Onboard sound

[omegaRED]

I have the MSI KT4V MoBo with integrated AC`97 sound. I didnt get a separate sound card bacause, frankly, i dont need it. I mostly do graphics work, games and watch movies etc. Thus far, i`m pretty satisfied with it. But i noticed something, while i was copying a 500Meg file from the CD to the HDD and was listening music in WMP9 in the background, the sound was terrible, stuttering, stopping, then continuing etc... Also, stuttering occured while i was surfing and scrolling on a page which had music...

My question is: Is this kind of behaviour normal for integrated sound? Is there anything i can do to minimize it? (Apart from getting a PCI sound card, which is an option, but like i said, i dont think i need it)

[The PIT]

Normal behavior for buggy Via based boards. You can try later via drivers for your motherboard but I've got a feeling you'll need one of George Beese patches.
Go to this web site and then the forums and George has a link to his patches in his sig.

http://www.sudhian.com

Also Msi may have an updated bios for this issue but don't hold you breath. This sort of problem plus other issues is one of the reasons why many people stay clear of via based chipsets.

[omegaRED]

Hmm yes ... i wanted to wait for a new SiS chipset (the now announced 748) but i just couldnt wait any longer...

MSI have released a new BIOS (i started a thread a couple of days ago)... but i only noticed this Monday/Tuesday...

Ok, i found George`s site and have downloaded the paches... will try this once i get home...

Much obliged The PIT

[dbdg]

I get a slight humming from my on-board sound when I am extracting large zips etc. Don't get any stuttering or anything.

I just live with it as this is the only hassle I get with the on-board. I ripped out my Live because it was starting to really p*ss me off.

[Kastuvas]

I used to get exactley the same problem as omegaRED with SB128 PCI soundcard, but the via Latency patch 0.19 fixed the problem completely

[Guru]

I guess that you have run the live update utility to get the latest drivers and BIOS?

[omegaRED]

OK, turns out to be a driver issue, the reference drivers from RealTek (the ones i`m using) produce these effects. VIA combo audio drivers are ok, but i cant start the SoundManager tool to adjust nr of speakers and the Equalizer so i`m stuck with 2 speakers.
Avance drivers (a3.30 that came with the mobo) work, but the sound quality is terrbile...

So i`m looking for other drivers to try out and searching for possible fixes on VIAarena for the SoundMan not starting with the VIA combo audio drivers.

Thanks to all for your suggestions.

@Guru: I have the latest BIOS (1.8), latest RealTek reference drivers (3.40.1), Hyperions 4.45 etc..

[The PIT]

Ah just dump the motherboard save you a lot of hassle in the long run.

[omegaRED]

LOL Its still the second week i`m using this PC, and i`m still waiting for my 9000Pro (Stuck with a Stealth III S540 - Savage4 ATM), so i havent stressed it enough yet...

Tho i`m looking forward to getting a SiS 748 board once they`re available here (and ofcourse, if the test/benchmarking results are positive)

[MPR]

Originally posted by The PIT
Ah just dump the motherboard save you a lot of hassle in the long run.

LOL I've built a few VIA based systems and going with ANY other chipset is a breeze.