Need Help w/ Audio Dropout on CPU Load (Memory issue!?)

Not really sure where to start with this one..... Yesterday I was switching from my SLI mode to single card mode because I can't play the Division in SLI (the SLI profile is garbage apparently, and the game crashes and performs worse than a single card), when I noticed my audio starting to cut out a few seconds under load. After that I did some testing w/ Prime95 and anytime I'm under load audio cuts out for a few seconds at a time. My temps are fine, no alerts on any hardware. Under 100% load my CPU was around 65C.


First thing I did was drop all my overclocks to default and restart.
Second I rolled back to a couple days ago via System Restore
Third I uninstalled my audio drivers (SteeleSeries Siberia Elite Prism as well as the annoying Realtek driver that never seem to go away)
Fourth I uninstalled video drivers and after the restart the system installed an old version on its own, same w/ realtek drivers, and the issue persists.
Fifth I downloaded Malwarebytes to ensure I didn't have a virus. It had some minor adware but no trojans.
Not sure what to do now. I did get a blue screen once of DRIVER_PAGE_FAULT_IN_FREED_SPECIAL_POOL(rzudd.sys) which is related to my razer synapse. I don't think thats the issue, as the driver may have just been loading during the crash.


It gets really bad when I run a game or Prime95. Could it be memory going bad? It's pretty old, since 2011. I did also get some USB disconnection alerts, and disconnected my usb drives but still the issue persists. My page file is 12-16GB.

Is your headset USB based?

It is, yes. It's a SteeleSeries Siberia Elite Prism Headphones w/ USB Soundcard

jmag1k said:

It is, yes. It's a SteeleSeries Siberia Elite Prism Headphones w/ USB Soundcard

Click to expand...

How does this connect to your system, does it just get the signal from the PC and power from elsewhere?
I can't find a product page for it on the SteelSeries site.

ATMINSIDE said:

How does this connect to your system, does it just get the signal from the PC and power from elsewhere?
I can't find a product page for it on the SteelSeries site.

Click to expand...

It's all powered through USB. There's a little USB soundcard the headphone and mic jacks plug into, and that connects to the USB slot on the PC.

Here's the amazon link I bought them from. http://www.amazon.com/SteelSeries-Siberia-Elite-Gaming-Headset-Artic/dp/B00MSOEV6U

I guess Steelseries now calls them the 650. https://steelseries.com/gaming-headsets/siberia-650

Try the headset on your onboard audio with the 3.5mm connections instead of going through the USB card.

ATMINSIDE said:

Try the headset on your onboard audio with the 3.5mm connections instead of going through the USB card.

Click to expand...

Yeah... thinking back on that, that's the first thing I should have done. In my gut I don't think that is the issue though, because the system just seemed to be a bit laggy as soon as I switched the from SLI in the Nvidia Control Panel. I'll try it out as soon as I get home though and let you know.

Figured it out... it was an old and aging USB drive causing issues. When I returned home and fired up my PC, I unplugged the USB soundcard and plugged in the 3.5mm as suggested. Sound was fine. Plugged the soundcard in, it was fine. Wait, did the problem just go away!?

Right then I noticed my notifications going haywire. My system was RAPIDLY connecting disconnecting a usb device, to the point it sounded like a new Kanye song. I started unplugging all my usb ports till I found my older USB drive and BAM! Issue resolved. I feel so dumb not checking my peripherals first...

Wow! Glad you found the issue!