Audio/Video Distortion with M14x

My recently bought Alienware M14x has been experiencing strange audio and video distortions lately. These distortions occur across all programs, from running video games to playing Pandora Radio or watching YouTube videos.

What happens is at random intervals, most commonly when launching the program, the audio will sound incredibly distorted/robotic; as if it was jumbled (sounds like a loud electronic "buzz"). If a video is running, such as a video game or on YouTube, the video will lag horribly as well. This usually lasts between 1 and 3 seconds, and after the distortion, everything runs smoothly.

The problem is that it occurs across all programs, and it happens consistently while I run anything involving sound/video on my computer. Although when exactly the distortion occurs is random, I can say with confidence that whenever I start a program, it will experience something close to a distortion per minute.


*EDIT*
I tried re-installing the RealTek HD Audio drivers, and that didn't work (I manually re-installed them using the software on their site).

My system specs:
Alienware M14x
Intel Core i7 Core i7-2720QM
8GB DDR3 1666MHz RAM
500GB 7200rpm HDD
Nvidia GeForce GT 555M (3.0GB of DDR3 VRAM)
Windows 7 Home Premium

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Do you have the X-Fi soundblaster software?

 

I agree , most likely candidate if you have it. Seems there was another up date for mine aswell...............although did update it when i first had it.

Cheers for reminding me

 

Err... Off topic?! Or is it you just posting it in the wrong thread?

Anyway, back to OP's problem, have you also tried with Headphone? To see if it is software problem, because if you can hear clearly with the headphone then it mean you might need to call Dell for a replacement. But before that you can also reinstall the Realtek Audio Driver to see if it the software problem.

 

how is that off topic wingnut? the creative software did cause this issue and an update was required...............

this could be directly related, so its not off topic.

 

No, I do not.

Oddly enough, when I unplug my headphones and use the system's speakers instead, the instances of buzzing drop drastically (2 or 3 times a minute with headphones, compared to one or two occurences while using the laptop with just the speakers).

Even though it decreases drastically without the use of headphones, I still think that its probably a problem with the computer, and not the headphones themselves.

 

I'd also like to add that when these distortions occur, the CPU usage usually increases by a factor of 2-5 times.

For instance, while playing a YouTube video and browsing imageboards online, the CPU usage hovers around 5-6% on average. When the distortions occur, this bumps up the usage to anywhere between 11 to 30%. As you can imagine, the distortions become worse when using more of the CPU (playing TF2, GTAIV, and other games).

Not sure what to make of it, but if its a driver that lags then it seems justified that the CPU usage increases drastically.

 

do you have McAfee antivirus?

 

Yes, I do. Could that be causing the problem?

Also, I've determined that these distortions occur only when I'm online. I turned off wifi and played GTA IV along with music playing using Windows Media Player, and after 15 minutes of screwing around in Liberty City I found no distortions, even with headphones in. I'm beginning to think it has something to do with the wifi and lag, but still, it shouldn't be this bad of a problem when it comes to just normal lag.

 

I can see you have two options, uninstall mcaffee and try ms security essentials...............suggesting this only to pinpint problem.

If persists, update or change wifi drivers.

If you dont want to muck about with wifi, use an ethernet cable and disconnect from your wireless.

If you can exclude either............

 

i have mcafee antivirus too.
i think that is the problem. when i turn off my firewall, it stops.