Question Windows 11 random audio pops/jitter/cracks caused by latency issues?

[TheMaxter]

So for a month or so, I've been trying to resolve a fairly annoying issue with my Windows PC. Performance wise, there has been no issues, but when listening to Spotify, YT, or gaming once every 15 mins or so, there is a random < 0.5 second audio click or pop (I'm not an audiophile so not sure what the lingo is). As its a real-time audio issue, it is not picked up in video recordings and is impossible to replicate on command.

Specs:

• RTX 4080
• i9 14900k
• 64GB DDR5 6400mhz
• Windows 11
• 1000w PSU

Here is what I have tried: (kind of chronologically)

• New headphones & IEMs
• New DAC
• Changed audio formats (from 16 bit - 48000Hz to 24 bit 192000 Hz)
• Disabled audio enhancements
• Updated DAC audio driver (issue happens without DAC also so its not faulty)
• Disabled all other playback devices in device manager
• Windows to date
• Heard some people had issues with GeForce drivers causing similar issues so I clean re-installed the current driver, and a previous one from earlier this year where the issue wasn't present. - No luck
• Tried all USB ports
• Disabled Nvidia HD Audio drivers
• Did a RAM Memory Diagnostic to see if the stutter was faulty ram
• Scanned for malware and did a full system check / clean
• Installed LatencyMon which gave fairly inconsistent results but mentioned that 'my system seems to be having difficulty handling real time audio and other tasks.'
• Changed power plan to High Performance with processor idle demote and promote on 100%
• A bunch of command prompt commands recommended by a forum user to reduce latency
• Overall latency has improved, but still the popping happens and latency sometimes spikes to **~**1000 (Wdf0100.sys, ntoskrnl.exe & nvlddmkm.sys)

I'm sure I've missed a few things out that I've tried but I'm at a bit of a loss. As mentioned, there is no in-game visual issue, nor is my PC performing any worse. Just the sudden and random audio jitter once every 15mins or so is annoying.

I suppose my next steps will be to look into turning off core parking or updating BIOS. (I am hesitant to do both)

I'd be interested to hear anyone else's experience if this has happened to them or any suggestions. Ty in advance

 

[TheMaxter]

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your system appears to be having trouble handling real-time audio and other tasks. You are likely to experience buffer underruns appearing as drop outs, clicks or pops. One problem may be related to power management, disable CPU throttling settings in Control Panel and BIOS setup. Check for BIOS updates.
LatencyMon has been analyzing your system for 0:23:27 (h:mm:ss) on all processors.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SYSTEM INFORMATION
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Computer name: MAX-DESKTOP
OS version: Windows 11, 10.0, version 2009, build: 22631 (x64)
Hardware: Z790 AORUS PRO X, Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
BIOS: F4
CPU: GenuineIntel Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900K
Logical processors: 32
Processor groups: 1
Processor group size: 32
RAM: 65299 MB total


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU SPEED
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reported CPU speed (WMI): 320 MHz
Reported CPU speed (registry): 3187 MHz

Note: reported execution times may be calculated based on a fixed reported CPU speed. Disable variable speed settings like Intel Speed Step and AMD Cool N Quiet in the BIOS setup for more accurate results.


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MEASURED INTERRUPT TO USER PROCESS LATENCIES
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The interrupt to process latency reflects the measured interval that a usermode process needed to respond to a hardware request from the moment the interrupt service routine started execution. This includes the scheduling and execution of a DPC routine, the signaling of an event and the waking up of a usermode thread from an idle wait state in response to that event.

Highest measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 4318.0
Average measured interrupt to process latency (µs): 6.159485

Highest measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 4314.30
Average measured interrupt to DPC latency (µs): 1.258351


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED ISRs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Interrupt service routines are routines installed by the OS and device drivers that execute in response to a hardware interrupt signal.

Highest ISR routine execution time (µs): 201.723251
Driver with highest ISR routine execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total ISR routine time (%): 0.000421
Driver with highest ISR total time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in ISRs (%) 0.000435

ISR count (execution time <250 µs): 242369
ISR count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 500-1000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 0
ISR count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED DPCs
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DPC routines are part of the interrupt servicing dispatch mechanism and disable the possibility for a process to utilize the CPU while it is interrupted until the DPC has finished execution.

Highest DPC routine execution time (µs): 967.591152
Driver with highest DPC routine execution time: ntoskrnl.exe - NT Kernel & System, Microsoft Corporation

Highest reported total DPC routine time (%): 0.017903
Driver with highest DPC total execution time: Wdf01000.sys - Kernel Mode Driver Framework Runtime, Microsoft Corporation

Total time spent in DPCs (%) 0.040103

DPC count (execution time <250 µs): 1133617
DPC count (execution time 250-500 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 500-10000 µs): 326
DPC count (execution time 1000-2000 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time 2000-4000 µs): 0
DPC count (execution time >=4000 µs): 0


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
REPORTED HARD PAGEFAULTS
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hard pagefaults are events that get triggered by making use of virtual memory that is not resident in RAM but backed by a memory mapped file on disk. The process of resolving the hard pagefault requires reading in the memory from disk while the process is interrupted and blocked from execution.

NOTE: some processes were hit by hard pagefaults. If these were programs producing audio, they are likely to interrupt the audio stream resulting in dropouts, clicks and pops. Check the Processes tab to see which programs were hit.

Process with highest pagefault count: explorer.exe

Total number of hard pagefaults 4075
Hard pagefault count of hardest hit process: 1424
Number of processes hit: 47


_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PER CPU DATA
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 0 Interrupt cycle time (s): 57.753883
CPU 0 ISR highest execution time (µs): 99.190461
CPU 0 ISR total execution time (s): 0.060535
CPU 0 ISR count: 10700
CPU 0 DPC highest execution time (µs): 186.529652
CPU 0 DPC total execution time (s): 0.410699
CPU 0 DPC count: 86331
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 1 Interrupt cycle time (s): 58.144530
CPU 1 ISR highest execution time (µs): 31.951992
CPU 1 ISR total execution time (s): 0.004107
CPU 1 ISR count: 11663
CPU 1 DPC highest execution time (µs): 393.423910
CPU 1 DPC total execution time (s): 0.632568
CPU 1 DPC count: 34699
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 2 Interrupt cycle time (s): 78.265404
CPU 2 ISR highest execution time (µs): 201.723251
CPU 2 ISR total execution time (s): 0.036410
CPU 2 ISR count: 88701
CPU 2 DPC highest execution time (µs): 937.339818
CPU 2 DPC total execution time (s): 5.543337
CPU 2 DPC count: 325263
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 3 Interrupt cycle time (s): 53.825441
CPU 3 ISR highest execution time (µs): 128.696580
CPU 3 ISR total execution time (s): 0.005104
CPU 3 ISR count: 879
CPU 3 DPC highest execution time (µs): 201.864763
CPU 3 DPC total execution time (s): 0.026340
CPU 3 DPC count: 1592
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 4 Interrupt cycle time (s): 52.470658
CPU 4 ISR highest execution time (µs): 108.499529
CPU 4 ISR total execution time (s): 0.020761
CPU 4 ISR count: 2987
CPU 4 DPC highest execution time (µs): 386.540006
CPU 4 DPC total execution time (s): 0.540837
CPU 4 DPC count: 51567
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 5 Interrupt cycle time (s): 56.425327
CPU 5 ISR highest execution time (µs): 52.939128
CPU 5 ISR total execution time (s): 0.015874
CPU 5 ISR count: 31038
CPU 5 DPC highest execution time (µs): 427.367430
CPU 5 DPC total execution time (s): 1.905272
CPU 5 DPC count: 107875
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 6 Interrupt cycle time (s): 63.489603
CPU 6 ISR highest execution time (µs): 43.149357
CPU 6 ISR total execution time (s): 0.042711
CPU 6 ISR count: 79202
CPU 6 DPC highest execution time (µs): 662.598996
CPU 6 DPC total execution time (s): 6.907429
CPU 6 DPC count: 383166
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 7 Interrupt cycle time (s): 53.748961
CPU 7 ISR highest execution time (µs): 19.745215
CPU 7 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000587
CPU 7 ISR count: 93
CPU 7 DPC highest execution time (µs): 372.485096
CPU 7 DPC total execution time (s): 0.964358
CPU 7 DPC count: 60365
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 8 Interrupt cycle time (s): 51.175695
CPU 8 ISR highest execution time (µs): 20.632570
CPU 8 ISR total execution time (s): 0.003198
CPU 8 ISR count: 572
CPU 8 DPC highest execution time (µs): 163.355507
CPU 8 DPC total execution time (s): 0.035174
CPU 8 DPC count: 3627
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 9 Interrupt cycle time (s): 52.667506
CPU 9 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 9 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 9 ISR count: 0
CPU 9 DPC highest execution time (µs): 121.761531
CPU 9 DPC total execution time (s): 0.002530
CPU 9 DPC count: 315
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 10 Interrupt cycle time (s): 52.754520
CPU 10 ISR highest execution time (µs): 26.446501
CPU 10 ISR total execution time (s): 0.004573
CPU 10 ISR count: 12154
CPU 10 DPC highest execution time (µs): 967.591152
CPU 10 DPC total execution time (s): 0.685895
CPU 10 DPC count: 41608
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 11 Interrupt cycle time (s): 52.547670
CPU 11 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 11 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 11 ISR count: 0
CPU 11 DPC highest execution time (µs): 138.531534
CPU 11 DPC total execution time (s): 0.005222
CPU 11 DPC count: 709
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 12 Interrupt cycle time (s): 53.194717
CPU 12 ISR highest execution time (µs): 19.405711
CPU 12 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000538
CPU 12 ISR count: 95
CPU 12 DPC highest execution time (µs): 170.530907
CPU 12 DPC total execution time (s): 0.028975
CPU 12 DPC count: 4015
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 13 Interrupt cycle time (s): 52.839690
CPU 13 ISR highest execution time (µs): 2.017258
CPU 13 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000045
CPU 13 ISR count: 97
CPU 13 DPC highest execution time (µs): 214.934735
CPU 13 DPC total execution time (s): 0.008744
CPU 13 DPC count: 890
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 14 Interrupt cycle time (s): 47.765224
CPU 14 ISR highest execution time (µs): 7.058990
CPU 14 ISR total execution time (s): 0.001589
CPU 14 ISR count: 4115
CPU 14 DPC highest execution time (µs): 246.267650
CPU 14 DPC total execution time (s): 0.186857
CPU 14 DPC count: 12807
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 15 Interrupt cycle time (s): 52.392715
CPU 15 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 15 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 15 ISR count: 0
CPU 15 DPC highest execution time (µs): 141.061814
CPU 15 DPC total execution time (s): 0.004062
CPU 15 DPC count: 540
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 16 Interrupt cycle time (s): 26.253898
CPU 16 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 16 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 16 ISR count: 0
CPU 16 DPC highest execution time (µs): 104.540948
CPU 16 DPC total execution time (s): 0.009806
CPU 16 DPC count: 1917
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 17 Interrupt cycle time (s): 24.222393
CPU 17 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 17 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 17 ISR count: 0
CPU 17 DPC highest execution time (µs): 127.131158
CPU 17 DPC total execution time (s): 0.010898
CPU 17 DPC count: 1399
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 18 Interrupt cycle time (s): 10.273253
CPU 18 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 18 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 18 ISR count: 0
CPU 18 DPC highest execution time (µs): 71.965485
CPU 18 DPC total execution time (s): 0.002227
CPU 18 DPC count: 307
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 19 Interrupt cycle time (s): 8.840999
CPU 19 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 19 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 19 ISR count: 0
CPU 19 DPC highest execution time (µs): 115.261374
CPU 19 DPC total execution time (s): 0.002570
CPU 19 DPC count: 345
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 20 Interrupt cycle time (s): 27.758394
CPU 20 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 20 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 20 ISR count: 0
CPU 20 DPC highest execution time (µs): 132.932852
CPU 20 DPC total execution time (s): 0.014299
CPU 20 DPC count: 1835
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 21 Interrupt cycle time (s): 20.259670
CPU 21 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 21 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 21 ISR count: 0
CPU 21 DPC highest execution time (µs): 221.960464
CPU 21 DPC total execution time (s): 0.008936
CPU 21 DPC count: 990
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 22 Interrupt cycle time (s): 8.745025
CPU 22 ISR highest execution time (µs): 2.167242
CPU 22 ISR total execution time (s): 0.000070
CPU 22 ISR count: 73
CPU 22 DPC highest execution time (µs): 245.917791
CPU 22 DPC total execution time (s): 0.008717
CPU 22 DPC count: 821
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 23 Interrupt cycle time (s): 7.973662
CPU 23 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 23 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 23 ISR count: 0
CPU 23 DPC highest execution time (µs): 163.791340
CPU 23 DPC total execution time (s): 0.004883
CPU 23 DPC count: 553
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 24 Interrupt cycle time (s): 32.80490
CPU 24 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 24 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 24 ISR count: 0
CPU 24 DPC highest execution time (µs): 217.554126
CPU 24 DPC total execution time (s): 0.017977
CPU 24 DPC count: 2081
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 25 Interrupt cycle time (s): 17.994728
CPU 25 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 25 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 25 ISR count: 0
CPU 25 DPC highest execution time (µs): 96.881707
CPU 25 DPC total execution time (s): 0.007632
CPU 25 DPC count: 929
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 26 Interrupt cycle time (s): 8.960005
CPU 26 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 26 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 26 ISR count: 0
CPU 26 DPC highest execution time (µs): 149.752118
CPU 26 DPC total execution time (s): 0.003804
CPU 26 DPC count: 398
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 27 Interrupt cycle time (s): 7.235293
CPU 27 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 27 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 27 ISR count: 0
CPU 27 DPC highest execution time (µs): 125.512708
CPU 27 DPC total execution time (s): 0.003794
CPU 27 DPC count: 404
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 28 Interrupt cycle time (s): 22.168433
CPU 28 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 28 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 28 ISR count: 0
CPU 28 DPC highest execution time (µs): 138.415751
CPU 28 DPC total execution time (s): 0.016406
CPU 28 DPC count: 1964
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 29 Interrupt cycle time (s): 29.764382
CPU 29 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 29 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 29 ISR count: 0
CPU 29 DPC highest execution time (µs): 137.525259
CPU 29 DPC total execution time (s): 0.018731
CPU 29 DPC count: 1540
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 30 Interrupt cycle time (s): 8.784194
CPU 30 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 30 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 30 ISR count: 0
CPU 30 DPC highest execution time (µs): 143.373392
CPU 30 DPC total execution time (s): 0.007263
CPU 30 DPC count: 661
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CPU 31 Interrupt cycle time (s): 8.709891
CPU 31 ISR highest execution time (µs): 0.0
CPU 31 ISR total execution time (s): 0.0
CPU 31 ISR count: 0
CPU 31 DPC highest execution time (µs): 166.541889
CPU 31 DPC total execution time (s): 0.033188
CPU 31 DPC count: 2430
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

[ubuysa]

The latency of which you speak consists of both ISR and DPC time, and the biggest contributor to both is the Windows Wdf01000.sys driver. This is the runtime library for the Windows Driver Foundation, it's used by all drivers that use the WDF libraries. The issue then is with a third-party driver that uses the WDF libraries. Sadly latencymon can't tell you anything more.

Try a series of Windows Clean-Boot and deselect driver sets until you locate the troublesome one(s).