Realtek ALC1200 audio causing simulation speed fluctuation?

[Aluminum Donkey]

Greetings,

I have found it impossible to run DCS 2.9.15.9599 smoothly, the sim speed seems to crawl up and down periodically. It's not a "stutter" in the usual sense, the sim speeds up and slows down as I roll or turn the aircraft. The horizon tilts at varying speed.

I tried different graphics drivers, remove Windows 11 updates etc. but the only thing that completely stops it and allows the sim to run perfectly smoothly is by disabling my Realtek audio device in Device Manager. It even improves loading times!

With no audio, the sim runs perfectly smoothly!

Anyone have any ideas how to approach solving this? I tried the latest audio driver, I'm flying now to see if it helps.

AD

EDIT: Deleting the Realtek audio driver and replacing it with the newest one seems to have greatly improved it! DCS still runs smoother with audio disabled in Device Manager, but it's much better now!

I have an ancient PCI sound card kicking around, maybe I could try it. It's an old ass card but it's compatible with my system if I can find a driver for it. It even has a Game Port!

Edited April 28 by Aluminum Donkey

[Nate--IRL--]

How did you think to look at the sound as being the issue?

Nate

[Aluminum Donkey]

14 minutes ago, Nate--IRL-- said:

How did you think to look at the sound as being the issue?

Nate

I hadn't played DCS for a while and had installed all the latest DCS updates, Windows 11 updates, and latest graphics driver (576.15) and the next time I ran DCS it was a stuttery mess and nothing would fix it--rolling back to earlier version of DCS, older graphics drivers, remove Win11 updates etc. Nothing helped.

On a whim I tried disabling stuff and the one magic cure was disabling audio. With no sound the sim ran PERFECTLY. Loading times were a lot better too! The whole sim just felt snappier and responsive with ZERO stutter and hesitation (except for sending orders to wingmen, which always causes a very tiny stutter--it's a problem with DCS itself.)

So, wiping out the Realtek audio driver and replacing it with the latest one just about fixed it! Loading times rock now, the sim runs nice and smooth too. Only thing that makes it run even better (close to 100% stutter-free) is disabling audio.

I'm on the right track and DCS is playable again!

AD

[silverdevil]

@Aluminum Donkey only thing i can think of as a cause is that audio uses some CPU. if the driver is faulty i suppose it could cause crackling and performance issues. do you use the MS drivers or the mobo manufacturer's.

[Aluminum Donkey]

5 hours ago, silverdevil said:

@Aluminum Donkey only thing i can think of as a cause is that audio uses some CPU. if the driver is faulty i suppose it could cause crackling and performance issues. do you use the MS drivers or the mobo manufacturer's.

I've never had issues with audio crackling or cutting out. Never a problem at all. But the graphics stutter was definitely caused by the audio driver!

Replacing the audio driver with the newest one from my motherboard manufacturer (Gigabyte) fixed it 99%. The only 100% cure is to disable Realtek Audio in Device Manager, then the sim is 100% glassy smooth even with all max graphics settings, lots of units in flight, lots of explosions/burning wreckage etc. even in big furballs over Paris in Normandy 2.0!

I wonder if a sound card would completely fix it. (Or maybe make it worse!)

Dang, I haven't owned a sound card in decades!

AD

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

35 minutes ago, Aluminum Donkey said:

I wonder if a sound card would completely fix it.

Historically, drivers of dedicated sound cards have caused tons of issues. Have you checked the sample rate in Windows, to make sure it's not set too high? Windows only supports up to 24bit/192kHz so there's no point in setting anything higher than that if your audio solution supports it (and it might cause CPU issues).

I use a DAC/pre-amplifier connected via USB, and don't have any issues.

[Aluminum Donkey]

3 hours ago, Raven (Elysian Angel) said:

Historically, drivers of dedicated sound cards have caused tons of issues. Have you checked the sample rate in Windows, to make sure it's not set too high? Windows only supports up to 24bit/192kHz so there's no point in setting anything higher than that if your audio solution supports it (and it might cause CPU issues).

I use a DAC/pre-amplifier connected via USB, and don't have any issues.

I wish I knew how to pick a sound device that doesn't load the CPU too much (or at all.)

I don't know what to look for. Sound card? USB external converter? Optical cable instead of USB?

Any ideas?

AD

[Raven (Elysian Angel)]

4 minutes ago, Aluminum Donkey said:

Any ideas?

A lot depends on what you're after. Back in the old days,  a dedicated sound card was the way to go if you cared even a bit about audio quality, but on-board solutions have matured a lot since. It's probably safe to say even a mid-range onboard audio chip beats the older dedicated sound cards.

That being said, it's good that you found recent drivers that seem to mitigate a lot of the issues you're experiencing. Are you also running the latest chipset drivers for your motherboard?

If you still prefer to disable the onboard sound chip, a DAC might be a good solution. There are very decent ones out there that are not too expensive (I take it you're not a hard-core audiophile?), and if you only use headphones and don't care about connecting speakers, there are DACs such as the Sharkoon Gaming DAC Pro S which costs only 35 euros.

[silverdevil]

1 hour ago, Aluminum Donkey said:

I wish I knew how to pick a sound device that doesn't load the CPU too much (or at all.)

I don't know what to look for. Sound card? USB external converter? Optical cable instead of USB?

Any ideas?

AD

to add to what @Raven (Elysian Angel) mentioned, discreet sound cards do use CPU because much of the processing is done on the card. at least in the day they did. "any fool that would want to use onboard audio is a heathen." lol. now if you have one you're a geek.

 

PS https://us.creative.com/p/sound-blaster/sound-blaster-audigy-fx-v2 is a good one. creative has been around since the beginning. yeah i was there

Edited Tuesday at 09:18 PM by silverdevil

[MAXsenna]

2 hours ago, silverdevil said:

creative has been around since the beginning. yeah i was there

How much RAM did you put on your AWE32?  

[Aluminum Donkey]

Unfortunately I can't play DCS right now! I turned off the HPET to see if it helped, now DCS stubbornly refuses to load and run any missions. It gets hung up on the loading screen. I re-enabled HPET but it didn't fix it.

I also reverted to an older version of DCS (2.9.14.8394) and it isn't helping either! I can't load or fly any missions!

Oh, bun of a sitch. What a nuisance.

AD

[MoleUK]

I've been following this as I have the same realtek alc1200 and am also now having issues in DCS.

But the issues I've been having are all freezing and CTD (during load) related, though I would never have known if the speed fluctuation was happening due to all the CTD testing. Now you're seeing some freezing during load, i'm just checking in incase it's the same root cause.

I also have HPET disabled.

Does the game ever crash to desktop during load or just freeze?

I have a thread with some logs, videos and crash dumps here: 

I have also tried rolling back DCS with no success. I was last running fine on 2.9.13, and then after a windows reinstall and coming back to DCS at 2.9.15 it hasn't worked since. I assumed it was either a windows or DCS update problem at fault, and still do.

Edited Wednesday at 07:45 AM by MoleUK

[BJ55]

A dcs.log could be helpful... If you don't own a RTX 50 series card don't install any driver past 566.36, until they sort out the mess they've made,  don't install NV App and if you use you're MB audio device or a sound card don't install NV HD Audio drivers. (Windows 10/11 sucks, don't ask me why...) Check your event viewer logs for errors.