Latency Issues

[PaisleySleeves]

I have been experiencing crackling, popping and buzzing sounds ever since installing a new graphics card. This happens when playing games and streaming youtube videos although the videos are okay until I try to scroll down the page, then the popping/crackling occurs. During playing games the problem mainly occurs when the game is script heavy or loading. The graphics card is a Geforce GT730, this problem did not exist when using my old graphics card Geforce GT610. So I have to think that it's related to this in some way, nothing else on the system has changed. What I have done so far:

Updated all drivers, still the problem persists
Tried using the HDMI audio from the video card, still the same problem. Disabled on board sound and tried again, no luck.
Completely wiped the computer and re-installed everything, all drivers up to date, still had the same issues.
Updated the BIOS, still not resolved.
Changed power options in Windows 7.
Unplugged various peripherals, DVD, front USB,etc.
Tried different keyboard and mouse, still USB have no other option available, the problem persists.

I think that covers everything, I may have missed something out, after trying various things I am beginning to lose track. I have done lots of research on the web, looked at this site for answers and have finally decided to post here in the hope that someone can help.

Here is a link to the trace produced using xperf and instructions found on this site.

Any help in resolving this would be very much appreciated.

 

[bassfisher6522]

The minimum PSU requirement is 300 watts.....depending on what version of the GT730 you have, your 4/6/8 pin connector needs to be anywhere from 23 watts to 49 watt.

GeForce GT 730 | Specifications | GeForce

I'd check to make sure the GPU is fully/correctly seated and it's in the correct X16 PCIe slot. Then make sure you have the correct power cable from the PSU to the GPU and it's fully plugged in, if it has one.

 

[PaisleySleeves]

Thanks for the quick reply bassfisher,

The minimum PSU requirement is 300 watts.....depending on what version of the GT730 you have, your 4/6/8 pin connector needs to be anywhere from 23 watts to 49 watt.

GeForce GT 730 | Specifications | GeForce

I'd check to make sure the GPU is fully/correctly seated and it's in the correct X16 PCIe slot. Then make sure you have the correct power cable from the PSU to the GPU and it's fully plugged in, if it has one.

My PSU is 375 watt, I'm not sure how to check if the 4/6/8 pin connector is 23 watts to 49 watts, perhaps you could advise.

At one point I did remove and reseat the card just in case this was the issue, I only have one X16 PCIe slot so can't have connected it to the wrong slot.

The system I have this installed in a Dell Dimension 9200 with an Intel Core 2 Duo 6230 1.86Ghz with 4Gb RAM and as stated a PSU with 375W output. When installing the drivers it supposedly does a compatibility check, I'm not sure what this consists of but it passed that before continuing to install the drivers. I now have access to another computer which I am going to install the card in just to check that the card isn't faulty. Any other suggestions in the meantime would be appreciated.

 

[PaisleySleeves]

An update, I have tried the graphics card in the other computer although it reported some high latency and with the same driver files, I did not experience the sound glitches as I have been. This other system does have a more powerful processor, more memory and a higher wattage PSU. So another test I performed was to move the PSU across to my computer this did not resolve the problem.

The other difference between the two computers is the OS, the more powerful test machine is running Windows 8.1 whereas my computer is Windows 7.
Could upgrading the OS to Windows 8 resolve the issue?
Would the processor make the difference? Could a low end processor with this graphics card cause these sort of problems? My cpu is an Intel Core 2 Duo 6320 at 1.86Ghz is this processor not compatible with the graphics card? I would have thought a more powerful graphics card would take some of the strain off the CPU and not cause this sort of problem.

Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

 

[PaisleySleeves]

Further update

I wiped the computer again, installed Windows 8.1 in trial mode this did not resolve the issue. Next I wiped the computer again and went back to the original OS that shipped with the system Windows Vista, but as you can guess it did not resolve the problem. I did notice that several devices share the same IRQ, as follows:

High Definition Audio Controller
Intel ICH8 Family PCI Express Root Port 1 283F
Intel ICH8 Family PCI Express Root Port 5 2847
Intel ICH8 Family USB Universal Host Controller 2834
Intel P965/G965 PCI Express Root Port 29A1
NVIDIA Geforce GT 730

I know that IRQ sharing is acceptable and Windows as well as the BIOS should handle these things, but this does look like a lot of devices sharing the same IRQ. These devices are obviously those involved in the issue I am experiencing, so I thought this may be the root cause. Unfortunately there is not an option in the BIOS to set IRQ's, so I can't alter things that way, also I can't test things by disabling onboard sound as this is required to conduct the test. I can't disable the USB controller as my mouse and keyboard require this.

Should disabling the onboard sound and using the graphics card HDMI audio overcome this, or does the HDMI audio still use the MoBo audio in some way?
Would fitting a new sound card help, and would a USB external be the better option as no other IRQs would be required for that if I understand correctly?

Does anyone have any ideas, I am beginning to run out of them myself?