[SOLVED] High DPC Latency (audio stuttering) - Windows 7 Pro x64 SP1

[Zyrelia]

Hi. Whenever I try to run a game with AMD CrossfireX active between my 2 Sapphire R9 290x Vapor-x cards, I get severe audio stuttering when watching a Twitch stream or Youtube video at the same time. Here is the trace file after following the steps in the DPC monitoring and tracing guide. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-CfSHQJrY7pQUFUUTdDOFVwbEU/view?usp=sharing Could I get some help to fix this? If more information (such as a dxdiag) is needed, just let me know.

Thank you

 

[usasma]

Looking at CorsairLink and GameScannerService.exe as the first likely problems.
Please uninstall them

There's also a process named main.exe - I'm uncertain what it belongs to - but it could be a program named SpyCop Scan Check, or it could be a trojan virus
Please scan the system with a single, updated, properly working antivirus.

As an aside, I note that both Avast and MalwareBytes are running in memory.
Please uninstall MalwareBytes. Only run one antivirus or one firewall resident in memory at a time.
FYI - should you decide to reinstall MalwareBytes after we're finished troubleshooting, please DO NOT allow it to opt you in for the trial of the PRO version. That's the memory resident part.

Test after doing the above things. If it's still having problems, let's have a look at another trace.

 

[Zyrelia]

Thanks for the response usasma. I can tell you that GameScannerService.exe and main.exe are both parts of Razer Game Booster (Razer Cortex). I will uninstall it tonight after work along with CorsairLink. I have Avast for anti-virus and MalwareBytes Pro for anti-malware. I will uninstall that to test as well and post the results.

 

[Zyrelia]

I uninstalled CorsairLink, MalwareBytes, and i determined that GameScannerService.exe and main.exe are part of RazerGameBooster (razer cortex), which I also uninstalled. After uninstalling and restarting my computer, I went and did a trace under the same scenario (playing darksouls2 with crossfirex enabled and active, having 1 twitch stream open in chrome) and here is the file. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-CfSHQJrY7pdm55WVFPaGpsQnc/view?usp=sharing

Thanks again for the help in troubleshooting this.

 

[usasma]

Avast is still eating a lot of time - try removing it (enable Windows Defender and Windows Firewall)
CCC.exe is using a lot also - uninstall AMD video drivers and software - then install the driver only (an older link to a how-to: https://www.sysnative.com/forums/wi...cards-driver-only-installation-procedure.html )

GameOverlayUI.exe also takes up a lot. Uninstall Steam and then reinstall with only the necessary functions

 

[Zyrelia]

I uninstalled avast and CCC and turned off the gameoverlay in steam settings, but I'm confused because if I have CCC completely uninstalled, I cannot use crossfirex between my 2 graphics cards. Do you still want the CCC completely uninstalled (only drivers installed) or also have CCC installed for the next trace?

 

[usasma]

Oops!!! Thanks for catching me on that! I do not do dual video cards, so I didn't understand that it was needed.
In that case, uninstall all the AMD video stuff. Then download and install a fresh copy for your system.

Just thinking out loud here, but it may be advantageous to test the cards individually, then see if they also work when set in Crossfire.
Don't have to do it now, but it's a way of verifying that each card is working properly.

 

[Zyrelia]

I'm actually checking out something right now. I'm trying to play Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin using crossfirex (which requires full screen mode). When going into full screen for this game with crossfirex enabled, it causes the audio issues. When going into full screen for this game with crossfirex disabled, it also still causes the audio issues. Windowed mode does not cause audio issues, but i'm trying to use crossfirex, so this doesn't help me. When playing other games in windowed or full screen, no audio issues. This could be related to dark souls itself, so I am doing a clean installation of that before doing any other testing. I will also try to test the cards individually (since I actually only tested the first main card by itself and added the 2nd card later.

I'll post again after doing this testing.

 

[Zyrelia]

After reinstalling my CCC software (to use crossfirex) and uninstalling and reinstalling Dark Souls II (the game I was having trouble with), I now have 0 audio issues. Just checked the latency and it is all normal levels and sounds great.

Thank you for the help usasma. I still don't know exactly why it's better now, but I think it had to do with the Dark Souls II game itself, as that was the only thing I was having trouble with in full screen mode.

 

[usasma]

"Nothing succeeds like success!" Glad to hear that you're not having problems. Thanks for letting us know!