audio has drastic effect on vista speed

[rtdavide]

i have noticed after several weeks of vista home premium, that using
ANY audio programs seems to noticeably tax the OS.
just playing an mp3 in winamp causes all other programs to slow to a
crawl.
listening to a podcast on itunes does the same.
Skype calls are difficult, video calls are pretty much a joke, with
video lagging behind by anywhere from 2-6 seconds and audio so spotty
it can't even be called listenable.
the OS is so taxed with ONLY skype running that I have to wait for the
computer to catch up even typing into skype's message area sometimes
for 10-15 seconds.

I'm using a Creative Labs SoundBlaster Audigy SE, with what should be
the latest drivers.
I also have a USB headset for talking on skype.
But i'm wondering if there is some other issue at play here. it seems
odd that audio would slow the OS down so much... and since it happens
over a spectrum of different programs, i'm convinced it is not each
individual program, but a larger problem.
though it could be perhaps Creative Labs issue as well....

any ideas as to possible problems/solutions here?

dave

 

[David]

i have noticed after several weeks of vista home premium, that using
ANY audio programs seems to noticeably tax the OS.
just playing an mp3 in winamp causes all other programs to slow to a
crawl.
listening to a podcast on itunes does the same.
Skype calls are difficult, video calls are pretty much a joke, with
video lagging behind by anywhere from 2-6 seconds and audio so spotty
it can't even be called listenable.
the OS is so taxed with ONLY skype running that I have to wait for the
computer to catch up even typing into skype's message area sometimes
for 10-15 seconds.

I'm using a Creative Labs SoundBlaster Audigy SE, with what should be
the latest drivers.
I also have a USB headset for talking on skype.
But i'm wondering if there is some other issue at play here. it seems
odd that audio would slow the OS down so much... and since it happens
over a spectrum of different programs, i'm convinced it is not each
individual program, but a larger problem.
though it could be perhaps Creative Labs issue as well....

any ideas as to possible problems/solutions here?

dave

have u tried here?
http://193.95.171.83/SRVS/CGI-BIN/W...product.tem,VARSET=ws:http://us.creative.com/

 

[rtdavide]

have u tried here?http://193.95.171.83/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE/,/?St=222,E=000000000030...- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

i had seen that, but while some of the info is admittedly well beyond
what i could understand,
alot of it seems to adress gaming concerns.
number 4 mentions general bugs because of the new way that audio is
done through vista, but nothing much to do with that except wait and
hope they come out with something.

the last line of thier impact of changes section mentions:
While the Microsoft architecture works very well for simple multimedia
applications such as music listening and moving watching....

but i have noticed that even simple music listening is really taxing
on the system.

anybody have any other suggestions besides hoping new patches come
out?
I was hoping there were perhaps some settings that could be modified
for the way the OS deals with audio, something that is not immediately
obvious by just looking at the control panel dialogs.. maybe not....

 

[David]

I had tons of trouble with audio quality of my Toshiba laptop purchased
this summer until Realtek updated their drivers about 3 or 4 times after
the version that came on my laptop. The sound was fuzzy. Late summer
time, Realtek issued a driver that sounds perfect and now I will avoid
further updates so as not to introduce any potential sound issues. I
love the sound of this laptop, btw...it has the harmon kardon speakers,
so it was disconcerting to be unable to enjoy running itunes.

Dave

 

[DarkSentinel]

i have noticed after several weeks of vista home premium, that using
ANY audio programs seems to noticeably tax the OS.
just playing an mp3 in winamp causes all other programs to slow to a
crawl.
listening to a podcast on itunes does the same.
Skype calls are difficult, video calls are pretty much a joke, with
video lagging behind by anywhere from 2-6 seconds and audio so spotty
it can't even be called listenable.
the OS is so taxed with ONLY skype running that I have to wait for the
computer to catch up even typing into skype's message area sometimes
for 10-15 seconds.

I'm using a Creative Labs SoundBlaster Audigy SE, with what should be
the latest drivers.
I also have a USB headset for talking on skype.
But i'm wondering if there is some other issue at play here. it seems
odd that audio would slow the OS down so much... and since it happens
over a spectrum of different programs, i'm convinced it is not each
individual program, but a larger problem.
though it could be perhaps Creative Labs issue as well....

any ideas as to possible problems/solutions here?

I have the Realtek HD. No problems whatsoever. No lag on the OS with
anything I use. WMP, Winamp, QCD, Media Center. All are perfect. I'm
beginning to think however, that Creative's Vista support is not up to
speed. They can't even get the Multimedia KB I bought to work with it, and I
have to send it back... So it very well could be a driver issue.

 

[PNutts]

Can you reproduce the slowness with the device disabled and/or drivers
removed? Obviously, there will be no sound, but you should be able to isolate
the sound card/driver as the source of the slowness. I don't use Skype, but
do video chatting, play various types of sound files, etc. and don't
experience the slowness you report.