Weird sound problems possibly SSD related?

EliasAndri

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If you think this post is in the wrong section, you're probably right! But I can't seem to be able to locate the source of my problem so I just picked one. Sorry for any inconvenience!

I did a clean install of Windows 7 64x on my newly purchased SSD (Corsair Force 40GB) drive but had some issues regarding sound.
What's happening is when I either try and resize Winamp (while playing music) or listening to a HD video/song on youtube for some time (2-5 minutes, I think it depends on the intensity of the song), it really messes with the sound! It's as if the music/sounds were being played through a metal tube with coins jumping around inside of it.. I don't know, it's hard to explain a sound..
EDIT*: Further inspection (tuning up the volume) shows that not only does the sound get banged up when resizing Winamp or watching HD videos but I get bad sound quality overall (noise in the background)
I've tried formatting again, I've installed the drivers from the disc which came with my Sound Blaster X-fi Xtreme Audio sound card (which I'm using) and I ran the updater but I can't seem to get this problem solved.

BUT! If I close Winamp or try messing with the size again it sometimes gets fixed or just sounds a little different messed up. Same goes for my browser when playing off of youtube. Sometimes waiting a bit also fixes the sound for a while but it just gets messed right back.

If this sounds familiar or you have any ideas of the source of this all-too-annoying problem, please give me a post. I can also post more information about my system should you wonder.

Thanks in advance,
Andri
 

EliasAndri

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Desktop PC.

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition - Overclocked to 3,8Ghz atm but I've tried default configuration as well.
Motherboard: MSI 870A-G54 (has been set on AHCI and IDE on different installs)
RAM: 2x2GB Corsair DDR3 on Dual Channel
Sound card: Creative Sound Blaster X-fi Xtreme Audio
Hard drive: Corsair Force 40GB SSD (has OS and the programs involved in my problem)
Graphics card: ATI Radeon HD 5870
Power Supply: [Don't remember brand, will check when I get home] 550W
 

pinaklonkar

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Wow, I didn't ask for that granularity and it still does not help. I wanted to know components. Can you give us something YOU know manually...? for example...

Type - laptop/desktop, CPU, MOTHERBOARD, MEMORY, SOUND CARD!!, HARD DISK, GRAPHICS CARD, etc. so it is a little easier to read (not everyone will have time and inclination to dig deep into your logs above)
 

EliasAndri

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Oh yes, I forgot to mention! That's exactly why I wouldn't be surprised if the source of this problem would be my newly installed SSD. I had the OS on another Seagate 500GB 32MB buffer 7200 rpm disk before and I have another dynamic drive consisting of two 1TB disks but they have remained the same through all installs. So the only thing I have changed is the migration of the OS over to the SSD drive. The old OS disk has been formatted and is almost empty (got a few application installation (*.exe) files on there which were downloaded after the first SSD-OS install but I can't imagine that being any nuisance to the sound.

I did, however, change out the motherboard from if I remember correctly MSI-770 C45 to my current, MSI 870A-G54 and the CPU from AMD Phenom II X2-550 (had unlocked 2 extra cores) to my current, X4 965. But for the 2-3 days I used the old setup (hadn't installed the SSD yet) I didn't experience these sound problems so I'm *almost* eliminating that option.

[strike]If I connect my G35 headphones with appropriate drivers off of the logitech website - which I haven't downloaded/installed in the later install, having tried both IDE and AHCI bios settings on two different installs on the SSD drive - I don't experience these problems which make me think it SHOULD be a sound card related problem but I'm not narrowing the sources down to that.[/strike]
Edit**: After better inspection it seems that this is false. I still get terrible sound quality with and without the sound card drivers installed.

What I tried already was to locate the device - which had sound going through it whilst having my speakers (Logitech Z-2300) connected via jack plug - in device management and uninstall it, then install the sound card drivers (drivers-only) off of the retail disc, then the sound card didn't show up in sound settings from control panel so I ran the creative updater and updated the drivers and then it would show up correctly in the sound setting dislaying the correct name for the sound card instead of just "HD Audio Output" or whatever it was, I can't remember exactly.

Edit*: Is there a possibility that this could be shortage of power (power supply)? 550W was enough for my previous build but after changing the motherboard/CPU it might not be sufficient?

As always, if you need any more information just tell me, I will try and update/post if I remember any more details.


Thanks,
Elías Andri
 

pinaklonkar

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Maybe my eyes missed it with so many events explained, but did you answer the question in your last post that was asked - did the setup run fine before you introduced SSD into your computer? Y/N?

Today, do you have the latest drivers installed for your sound card? Y/N?

As a first step, I would advise removing the sound card from the computer, and using the on-motherboard sound card. Install the drivers and see if that gives the same problematic sound.
 

EliasAndri

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I enabled the on-board sound device from BIOS (previously disabled), sound did not improve.
I removed the sound card from the computer and removed all the drivers, sound did not improve. (disabled Windows 7 automatic driver download just to make sure, also double checked if the drivers were in fact uninstalled and they were)
I also installed my G35 headset drivers and tried that with much higher volume than before and figured out that this problem extends to the headset as well.
For clarification purposes: I'm playing 320KBPS tracks and HD songs from youtube so the bad quality *shouldn't* be track specific. I've also tried a broad variety of tracks so I'm pretty sure on this one.

Could this be a faulty motherboard? It just sounds weird as I did not experience these problems on the same setup, OS on HDD or maybe I just didn't notice it for I had never experienced this before.



Thanks,
Elías Andri
 

EliasAndri

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Go to Control panel----->Sound----->Speakers(DoubleClick it)....

The Speaker properties windows appears in that go to Enhancements tab...

Select the Speaker Fill ...

Then Check the speaker...switch it to --> 2.1
I have looked everywhere, this setting you speak of is not anywhere to be found, but it IS set on 2.1 setting and has always been.
 

EliasAndri

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I would say there are lots of people out there in the whole-wide-world that know less about computers than me, both hard- and software wise, but I absolutely can't determine the cause of this problem. If anything, it's getting worse than before.

I guess a better explanation of the problem would be that all sound in the computer (even clicks, sometime) have this static background noise and playing HD videos on youtube is just the worst, then it's just clusterf*** of static noises and metal tube'ish sound.

Reading through the posts above can show what I've tried so far. I can't think of anything else >_<
 

pinaklonkar

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The mere fact that the sound sometimes plays better and sometimes not, makes me believe there is nothing wrong with the hardware.

It can't also be any static since the headphones are also giving out the bad sound. Can you record holding a microphone at a safe distance from your speakers (to avoid whistle feedback) a clip and post it here as an attachment? that way we can tell exactly how the sound is sounding like.
 

pinaklonkar

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Your motherboard processes the on-board sound differently than the add-on X-Fi sound card. There is no way BOTH will sound bad so it is confusing. But usually difficult problems have easier solutions. A sound clip will help.

But you did say that the sound was FINE before you installed SSD. So it was running fine on your SATA/IDE. Get a replacement SSD while you try other things out.
 

EliasAndri

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Winamp isn't the only culprit, youtube which I use very much is giving me the most trouble, so I believe this isn't anything Winamp-plugin related, I had this problem before I installed Winamp too.

I ran Ubuntu from a CD and used the on-board sound (didn't have drivers for sound-card and it was giving me trouble, I'm not much into Ubuntu...yet) and I played some songs in HD on youtube but everything was fine so that narrows it down to what, software and hdd?

Anyways, HERE is a zip file with 2 sound files, on-board and sound card problem. I couldn't get good quality but when I play the files I can very well hear the annoyance. Also with the sound card file the worst part kicks in at ~0:20 but you can hear the static or whatever until then a bit.

Also, HERE is the song on youtube (played in 720p in files) for verification that the video isn't at fault.

EDIT*: Also, I don't have any effects turned on. I've tried turning them on, off, disabling stuff and whatnot.
 

pinaklonkar

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It feels like Elias is giving us a test. He chose possibly the most disturbing and difficult sound for us to distinguish between good and bad :)

A tip - always choose a track where problems are easily audible. However, I was able to make out the tinny sound from 20th second onward. But the onboard sound test sounded fine to my ears. It is just that the distorted synthesized sound is very very annoying :))

I'll research and get back to you.
 

EliasAndri

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Yeah I guess the mic didn't catch it that well. But it's not fine and I've checked with Ubuntu CD so I know it's not lack of on-board quality.

I'll post the data when I get home, dadiggle.
 

pinaklonkar

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I must say it is a very interesting problem - like I said, EliasAndri should start minimizing the problem components - get a new SSD right away while we are troubleshooting, and then aim for the motherboard replacement.