Audio dropouts - k7sem/k7s5a

I have a k7SEM mobo(SIS730S chipset) with Duron-800 running Win98 and have audio dropouts using onboard audio when playing mp3's, wavs, etc. Minor hiccups, but noticable. I'm thinking of returning the k7SEM for the k7S5A mobo (SIS735 chipset)...anyone noticed dropouts with the 735 chipset or k7S5A? Any fixes for the K7SEM?

The following is a list of IRQ assignments for the K7SEM:

0: System timer
1: Standard 101/102-Keyboard
2: Programmable interrupt controller
3: SiS Audio Legacy Emulator
4: Communications Port (COM1)
5: ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
5: SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller
5: SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller
6: Standard Floppy Disk Controller
7: ECP Printer Port (LPT1)
8: System CMOS/real time clock
9: SCI IRQ used by ACPI bus
10: MPU-401 Compatible
11: ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
11: SiS PCI Audio Accelerator
12: ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
12: HSP56 MR
13: Numeric data processor
14: Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)
14: SiS 5513 Dual PCI IDE Controller
15: Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)
15: SiS 5513 Dual PCI IDE Controller

That's what I thought, too! I disabled onboard sound and installed a SB16PCI and still got the dropouts.

By the way, I believe the onboard sound was better!

There's got to be an answer. I can't believe K7SEM/K7S5A owners put up with 1-2 dropouts per mp3 file.

Decompress one of your mp3's to wave format on your hard drive, then play the wave. Tell me if this cures the problem, if it does then the problem does not lie with your sound card. Playing mp3's is actually rather processor intensive, something most people don't know.

Video editing?? Ha, I don't even own a camera!

How large is yor ram?
How many background programs you have running? To know this press Ctrl-Alt-Del keys simultaneously.

Probably your ram amount is being reduced by leaks in program that you're using besides windows itself being leaky. Also you might try disabling legacy sound in the bios if you're using the onboard sound. Or whatever.

It don't come easy.......not always.

I don't know about the k7s5a but I did assembled one box using that k7sem. I didn't test mp3 though only play Fur Elise on the windows media player and it seems ok. If you really want to get to the bottom of it, be prepared to spend some times with it. Try swapping the ram stick with another, play with the memory settings, play mp3 with different programs. Also test your rig. Go <A HREF="http://www.tweakfiles.com/diagnostic/amidiag.html" target="_new">here</A> and download the program to test it especially the ram. Observe that the tests on the ram run smoothly. You might want to try out this program <A HREF="http://www.tweakfiles.com/memory/cacheman.html" target="_new">here</A> and see if it solves the problems. Be patience, it might takes days till you find the culprit. If all else failed then blame ECS.

It don't come easy.......not always.

Well, it took longer than expected. Here's my take on k7sem/k7s5a audio dropouts.

k7sem - audio dropouts occur playing wavs and mp3s when using either the internal audio or an external SB16PCI card.

k7s5a - no dropouts when using the SBLive Value card.

Thanks for all inputs. I'll be offline while I resolve some difficulties with the k7s5a mobo.