or any third-party software to manage the audio or, are using Windows 11 to manage the controller and audio? What I'm asking here is:
a. If the controller came with software to manage it that you are using.
b. I'm also asking if you're using software to manage the audio or something like Realtek HD audio manager software or some other software like that.