Really Really Annoying Problem (with example sound clip)

[lally07]

Hello.
I have an ASUS N55SF Laptop with a very irratable speaker problem. It seems to be when the computer is working hard like playing a game or something.. sometimes it even does it when im listening to music while gaming sometimes. The speakers will play the sound fine but every so often it will make an indescrible ripping/croaking noise. I have a sound clip example I took on my phone. The background noise is me playing Ship Simulator but at odd points you can hear what I mean. Sorry the clip is long winded. I find this incredibly annoying because the Asus N Series is meant to be known for it's epic sound. In fact, without this horrible crackling it has the best sound ive heard in a laptop.
Heres the clip.
http://soundcloud.com/alexthompson423/voice-001-8/s-BHUWH

 

[OvenMaster]

Whenever I've had similar problems with onboard sound, it's because the computer's CPU and/or video and/or RAM has been so busy that sound gets sacrificed. Music, for instance, will skip or pop or crackle. When I switched to a sound card, even my cheap $20 Diamond PCI, the problems went away because the sound duties got offloaded to the card.

 

[lally07]

But this normally happens all the time. I mean, on Ship Sim for example.. even playing with no music in the background.. the sound of the game crackles like it does in the example. I can sort of understand if i was running 50 programs and it crackled. but a simple game? I mean. I find it very frustrating given that the ASUS N Series of laptops are known for there epic sound.

 

[lally07]

I've just found out that it seems to not happen when I am running on battery. Only when I am plugged into the charger.. weird.. any thoughts?

 

[barr]

I`ve exactly the same problem! Do you have any solution? It`s realy annoying....

 

[AntimatterAsh]

Hello.
Snip

I had this problem with my HP Pavilion DV6 2010sa... I always found that running a destructive recovery every few months fixed it, but it is not an ideal fix.

 

[Okedokey]

Update all drivers and motherboard bios.
Try another power socket in the wall.

 

[PunterCam]

What Ovenmaster said makes sense, but the fact that it doesn't happen when it's running on battery power is very strange - so strange that I actually doubt it's true. Check and be certain.

I've also no idea what the soundcard is on that laptop - it has fancy (for a laptop) amp and speakers, but it may have a rubbish card behind it all.

If it's definitely good on battery, I guess you could blame the power supply - perhaps something's failing and it's sending out occasional spikes. Or an earthing problem when the power supply is connected (although it doesn't sound like this). Can't imagine what else it could be.

 

[Okedokey]

What Ovenmaster said makes sense, but the fact that it doesn't happen when it's running on battery power is very strange - so strange that I actually doubt it's true. Check and be certain.

I've also no idea what the soundcard is on that laptop - it has fancy (for a laptop) amp and speakers, but it may have a rubbish card behind it all.

If it's definitely good on battery, I guess you could blame the power supply - perhaps something's failing and it's sending out occasional spikes. Or an earthing problem when the power supply is connected (although it doesn't sound like this). Can't imagine what else it could be.

Hmm, I disagree with most of this.

The soundcard takes no processing workload off the CPU in this case. It doesn't have that ability. It simply replaces the motherboard alternative.

Either way an i5 would smash any audio workload.

I would suggest as I said before, making sure you have latest motherboard bios and drivers.

The noise can also come through the power circuit, so try an alternative socket.

 

[OvenMaster]

Hmm, I disagree with most of this.

The soundcard takes no processing workload off the CPU in this case. It doesn't have that ability. It simply replaces the motherboard alternative.

Either way an i5 would smash any audio workload.

I would suggest as I said before, making sure you have latest motherboard bios and drivers.

The noise can also come through the power circuit, so try an alternative socket.

Okay, so why did my popping, crackling, and skipping end when I added a sound card and stopped using onboard sound?

 

[Okedokey]

Okay, so why did my popping, crackling, and skipping end when I added a sound card and stopped using onboard sound?

Different voltage rails, better components. No processing though.

In fact the Realtek on his motherboard is actually better than the Diamond card you have.

The i5 should handle the workload.

Im thinking you need to update intel stuff and graphics drivers. After that SSD.

A USB soundcard will not improve matters.

 

[wolfeking]

Okay, so why did my popping, crackling, and skipping end when I added a sound card and stopped using onboard sound?

That is kind of a simple answer actually. In your case, it could have been electrical noise coming from other components that were isolated when you added the card. Even with a simple (but good performing) USB card, I notices the noise drop considerably in my systems.

Try the drivers and different plugs as said already. Once you rule those out or in, then you can try a cheap USB card to see if you get any difference. There are ones out there for ~$3 that would be good enough to test with.

 

[KevM]

If anybody is still looking for a solution, I had the same problem and disabling
ASUS Sonic Master - which was preinstalled on my system - fixed it for me!