I've had my Dimension 4700 Desktop for about four years now, but about two years ago, the sound started to get funky. After about an hour of use (it would vary), it would start popping. It would hardly be noticeable at first, but after another hour or so, it was hardly bearable. I have an Creative SB Audigy 2 (WDM) sound card with Legacy audio drivers and SoundMax digital Audio.
Over the past two years I've tried everything: changing the speakers, moving the computer, replacing the driver (a couple of times), switching the PCI slot, etc. I've scoured forums and nothing seems to fix my problem. It finally hit me a while back that the sound card could be overheating. That would explain why the problem goes away when I leave the computer off or in standby for a while, but isn't fixed by a restart. Then when the computer heats back up the popping returns.
My question is three-fold.
-Do you guys think I'm right about the heat, or could it be some other problem (and if it is the heat, is there a way I can fix this)?
-Is there anything you guys think I should try before replacing my sound card?
-If nothing else works, do you think replacing the sound card will fix the problem? If so, what's a cheap card you would recommend?
Any help is really appreciated. Thanks in advance!!
-Thomas
Over the past two years I've tried everything: changing the speakers, moving the computer, replacing the driver (a couple of times), switching the PCI slot, etc. I've scoured forums and nothing seems to fix my problem. It finally hit me a while back that the sound card could be overheating. That would explain why the problem goes away when I leave the computer off or in standby for a while, but isn't fixed by a restart. Then when the computer heats back up the popping returns.
My question is three-fold.
-Do you guys think I'm right about the heat, or could it be some other problem (and if it is the heat, is there a way I can fix this)?
-Is there anything you guys think I should try before replacing my sound card?
-If nothing else works, do you think replacing the sound card will fix the problem? If so, what's a cheap card you would recommend?
Any help is really appreciated. Thanks in advance!!
-Thomas