I've just built my latest pc. For the life of me I can't fix the sound clipping issue which causes the whole cpu to freeze up. I've updated every driver, bios, etc..I've searched the internet high and low and still can't find anything of real value to help fix this issue. It's probably something very simple that I've overlooked.Here's the setup:Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770 Yorkfield 3.2GHz LGA 775 136W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569QX9770 MSI X48 Platinum LGA 775 Intel X48 ATX Intel Motherboard OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1600EB4GKABS Tagan BZ Series BZ1100 1100W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Modular Active PFC Patent Piperock Modular Power Supply 2X VisionTek 900244 Radeon HD 4870 512MB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video CardCreative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro 70SB055A00000 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card (Black/Silver)Hanns

Hi Jeff,Just guessing, but have you disabled the onboard audio in the BIOS? it's possible you may be experiencing a conflict with your X-Fi Elite Pro sound card.Clipping to me suggests a sine wave becoming a distorted squarewave type waveform caused by an overdriven amplifier, so perhaps my guess doesn't really fit after all.Mike

Hello Jeff,I advise you to remove the extra soundcard and try with the onboard sound first. It might give you a clue where the problem is.My experience is that although onboard sound is less fancy than addon cards, they usually have more reliable drivers (less features = less bugs). Especially Soundblaster has/had a reputation for bad drivers.Allard.

Mike and Allard,Thanks for the replies. I disabled the onboard HD. A lot of people were also guessing it was Creative's drivers causing the problems.I also just found ATI's newest Cat 8.9 which for some strange reason wasn't there just a week ago despite the version available date. Weird. The release notes also hint to possible problems similar to what I'm having. In other words, the sound stuttering could be happening after the real problem happens, if in fact it is an ATI issue.I can't remember when I had the pc working in a stable configuration last. It might have been before the sound card as my vid cards(dual slot) still had their fans on them before the water blocks became avail. thus freeing (uncovering) up the slot I needed for the SB card.I'll try the new Cat drivers, then I guess I'll jerk the SB card out and see what happens.Thanks for the quick replies!

Well,It wasn't ATI causing the issue. the first vid I tried playing at gametrailers.com caused such a loud screeching I had to hard reset, once again.It's got to be something with the sound card. I guess that's next.

As painful as this might sound, take the front side buss DoWn to 380. I get this sound problem sometimes too. After mobo RMAs and about everything else, this finally did it. Also, the ram should be running at 800Mhz (DDR means "FSB x 2"). You or the mobo (or something's) gotta intervene to get it up to 1600. Make sure the bios didn't do something crazy to your ram's speed.

Sam,Thx, I've tried downclocking also. 1600 is what my mobo supports, btw., to match my RAM. I'll keep trying.