Audio issue with Steam games

[pingle_635]

I keep having a weird issue when playing some of my games on Steam. I bought a pre-built PC about a year ago and it runs really well. Not top of the range but not inexpensive either. The only issue is that sometimes, regardless of how well a game is running, my audio will occasionally crackle, and my mouse can freeze for about a second or two, while the game continues to run without a problem.

It seems entirely random and it also happens regardless of what device I use for audio (wireless headphones, an audio interface, my monitor, etc.). I was wondering if anyone knows what this is or what could be causing it. The mouse freezing makes me suspect that it isn't just to do with my audio engine.

Thanks!

[ReBoot]

Looks like you're using Windows 11 on an AMD system. Perform a BIOS update (or firmware update, for the oedants out there).

[pingle_635]

Windows 11 yes, AMD no. I have an NVIDIA RTX 3060. All my drivers are up to date

[ReBoot]

Originally posted by pingle_635:

Windows 11 yes, AMD no. I have an NVIDIA RTX 3060. All my drivers are up to date

You know this PC has a CPU, right? Like that thing that does non-graphics-computing. It couldn't even boot without a CPU!

[pingle_635]

Thank you for your input. Why would that be causing the issue and how would that fix it?

[ReBoot]

Originally posted by pingle_635:

Thank you for your input. Why would that be causing the issue and how would that fix it?

Why: something between AMD's earlier fTPM versions and Windows 11 goes awry.
How: AMD's updates fTPM doesn't show this issue.

[pingle_635]

If it were my CPU, I'd wager that the glitch would be happening with other programs too. It's only with Steam games

[ReBoot]

Originally posted by pingle_635:

If it were my CPU, I'd wager that the glitch would be happening with other programs too. It's only with Steam games

Do or do you not have an AMD CPU?

[pingle_635]

Originally posted by ReBoot:

Originally posted by pingle_635:

If it were my CPU, I'd wager that the glitch would be happening with other programs too. It's only with Steam games

Do or do you not have an AMD CPU?

No. Any other ideas?

[ReBoot]

Originally posted by pingle_635:

Originally posted by ReBoot:

Do or do you not have an AMD CPU?

No. Any other ideas?

You really could've said that earlier.

[crunchyfrog]

The only thing I will point out is that if you are suffering audio crackling and it dirupts your mouse input, then there's either something wrong with the audio hardware, something wrong with the driver, or maybe even something wrong with the mouse connection or driver.

The way DirectX works, for example, if you have any issues with an audio device it will affect graphics, and other systems.

So it could be your audio device or driver, or the same with your mouse. First thing to check is the USB connection for the mouse (or dongle) is secure and not loose. USB connections often are crap and get loose over time, so your PC can go NUTS trying to connect and disconnect several times a second if it's not secure.

Best way to check this is to use a different USB connection. See if anything changes.

Also drivers - update them if you can. If you can't, remove them entirely and try to reinstall an earlier version and see if things change.

If none of them work you should really assume that there's something hardware related and should get it checked out.

[pingle_635]

Originally posted by crunchyfrog:

The only thing I will point out is that if you are suffering audio crackling and it dirupts your mouse input, then there's either something wrong with the audio hardware, something wrong with the driver, or maybe even something wrong with the mouse connection or driver.

The way DirectX works, for example, if you have any issues with an audio device it will affect graphics, and other systems.

So it could be your audio device or driver, or the same with your mouse. First thing to check is the USB connection for the mouse (or dongle) is secure and not loose. USB connections often are crap and get loose over time, so your PC can go NUTS trying to connect and disconnect several times a second if it's not secure.

Best way to check this is to use a different USB connection. See if anything changes.

Also drivers - update them if you can. If you can't, remove them entirely and try to reinstall an earlier version and see if things change.

If none of them work you should really assume that there's something hardware related and should get it checked out.

Awesome thank you! I've checked my USB inputs on the back and none of them seem loose. That could be part of the problem as I have multiple devices connected (wireless mouse, audio interface, headphone receiver, keyboard, midi controller, charger for my headphones).

I think all my audio drivers are up to date but I can try uninstalling them and reinstalling them. The strangest thing though is that it only seems to be affected by Steam. I'm a musician as well (hence the interface) and Ableton never seems to have any of same issues. That makes me think it's probably not a hardware issue (or at least I hope it isn't)

[crunchyfrog]

Originally posted by pingle_635:

Originally posted by crunchyfrog:

The only thing I will point out is that if you are suffering audio crackling and it dirupts your mouse input, then there's either something wrong with the audio hardware, something wrong with the driver, or maybe even something wrong with the mouse connection or driver.

The way DirectX works, for example, if you have any issues with an audio device it will affect graphics, and other systems.

So it could be your audio device or driver, or the same with your mouse. First thing to check is the USB connection for the mouse (or dongle) is secure and not loose. USB connections often are crap and get loose over time, so your PC can go NUTS trying to connect and disconnect several times a second if it's not secure.

Best way to check this is to use a different USB connection. See if anything changes.

Also drivers - update them if you can. If you can't, remove them entirely and try to reinstall an earlier version and see if things change.

If none of them work you should really assume that there's something hardware related and should get it checked out.

Awesome thank you! I've checked my USB inputs on the back and none of them seem loose. That could be part of the problem as I have multiple devices connected (wireless mouse, audio interface, headphone receiver, keyboard, midi controller, charger for my headphones).

I think all my audio drivers are up to date but I can try uninstalling them and reinstalling them. The strangest thing though is that it only seems to be affected by Steam. I'm a musician as well (hence the interface) and Ableton never seems to have any of same issues. That makes me think it's probably not a hardware issue (or at least I hope it isn't)

Ah now if you have all those things connected, how many are in the same hub?

Because if you have a few you're likely pulling too much power and they're fighting with each other to power.

This often results in the first thing you connected dropping out, or the PC getting confused and repeatedly trying to connect and disconnect things.

That may well explain the crackling as that may indicate an underpowered amp.

The easiest way to check this is to remove every single thing, and gradually add them one by one and mix it up until the problem appears.