Question Sound problems with Ballistics game on one specific computer ?

[madaraosenpai]

Back in September I built a Windows XP PC specifically to play old games on. Specs are:

• eMachines MCP73VT-PM Motherboard
• Intel Core 2 Quad
• 2x Corsair 2GB DDR2 DIMMs
• PNY GeForce GTS 250 (needed something stupidly cheap but overkill enough to play at 1080p)
• Creative Soundblaster Audigy II ZS
• ASUS DRW-24F1ST DVD drive
• Cooler Master A93 Cooler
• Windows XP SP3, updated with Legacy Update

Most everything works fine except in one game. When I try to play Ballistics I get these weird sound bugs where all of the menu sound effects try to skip around one another. What I mean is, the game seems to limit itself to only one voice, so when it tries to play sound effects over the game's music, it interrupts the music, the music skips around and interrupts the sound FX; basically it sounds like the game is stuttering over itself.

This doesn't really happen to any of the in-game sounds like wall hits or ship engines but it's extremely annoying during anything else. I can't hear the announcer properly during a race. I had this issue before I installed the Soundblaster so I'm wondering if it's a problem with my motherboard? I've played on a Vostro 1700 from roughly the same time period and had no such problems. Didn't have this bug on my main gaming rig either.

The motherboard I'm using has the Nvidia nForce 610i chipset with Realtek ALC888S audio.

 

[madaraosenpai]

Someone else is having the same issue on a completely different motherboard now. It's a Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H. This rules out it being an issue with nForce.