I'm experiencing some sound issues in test drive unlimited (pc)
on certain cars, in cockpit & engine views, I seem to get jumpy and some low form of a crackle pop thing.
I'm using onboard sound. Motherboard: asrock dvi/h 1333. I believe that is 5.1 onboard. I'm currently using some decent 2.1's.

any available fixes do you think?

i would try to first reinstall the drivers for the sound card. also try plugging the speakers into the motherboard, maybe the sound issues are in the game itself.

Will a Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 OEM PCI sound card resolve this issue. Or do I need something with more punch ??

That's what I'm getting in the hopes of solving my own sound issue (see the distortion thread by Jikko a couple posts down). I heard it could be tracers(?) that are getting overloaded or just plain processing power causing the crackling. Either way, a dedicated sound card should seems likely to deal with the issue. Does it occur when you lower the graphics settings? Mine seems to happen only with settings on high/v.high.

It remains the same when its either on lowest or maximum settings. I hope this sound card fixes my problem, I heard its a really good jump from onboard realtek audio