BaDbOy3998's Sound Problems (Merged threads)

[BaDbOy3998]

Basically, in a recent e-mail I read about someone with HAL problems, so they were pointed to a config. for DirectX. On my computer I went there and tried a sound test. It said my sound card doesn't support buffering, that software buffering was needed. So I'm asking "What plugin offers a high amount of buffering?" Right now I'm using Azimer's Audio v.30 (Old Version), but even with a high amount of buffering it still messes up a lot when using any resolution above 640X480, and anything above the lowest resolution 320X240 is crappy. So basically I'm left with sound that still cracks, but at least on most ROMS for most of the time, usually, I have fairly good sound, but obviously running on 1024X768 resolution makes playing games at 320X240 difficult.

:pj64:

[B*A*G*G]

prolly cause your cpu is reeeel slow

[BaDbOy3998]

I'm using 2.0 Ghz PIIII and 512 mb of RAM. When loading Goldeneye 64, which in the note on Project 64 said uses a lot of system resources, loaded instantly and from there on out no visible "Lagg". So I doubt it's severe slowness...

[linker]

Use jabo's sound plugin, might help.

[Dark Anomaly]

P4 hasn't got a good FPU like Athlons and P3's so even tho the clock speed is fast in pj64 its probably considerably slower. Lots of people with P4's seem to have problems with PJ64. I guess it hates P4s. lol

[Slougi]

lmao since the 386 all processors have had am fpu =P
what sound card do u have? Try playing around with the multemedia settings in the windows control panel. might help :)

[BaDbOy3998]

I'll check the media settings, but I do not know what my sound card is (how do I check?). I do know by typing DXDIAG (DirectX Diagnostic) in the run thing under the start menu, then hitting the sound tab, and hitting the test button, it played all the sounds alright but when it finished it said my sound card doesn't support hardware buffering, that a software bufferer was needed. Oh yeah, believe me that I've used every single plugin out there. Only running at a max. Buffer in 320X240 made it even possible to hear the sound without excessive cracks on some games. Could someone tell me where to get a "Software (Sound) Bufferer"?

[BaDbOy3998]

In sounds and multimedia under the control panel, I was only able to tell it to use higher quality sound (it was set to Good as a default). Still the same problem. Basically my sound card doesn't support HARDWARE BUFFERING, so I need to use a software buffer. Can someone point me to one?

[RadeonUser]

Sadly, some of these people are right. PJ64 and a Pentium 4 are not really that compatible... The sound problem is indeed caused by the lack of a strong FPU on the Pentium 4.

[RJA]

The audio stuttering problem when using resolutions above 640x480 is a telltale that games are running very slowly.

The games being slow on resolutions above 640x480 is a telltale and definitely
sounds like a video card problem, not a sound card problem. This
is a known issue I already have with
integrated Intel AGP video hardware.
This is apparently, because the hardware
3D acceleration is very slow. :plain:

At least, even when the Voodoo 3 is rather poor ( misc. glitches) with N64 emulation, at least it's a fairly fast video card.

The resolution problem does not occur and are no noticable slowdowns with
a Voodoo 3. I don't care what some people say about the GeForce 2 MX 200
video card and about people saying to
'get a GeForce 2 MX 400', the GeForce 2
MX 200 is a good and trusty video card.
The GeForce 2 MX 200 has 99% percent
perfect gfx on The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, does not have any slow and jerkiness on resolutions above 640x480 and is easy to configure
the drivers.

[RadeonUser]

RJA: I know it's the P4 because the sound skips on my brother's computer. He has a P4 1.7 GHz, a Radeon 8500, a SB Audigy!, and 256 MB's of ram.

Still, that problem is there... Funny thing is, perfect frame rate on my computer... and perfect sound.

My rig = P3 900, Radeon DDR, 384 MB of ram, SB Live!

[linker]

Originally posted by RadeonUser
RJA: I know it's the P4 because the sound skips on my brother's computer. He has a P4 1.7 GHz, a Radeon 8500, a SB Audigy!, and 256 MB's of ram.

Still, that problem is there... Funny thing is, perfect frame rate on my computer... and perfect sound.

My rig = P3 900, Radeon DDR, 384 MB of ram, SB Live!

Yes, PJ64 is not optimized for PIV (SSE2 Instructions), so it may be unbelievable it runs better on PIII, and even better on AthlonXP:). So the solution is: GUYS, don't buy this fuckin PIV, there is better and cheaper processor out there (called Athlon of course :) Also, BaDbOy3998, I have a software sound card, too, but I don't have problems. Go to My comp-> properties (from the contex menu), then device manager tab, see what componets you have. Also tell us what video card you have. Cya.

[BaDbOy3998]

Okay, my other computer is an AMD ~751 mhz, on a NVIDIA Vanta LT, with a non-buffering sound card, and my guess is that people thing more of the "fpu" (no idea what that is) on this rather than my PIV. Yeah okay say my computer sucks, but note that everything else runs really fast esp. for this setup (i.e. Half-Life runs very well, don't know what it is then you know nothing about PC gaming). Basically this sound card also doesn't support "Hardware Buffering". Please tell me where you got that software sound card, as it seems to be my next best solution (after that putting in my soundcard from my oldest computer, a 586p, lol. Then it would be blowing @ least $50 on a new soundcard which would only be better by supporting buffering when I guess the software doesn't).

[RadeonUser]

In case you don't know what a Floating Point Unit is or does...

A floating point unit (FPU), also known as a numeric coprocessor, is a microprocessor or special circuitry in a more general microprocessor that manipulates numbers more quickly than the basic microprocessor your computer uses. It does so by having a special set of instructions that focus entirely on large mathematical operations. A floating point unit is often built into today's personal computers, but it is needed only for special applications such as graphic image processing or display. Personal computers that don't have floating point units can sometimes handle software that requires them by installing a floating point emulator.

[BaDbOy3998]

Yeah, my computer's numeric processor exceeds reported standards for models of same/similar type. No I don't overclock, and don't wish to. But, my sound still isn't fixed. Is there a way to fix it in BIOS?

[Crazed376]

In order to come up with a solution for your problem, I need to know some more things.

1.) What is your sound card? (Depend on your OS, but my guess is you're on Windows. So go to the Control Panel, Open the System Properties and select the Device Manager) Look under Sound and Multimedia devices and tell us the sound card listed there.

2.) What OS are you running?

Now, also I'm confused, because you say you have a P4 but then mention AMD ~750 MHZ. So what is it? I know PJ64 does not work well with P4's but maybe 1964 is better. I know that Aimzer's beta plug-in is really awesome. Have you tried any other emu's?

[BaDbOy3998]

~751 mhz AMD processer
~NVIDIA VANTA LT gfx card (reportedly sux but it's what I got)
~Sound Card that for some reason doesn't support hardware buffering, only software buffering (if you know a plugin or Software based sound card or way to increase buffer size considerably for me please say so!!!)

Okay, I have a couple problems.

1st, does anyone know how to allow 1024X768 or higher resolutions w/o switching over to 16 bit gfx from 32 bit gfx (this glitch is on my computer).

2nd, I need a way to make my sound not so skippy/stuttery

3rd, although my computer runs well even when running a rom and other programs, people say my fpu could be a limiting factor, some say not... (could this fix my sound problem?) Anyways can someone send me some screenshots or list of the settings I should use to gain/speed up as much system resources as possible (these settings would be in PJ64, already I use audio lists with azimer's audio version 0.30).

TY!!!
:pj64:

[linker]

Ok, here is you problem badboy - your video card sux. Buy another one - I suggest Geforce2/3 or radeo7500/8500. And first you said that you have pIV 2Ghz, then athlon 750Mhz, wtf? Also, it's not because of your sound card, understand this, I have a via sound card integrated in my motherboard (gigabyte 7zm) and it works perfectly. It is not so big problem that your sound card doesn't handle hardware buffering. So, as I said, get another video card.

[diddy02]

Well, the sound thing could very well be the game itself. As for the resolution thing, do you mean in full screen? Just adjust the resolution from the Plugins dialog box (for graphics... I use Jabos)... to 1024x768. That won't change the colors on screen, but just enlarge the window.

[pj64er]

try to stick with Jabo's audio, if u like azimer's theres a new beta out! its slower, but it seems to be better for me.

[sk8bloke22]

Originally posted by pj64er
try to stick with Jabo's audio, if u like azimer's theres a new beta out! its slower, but it seems to be better for me.

if u use azimar's plugin, make sure u select HLE audio in the rsp settings...big increase.

[pj64er]

Originally posted by sk8bloke22


if u use azimar's plugin, make sure u select HLE audio in the rsp settings...big increase.

oh ya, i forgot to mention this.

but doesnt azimer's ONLY work with the HLE setting? (dont remember it working with it off)

[BaDbOy3998]

Okay, my sound problem is basic stuttering (recap.). Okay well now I'm using Version 1.3 on PJ64 and have noticed sound works better, although is hardly near-perfect (stuttery still an issue). Yeah I'm using azimer v 0.30 maxed out buffer and hle audio in the rsp plugin thing... But, as I've found out, increased buffer size for me (from zilmar's to azimer's v 0.30) has made sound stuttery less worse, but hardly where I'd least want to be, in other words I need better audio. Does anybody know an audio plugin for PJ64 that offers the highest amount of buffer out there, or can be configured/easily coded to do so? Or, is there another way to increase the buffer significantly?

[BaDbOy3998]

Okay, basically i'm still a teen living at home. The family's computer is a PIIII 2 ghz, the one in my room which is mine, is a AMD 751. My video card sucks, yeah, but what do you suggest then? Oh yeah, try not to answer w/an expensive one, I only work @ Kroger!!!

[BaDbOy3998]

Okay, I need to free up the system a.m.a.p. when using PJ64, so can someone tell me what options I should choose in PJ 64 Version 1.3. I need to do so b/c my sound is stuttery, and my slow video card doesn't "talk" to the processor fast enuff. If you can't tell me the options, then could you point me to a specific audio plugin that allows for an overly increased amount of buffering, or tell me a way to make the sound non-stuttery Pleez...

:pj64:

oh yeah, sry my post is crappily typed but I'm tired...

[Martin]

You can forget about getting a new sound card, that won't help. As linker says, your bottle neck is your graphics card. Limited budget? I've heard that the GeForce 3 ti-200 is a great performer, yet cheap. Try that.

If that's too expensive too, the GeForce2 MX would be a slower but cheaper alternative. Real cheap in fact. :)

[B*A*G*G]

you might wanna upgrade that AMD cpu too, as most n64 games dont run at full speed on a cpu under 1.2Ghz and that can also lead to coppy sound (expecially without sound buffering). games like goldeneye & perfect dark need a leased a 1.3ghz AMD cpu to run at full speed with pj64 (might vary on systems with faster RAM & GPU).

[BaDbOy3998]

Well, I'm just gonna save up money and blow it on a decked out cpu, which will set me back finantially, needless to say my future car will be a POS, but that's what life is like as a teenager with parentz who dont make 100g a year...