680i + 8800 SLI = Sound problems -Confirmed!

[mdzcpa]

That's not what I was referring to. I was referring to evga and the other mobo makers that are going to get burned by this.

I've tried every combination of drivers.

Perhaps I'll try the "old" audio drivers that came with the cd versus the ones on the egva website. That's about the only thing I haven't tried.

[pentium777]

Easy!

Those are "PAID" reviews. I think Anand nor Kyle will bite the hand that feeds them.

I agree with your assessment and when they start to become like Tom's Hardware then their reviews will be meaningless to the people like us that really need an honest review not some PAID BS.

[ShoNuff]

At first I thought I did NOT have the problem, but I was wrong. The problem does not occur in COD2 like many report but happens in Rainbow Six Lockdown. I have not experienced it yet in GRAW and don't play BF1942.

System Specs not mentioned below:

OS: XPSP2 w/ all latest patches
Platform Drivers: NForce 9.53
Audio Drivers: Latest from Creative via "Auto Update." Note new XP install as of 11/12/06)
Video: 97.02
System Overclock: 3.6GHz (on air for now) 12HRs prime stable. Note problem also happens at stock speeds as well.

mdzcpa I am with you...the problem is frustrating and I am sure nvidia knew about prior to launch. I wish it was just a Creative sound card problem. I've been looking for a reason to get a new/better sound card for a while now.

[LexDiamonds]

Its not going to be a driver fix. This is a low level hardware problem. In the quest to make a uber fast and overclock friendly board, I think nVidia set the hardware timings a bit to tight between cpu and mobo.

As you all know, IRQs are simply requests to get cpu cycles. This problem is only happening under full load (not just idle playing a mp3 for example) so nvidia needs to tweak the bios so other devices get a bit higher priority when paging the cpu.

Unless someone proves otherwise, this is where I think the problem lies.

[X.T.R.E.M.E_ICE]

mdzcpa Try taking any PCI cards out and hook up a Fibre Optic sound cable. I did and that is what fixed my sound issues..

Now i have a issue with My kit of G.skill 6400 are not stable at 2.5v 500mhz and they were stable at 2.4v 555mhz on the P5B deluxe

[mdzcpa]

Holy Cow! I stumbled on a fix!!

Vett95wLT4 and I were exchanging PMs trying to figure out why he did not have the problem but I did. I had resorted to using all the drivers on the installation cds (platform, audio for mobo and video from evga boxes). Still no joy.

So, after trying the old drivers, plus a thousand bios changes, I was ready to give up.

Vett95wLT4 reminded me that I needed the latest direct x. However, I knew i already had that as that was what i loaded on top of my windows installation before any other mobo, audio, and video drivers were installed.

So, for the heck of it, I updated to all the latest drivers (9.53 platform, r149 audio, and 97.02 video). Still no joy. But then I reinstalled the latest direct x again after the new drivers were in and BAM! No more crackles!!

Mesiah, BF2, and COH are all clear now. This is after several reboots warm and cold.

Someone else needs to try this. It can't be this simple. (but it has worked for me! Thanks Vett95wLT4 for the help).

[X.T.R.E.M.E_ICE]

Holy Cow! I stumbled on a fix!!

Vett95wLT4 and I were exchanging PMs trying to figure out why he did not have the problem but I did. I had resorted to using all the drivers on the installation cds (platform, audio for mobo and video from evga boxes). Still no joy.

So, after trying the old drivers, plus a thousand bios changes, I was ready to give up.

Vett95wLT4 reminded me that I needed the latest direct x. However, I knew i already had that as that was what i loaded on top of my windows installation before any other mobo, audio, and video drivers were installed.

So, for the heck of it, I updated to all the latest drivers (9.53 platform, r149 audio, and 97.02 video). Still no joy. But then I reinstalled the latest direct x again after the new drivers were in and BAM! No more crackles!!

Mesiah, BF2, and COH are all clear now. This is after several reboots warm and cold.

Someone else needs to try this. It can't be this simple. (but it has worked for me! Thanks Vett95wLT4 for the help).

thats good news seems to be driver related that is why not everyone is getting the sound problems.

Now all we need a fix for the bad memory over clocking.

[Vett95wLT4]

glad i could help, hope this fixes all the peeps that are having the sam problem

[mdzcpa]

Okay...it seems every game I have now is clear. I was thinking hardware issue for sure. I'm not sure this will clean it up for everyone, but it sure did the trick for me using the onboard sound.

I hope someone else can confirm this fix though.

[bingo13]

Holy Cow! I stumbled on a fix!!

Someone else needs to try this. It can't be this simple. (but it has worked for me! Thanks Vett95wLT4 for the help).

We had already reported this issue to NV but it revolved around issues with the Realtek and Creative drivers. The October DX9 update will resolve about 98% of the issues but realize in most games with EAX enabled that the current Realtek drivers still sound like crap, only without the hissing and popping. The latest Creative X-FI drivers helped a great deal but we still found a couple of pop-hiss-static issues with the Audigy 2 ZS when playing online in BF2 or BF2142. The C-Media 8788 chipset on the BlueGears B-enspirer card is clean with or without the latest DX9 update. We are trying the VIA-ENVY cards this evening. The 97.02 drivers are a little more sensitive to this issue than the 96.94. The Asus Striker board did not have this issue but did have some overclocking issues with the ADI1988 until the last set of ADI drivers and BIOS 0403.

[bingo13]

Easy!

Those are "PAID" reviews. I think Anand nor Kyle will bite the hand that feeds them.

And you know this how?

[tombman]

If you need a tool which can 100% reveal the bug, try this one.
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=LQK3XRWK

It uploads huge amounts of data from the graphics card to main memory and stresses the pci-e and pci a lot. During the test press T and always run an mp3 in the background. If the mp3 keeps playing with clear sound, all is ok. (and don't forget to turn on SLI)

[ACE76]

Okay...it seems every game I have now is clear. I was thinking hardware issue for sure. I'm not sure this will clean it up for everyone, but it sure did the trick for me using the onboard sound.

I hope someone else can confirm this fix though.

I always knew there was a good reason I waited to install the latest Direct X revision AFTEr my audio and video drivers...hell, even Nero now requires an updated build of DX9...I hope this fix will work with all sound solutions.

[v0dka]

One question, no problems have been reported using only single videocard?

[dinos22]

Its not going to be a driver fix. This is a low level hardware problem. In the quest to make a uber fast and overclock friendly board, I think nVidia set the hardware timings a bit to tight between cpu and mobo.

As you all know, IRQs are simply requests to get cpu cycles. This problem is only happening under full load (not just idle playing a mp3 for example) so nvidia needs to tweak the bios so other devices get a bit higher priority when paging the cpu.

Unless someone proves otherwise, this is where I think the problem lies.

looks like you're wrong on this one lol

[linflas]

Holy Cow! I stumbled on a fix!!

Vett95wLT4 and I were exchanging PMs trying to figure out why he did not have the problem but I did. I had resorted to using all the drivers on the installation cds (platform, audio for mobo and video from evga boxes). Still no joy.

So, after trying the old drivers, plus a thousand bios changes, I was ready to give up.

Vett95wLT4 reminded me that I needed the latest direct x. However, I knew i already had that as that was what i loaded on top of my windows installation before any other mobo, audio, and video drivers were installed.

So, for the heck of it, I updated to all the latest drivers (9.53 platform, r149 audio, and 97.02 video). Still no joy. But then I reinstalled the latest direct x again after the new drivers were in and BAM! No more crackles!!

Mesiah, BF2, and COH are all clear now. This is after several reboots warm and cold.

Someone else needs to try this. It can't be this simple. (but it has worked for me! Thanks Vett95wLT4 for the help).

did you use the october SDK? Because I downloaded the general web update, and it did not do anything, bringing down the october sdk now, and will try that

[JoeBar]

A driver issue? That's good news!
However i too believed that it should have been a hw issue.

[JacobF]

Beta BIOS will be available tomorrow morning that addresses this issue.

[mdzcpa]

Beta BIOS will be available tomorrow morning that addresses this issue.

Excellent news!

Although the DirectX reinstall worked for me, it will be good for those that aren't as lucky. I'm looking forward to the fix.

[pentium777]

Now I am minutes away from being a raving lunatic. After 6 days of fooling around and testing I finally load up BF2142 with my 8800 GTX SLI, 680i and my X-FI Fatality.

The distorted sound is nothing short of complete and total BS, it is 100% unplayable by any means and I just can't fathom how in the @#$@#%!$ Nvidia gets away with this BS.

I can tell you one thing absolutely for sure, I am 1 week away from becoming 100% anti-nvidia and purchasing another Intel board P5W DH I suppose and going with crossfire with whatever is ATI's next gen video card.

Enthusiast gaming board? Enthusiast video cards? Excuses on why they won't allow SLI to work on intel chipset was because they need to certify parts for the best gaming experience, I have Certified 8800 SLI Case, PSU, RAM, Video cards, motherboard. Maybe they expect us to fork over $7000 to Falcon NW or Alienware?

Words can not describe how seriously pissed off I am.

****UPDATED****
Closed BF2142 disabled SLI in control panel and no issues with sound whatsoever. Re-enabled SLI without a reboot and I played without any sound issues. I am going to fool around some more with this strange issue and ensure that SLI is still enabled without the reboot. Hopefully that new bois will address the issue more permanently. Does Nvidia testing not include their best offering setup with the most popular games?

[J-Mag]

Words can not describe how seriously pissed off I am.

Assuming perfection in hardware after launch is delusional. Especially new platforms combined w/ new GPUs.

[nugzo]

Assuming perfection in hardware after launch is delusional. Especially new platforms combined w/ new GPUs.

We do not need perfection at launch. We DO Need Usability!!! As it stands now, our $3000-$5000 rigs, aren't any better for gaming than an atari 2600. Unless you are deaf

[pentium777]

Assuming perfection in hardware after launch is delusional. Especially new platforms combined w/ new GPUs.

Can you honestly think that a 100% certified SLI system with:

SLI Case
SLI BFG Nvidia reference 680i
SLI BFG 8800 GTX SLI cards
SLI Certified Corsair Memory
SLI BFG 1000Watt PSU

Shouldn't have been put on a bench and tested with some games and sound? Come on even the onboard sound has serious issues, I call that insane. Certainly that is not "perfection in hardware"

[dinos22]

relax man

[JohnMike]

Can you honestly think that a 100% certified SLI system with:

SLI Case
SLI BFG Nvidia reference 680i
SLI BFG 8800 GTX SLI cards
SLI Certified Corsair Memory
SLI BFG 1000Watt PSU

Shouldn't have been put on a bench and tested with some games and sound? Come on even the onboard sound has serious issues, I call that insane. Certainly that is not "perfection in hardware"

Help is on the way...

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...&postcount=263