I have been playing SWTOR since release and only with in the past couple of weeks I have encountered this problem.My video, every few seconds, will drop in frame rate briefly, as if I am missing a few frames of animation and when it does this my sound will make this crackling noise. In conversation cut scenes, characters will talk as if they have a stutter, which seems again to coincide with some drop in frames as they repeat the animation they did a half second before, with the same clicking noise. This seemingly came out of no where as I had never had this issues before.How bad it is varies from day to day but for sure it gets worse the longer the game runs, and it only happens in SWTOR. Here the past few days its been getting worse and I am at wits end trying to figure out what to do.

@proxos666,Here is a list of threads I have found talking about the Issue, I've limited my selection to the problems that sound the closest to the ones described here, and there are still ALOT of other threads to go through. This is not a small issue.Stuttering and intermittent sound Heavy Stuttering/Jittery Gameplay!Static, stuttering sound and lag spikes Sound and Graphic Stutter, But Only When Playing for Awhile Odd Audio Issues/Lag Crackling sound in game Really bad sound stutter. Extreme slowdown and buzzing in speakers after 30mins. Static/crackling sounds in-game Crackling sound + fps drop Sound Crackling, Visual Lag, Glitches in and out of Conversations Cracking sound and lag after five minutes of play time

@DBWoodynz@GrashnazrazSorry for the late reply guys, I am usually very busy during the day so I couldn't get the dxdiag until now.I would like to say that I too have been over many threads for the issue and tried many things but none of them have worked. I'm not always sure someone is talking about the same problem but it does often sound similar. To make sure there isn't any confusion on whats going on, and maybe to provide some insight, I've got two videos showing whats going on.Static and Stuttering in ConversationStuttering Audio and Video During Game play

Bumping this because its still an issue and I still don't have a fix yet

@Grashnazraz I have flagged this thread for further investigation

Seeing as these forums are relatively new for SWTOR you should look at the old Swtor support forums. There are plenty of topics about the issue, not one of them that I found had resolved. When I get a chance I will compile a list of threads

Crackling audio and Stuttering Video

57 Replies

24a2567007c2f91
10 years ago
My sound cuts out during fights. Never did that before.
Anonymous
10 years ago
I'm having the same issues. Everything is exactly the same as you described.
I tried updating drivers, flashing bios, finding workarounds from old crackling audio threads but to no avail. Nothing seems to solve this issue. While playing I also asked around and found someone else who experience the same crackling audio with fps drops. That person had it on Taris, while I had it on Nar Shadda and Tattooine.

EDIT: It seems not to happen in small instanced areas like your ship.
dbwoodynz
Seasoned Ace
10 years ago
@Grashnazraz @CipherChain @24a2567007c2f9137edf510799dc3954

Morning Folks

Could you please be so kind as to provide your DXDIAG.Log(s) please..

I believe that your issues will lie in either not having your sound drivers installed correct, or more importantly not configured correctly where the program that handles your sound is configured to align with the Windows settings... Things like for example... Windows 10 can sometimes incorrectly set the wrong device to be your Default Sound, Realtek HD Audio Manager can sometimes have settings incorrectly configured, the list can go on but you get the gist.
Anonymous
10 years ago
@DBWoodynz Here is the DxDiag in a text format, or do you want it in here as a comment?
DxDiagSWTOR.txt68 KB
dbwoodynz
Seasoned Ace
10 years ago
@Grashnazraz

Morning you were quick

I can see that your sound is correctly set as the Default, so we are good there; can you please explain what kind Hardware set-up your using

Your motherboard is certainly rocking on in years it's almost retro... "Nice" DDR2 will certainly be pushing things on your end.

Are you using a USB headset ? USB Speakers, Standard Headphone Jack Speakers?.. if so which particular brand.. have you tried using a different plug or speakers?

Something of this age I would be looking/expecting a bad 'Earth' or Minor Corrosion - nothing a rag and some elbow grease couldn't sort.
Anonymous
10 years ago
@DBWoodynz
Yes, I am very quick hah. As I'm eager to start playing SWTOR again. Yeah this is an old computer I dusted up a while back and put some other stuff in. I'm using standard headset in the jack as 'speakers' and also tried switching them out. The computer has been running perfectly for 2 to 3 months now and I'm able to play World of Warcraft, DCUO, Minecraft, Skyrim, ... without any issues whatsoever, I have also checked the inside and everything is running fine and is hooked up nicely.

I have an AMD Athlon 64x Dual Core Processor 5600+ @2.80 Ghz, some standard 4GB DDR ram that came with it when I bought it (a very long time ago), an AMD Radeon HD 6900 Series

BTW: It just started happening after the new update to SWTOR, so I'm guessing the update broke something for some people.
BTW2: I think OP has the exact same issue, since the crackling also goes in correspondence with framerate drops
dbwoodynz
Seasoned Ace
10 years ago
@Grashnazraz

A framerate drop would be suggestive that your pc is struggling to keep up, there are a few things that may also effect your game, I am unclear if you have seen it or used it but I did do a 'guide' to help folks set things up with windows 10.. a big one that I have found is turning off all the background items that load with windows 10..

http://answers.ea.com/t5/STAR-WARS-The-Old-Republic/Guide-quot-How-to-install-Swtor-Correctly-and-address-Windows-10/td-p/4851036

Completely a guess, but without knowing it without asking have you managed to turn off the xbox gamer dvr function that is automatically turned on with Windows 10?

Don't forget to go into your Realtek HD Audio Manager Software and select 'Device Advanced Setttings' in the top right in Blue and 'Separate all input jacks as independent input devices' also while your here right click the 'lit-up' Analog connector and check the 'Connector Retasking..' ensure it is the correct box ticked.
Anonymous
10 years ago
@DBWoodynz
Just did everything you referred to. Turned off all the pesky background apps, the DVR function and I also checked everything at the Realtek HD Audio manager. Everything is in order. I ran the gam for 5 minutes (my knight is on Tattooine) and I still have the same crackling sound at times. I don't have it on any other game. I checked the core temps and they are normal as on any game.
dbwoodynz
Seasoned Ace
10 years ago
@Grashnazraz

Directx9.0c installed?

Have you tried a repair?.. personally I would have expected a slight corroded or dirty connection or a basic driver fault with your system being as old as it is.. (Not a Bad Thing).
Anonymous
10 years ago
@DBWoodynz

Yes, Directx9.0c is installed. I have already checked but there is no corrosion or any faulty hardware on the inside of the computer. A basic driver fault is possible, but we might get further if we know a bit more about OP's system. Maybe he has correlating hardware that is responsible for this issue.