Audio popping issue

[AsheStrachan]

I can't even do anything without the audio being choppy,literally have to keep the game muted

[Annihilism]

Update on previous post I made here, make sure you set your display to border less window when you turn off DX11 otherwise you will crash with DX errors. So far turning off all sound enhancements, setting listening position to 100 has fixed the issue for my partner but her game still freezes from time to time being around too many players. Maybe turning down objects displayed and graphics settings to standard might help certain people, it's helped her so far.

[Crimson1128]

As far as I understand it the GPU and the Motherboard "Sound Cards" are completely independent. The HDMI out runs on Nvidia drivers and can be used even when the onboard soundcard, which runs on realtek drivers, has been completely disabled. I think most modern GPUs have on board sound cards for HDMI and DVI outputs.

Edit: I just did a bit of research, the GPU doesn't actually do any sound processing as such because it just parses a digital audio stream to whatever external DAC you have it plugged into. In my case a TV screen, so it's actually the TVs internal sound card that is doing all the sound processing and conversion in that instance. But still has the issue so leads me to believe that this is a software issue not a hardware one.

in that case, i suppose the next step in troubleshooting, before moving on to the software aspect, would be to rule out the motherboard as a possibility, by installing a non-asus motherboard in a pc that's been having these issues, and seeing if that fixes the issue... that being said, either result isn't really optimal. If it does fix the issue, then while a fix would have been found, it's not exactly simple by any means, nor cheap... and I can't say many people would be willing to swap out a motherboard because of a single game suddenly having issues with it. On the other hand, if it doesn't fix the issue... then we're left with no leads on what else is causing it, and basically just have to hope that SE manages to fix whatever's triggering these issues in certain systems.

[OmniusOmnium]

in that case, i suppose the next step in troubleshooting, before moving on to the software aspect, would be to rule out the motherboard as a possibility, by installing a non-asus motherboard in a pc that's been having these issues, and seeing if that fixes the issue... that being said, either result isn't really optimal. If it does fix the issue, then while a fix would have been found, it's not exactly simple by any means, nor cheap... and I can't say many people would be willing to swap out a motherboard because of a single game suddenly having issues with it. On the other hand, if it doesn't fix the issue... then we're left with no leads on what else is causing it, and basically just have to hope that SE manages to fix whatever's triggering these issues in certain systems.

Well my motherboard is gigabyte so there's your non asus motherboard lol. I think next step is looking into drivers, particularly anything tied into directx 11. Because I'm fairly sure before 6.0 the games audio engine ran on DX9 and it seems highly likely to me that switching it over to DX11 is what has caused the issue, whether or not it is related to the spatial surround pack I wouldn't know. But DX11 is tied into a lot of stuff these days, not just GPU, so the list of potential issues with it is long and technical. At this point all we can really do is leave it in the hands of SE, they have the technical know how to troubleshoot it. All I have is google lol.

[Toanon]

I'm just gonna hold out for the next patch, unless somehow this is a server-side issue which I really doubt. I've tried basically every fix I could find, and none of them have worked. Going into advanced audio settings and switching the output to my headphones crashed my game twice, and the third time it didn't, but it didn't fix anything.
Even if it's an issue with certain systems, I would posit that the updated sound engine simply needs some fixes. When the stuttering isn't happening, sound effects sound mushy and muffled. I'll hold out for the next patch. Doesn't really matter that much.

[Crimson1128]

Well my motherboard is gigabyte so there's your non asus motherboard lol. I think next step is looking into drivers, particularly anything tied into directx 11. Because I'm fairly sure before 6.0 the games audio engine ran on DX9 and it seems highly likely to me that switching it over to DX11 is what has caused the issue, whether or not it is related to the spatial surround pack I wouldn't know. But DX11 is tied into a lot of stuff these days, not just GPU, so the list of potential issues with it is long and technical. At this point all we can really do is leave it in the hands of SE, they have the technical know how to troubleshoot it. All I have is google lol.

Welp, there went my theory. I don't think it ran on dx9 before, but I do agree that they must have changed *something* with how it uses dx11, and apparently dx9 as well (as it still stuttered for me when trying that as a "fix")... and the only obvious thing I can think of is that when they added the spacial audio setting, something they changed had a side effect on some systems. You're right though, seems like all there's left to do is hope they fix it, or use a different computer that doesn't have these issues. I suppose I'm lucky in that matter, as my laptop works fine, but... it's kinda frustrating that there doesn't seem to be a "simple fix" for those who don't have an alternative option :/

[OmniusOmnium]

Welp, there went my theory. I don't think it ran on dx9 before, but I do agree that they must have changed *something* with how it uses dx11, and apparently dx9 as well (as it still stuttered for me when trying that as a "fix")... and the only obvious thing I can think of is that when they added the spacial audio setting, something they changed had a side effect on some systems. You're right though, seems like all there's left to do is hope they fix it, or use a different computer that doesn't have these issues. I suppose I'm lucky in that matter, as my laptop works fine, but... it's kinda frustrating that there doesn't seem to be a "simple fix" for those who don't have an alternative option :/

Ahhh yes you are lucky lol. I have no alternative unfortunately. But I think I will still login and just do my daily roulettes and other "non-endwalker" stuff. I abandoned my MSQ at the first EW dungeon after just forcing myself to put up with it for the sake of playing EW but it was just making me resent the game and SE for not fixing this during the extra 2 weeks they had to find and fix bugs. So I will just be patient and wait for the fix before I continue. It's not the end of the world, it's uber disappointing, especially seeing all my FC mates and friends enjoying the game without me.... But I guess I will just have some catching up to do.

[GorthRedsteel]

It seems most of us have outdated, last gen CPUs - and thanks to the socket - motherboards. I wonder if it's possible for devs to still support AMD's FX series of processors or are we fucked at this point. We might be forced into buying new parts, which isn't perfect as I really don't wanna spend hard cash right now.

[Crimson1128]

It seems most of us have outdated, last gen CPUs - and thanks to the socket - motherboards. I wonder if it's possible for devs to still support AMD's FX series of processors or are we fucked at this point. We might be forced into buying new parts, which isn't perfect as I really don't wanna spend hard cash right now.

I hadn't even considered the cpu being to blame... you might be onto something there.
I'll add in my specs too just in case;
CPU: AMD FX-8370 Eight-Core Processor
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 (i use the 770 for my side monitors, didn't have enough ports on the 1070 for a triple monitor setup, lol)
Motherboard: ASUS 970 PRO GAMING/AURA
Sound Device: Realtek High Definition Audio

[GorthRedsteel]

Also, If anyone of you still use twitter: I'd imagine it being a good idea to ping the dev guy and tell him that the issues seems to be related to that. I don't know if it's rude to do so on his personal account but it could speed up the potential update - if possible.