Audio delay completely out of no where. High end PC.

A

AsukaoYL

New Member
Been using OBS for YEARS absolutely no issues. I recently built a new PC and Its been completely random. Just today I noticed all my gameplay recordings had a decent audio delay. Never had this issue with my old PC. Pushing it to the limit as well. Recording while doing 5 more system intense things with zero issues. Gaming, recording, editing and rendering at the same time for example. Its also seems like it is completely random when it happens and when it doesn't. Sometimes it happens while doing replay buffer, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it does it while recording sometimes it doesn't.

OLD PC
Windows 10
AMD RYZEN 9 3900X
3080 TI
GIGABYTE X570 AORUS MASTER
32GB RAM

I never had an audio delay with my old pc. Pushing it to the limit as well. I was recording gameplay in 1024, Rending video in Davinci Resolve in 4K, Recording a zoom call and sometimes even gaming while also recording. All at the same time with no delay.

NEW PC
Windows 11
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
5080 Founders
MAG X870E TOMAHAWK
64GB RAM

Completely Random delay anywhere between 200ms to 32ms so the off set is not realistic as I wont know till after the fact how delayed the audio will be. Recording in 2K is the only difference and not doing anything else in the background. Yet audio delay is present..

https://obsproject.com/logs/OdzAEE0IvW9ystrB - Delay
https://obsproject.com/logs/aMpbJa5IKz7mjYAda - No Delay
https://obsproject.com/logs/zJBXDzx1EyOFyeTt - Delay

The Capture Interference in the log with delay was me trying to change audio inputs from mixer to added mic and headphones to sources rather mixer to see if the problem was fixed. The delay existed ether way.

Max Audio Buffering exists in every single log regardless if there is a delay or no delay.

Been trying different encoders as well, sometimes a encoder has no delay sometimes it does.

Its absolutely been driving me crazy.
 
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OBS isn't causing your Desktop Audio to lag. Your OBS set-up looks OK. Audio lag can be caused by system overload.

Are Windows Audio Enhancements & Spacial Sound disabled? It's a new rig, maybe the audio driver needs some attention, have you checked your mobo's support page?

22:49:01.610: Source Desktop Audio audio is lagging (over by 37043.72 ms) at max audio buffering. Restarting source audio.
22:50:00.575: Source Desktop Audio audio is lagging (over by 23518.89 ms) at max audio buffering. Restarting source audio.
22:51:21.619: Source Desktop Audio audio is lagging (over by 77834.44 ms) at max audio buffering. Restarting source audio.
 
I flashed the motherboard when I built the PC to the newest driver. I have the MSI Tomahawk x870e

I understand this might be a system overload but how is that even possible. It cant be the actual specs, I mean my old PC is so much worse and I truly pushed that system to the max.

Windows Audio Enhancements is Device Default Effects, Should I turn this off?
Spatial Sound is Disabled

Its also completely random. For example I have done nothing and the past 2 days NO Delay.

What is your suggestion on troubleshooting this?
 
Yep, disable the audio enhancements & see if the lag ceases.

Also, disable Game DVR while you're at it. It's not needed so get it out of the way.
21:00:28.019: Game DVR: On
 
Recording was off already but capture audio was on. Lets hope this was the issue.
Windows Audio Enhancements off now as well. Will update.
 
The issue still persist. I started restarting my PC before recording and it seemed to prevent it. But it happened randomly yesterday. Im starting to think its when I have my MIC on when I start the recording and even if I mute it the delay will appear. This is seriously driving my crazy. I use to push my old PC to the absolute limits in usage while recording and NEVER had a issue.

For example I use to render video on DaVinci resolve, while gaming, while recording that gameplay and had background apps running with NO issues. I build a top of the line PC and I gotta deal with random audio delays.

All the research I have been doing online and it seems im the only one on the planet with this specific issue.

My performance otherwise is mint, everything is running perfect otherwise.
 
I took a look at the support page for your mobo & noticed a link to the Realtek Audio Control Panel. I have no idea if you installed it but if you did you may want to take a look at it, there may be setting(s) in there that need to be adjusted.


apps.microsoft.com

Realtek Audio Control - Free download and install on Windows | Microsoft Store

"Realtek Audio Control" provides the best audio experience with the Realtek Audio Codec. You can adjust audio device effects and all the audio device settings in this App.
apps.microsoft.com
 
Point taken
... on the other hand, folks often attribute blame where they see the problem ... and in situations like this it can be the underlying operating system itself. Mind you, I got my MCSE 30 years ago... I know MS Windows NT _very_ well (though more on server side), and I play with other OSes on occasion ... but I stick with what I know because I can usually force M$ Windows to accomplish what I want. MS deserves every single bit of bashing it gets (and more) at the moment ...
As I've posted elsewhere, my primary PC has been a 15 yr old workstation (nicely appointed in terms of RAM and SSDs)... I just last month got a replacement workstation and am basically forced to deal with Win11... and my annoyance is seeping thru.
my apologies just so frustrating to yet again be dealing with OS release so reminiscent of WinME, XP (original release, later SPs made OS good), Vista, 8 etc... utter product development mismanagement

I get OP wasn't helped with an easy answer... but, education end users about one of the possible directions to look for root cause I don't consider _entirely_ pointless ... though granted my wording didn't make that point unmistakably obvious

As for OP - you have 2 completely different operating systems, with different settings, and a high probability of doing more with newer hardware, combined with unknown quality of BIOS, other firmware, and drivers (and associated settings, and understanding of the implications of those settings) ... meaning there are LOTS of possible reasons why a newer, more powerful system might struggle compared to a different (simpler?) setup on older hardware. And then, audio subsystem (and File Explorer & more) on Win11 is a mess. Ignoring that is a dis-service to end-users. For too many issues on Win11 at the moment, there aren't real fixes other than patience and hoping MS gets around to fixing half-baked & poorly tested code. Sometimes there are work-arounds... sometimes not... but it depends
Whether OP's issues are one of those sub-system issues or not? very hard to tell through forum conversation

And based on earlier thread conversation with driver updates etc, the chance that the real root cause is the Win11 audio subsystem code mess (and associated OS driver/settings - default and user set) is decent ( if not better than decent) ...
 
Alright so in my experimenting I can 100% say that once the issue starts for whatever reason it starts, If i restart my pc it magically goes away. 100% of the time. I have now done this hundreds of times. However I cant pinpoint when the audio issues starts. I can record and run the PC for an entire day with zero issues. Recording, Editing, Rendering. Ill walk away for a bit or put the PC in sleep mode wake up the next day don't remember to restart it and audio delay comes back...sometimes. Restart and its gone.

Could it be the PC going into sleep mode that triggers it?
Something I am missing in the bios?

You know what's funny, my old pc was a mess, I had so many accounts for work, gaming, programs I never used that ran in the background, was inconsistent with drivers, didn't clean the registry. Didn't update the bios. I mean it was a older pc and once I knew I was about to upgrade it got real bad. I mean I pushed that thing to the absolute limits.

This new build, everything was done perfect. Clean installs registry cleaned it, updated everything. I mean I went FULL OCD and I gotta deal with this paranoid shit now where every time I record anything its a coin flip will it have a random amount of delay. Its not even consistent with the amount of delay lol.

What annoys the hell out of me is everything online is saying your system is being overloaded. I mean I get it probably for most people. But if you guys knew how much I pushed that old PC and had zero issues I mean i was running intense games at max settings while recording, while logged into my zoom which was also recording calls and I would render video in 4K. I mean it got so laggy at times It was brutal. Guess what no audio delay lmao. I mean I was hardcore multitasking at times.

This new pc is running things at 2x-3x the fps max settings, I'm doing nothing but recording no background apps running but the basics, I'm barely even scratching the service of my system and I'm getting these annoying ass issues.

Every time the issue starts its logs it in obs as a max audio buffering issue. Like seriously come on.

You know what's funny, I also had a issue with DaVinci resolve not rendering video in H.265 or even having the option to unless I disabled integrated graphics in device manager. Like why.... But that's nether here or there at least that issue was resolved even tho it was so stupid.

At this point Im thinking could it be the headphone jack Im using. Is that even possible? I have my headphones plugged into the front IO and my speakers plugged into my mobo. I sometimes record with speakers somethings with headphones. Or is it my mic which I have plugged into the back as well via USBC. I use the fifine.

I even considered that it was my 24tb Internal HD I was recording to going to sleep and waking up when recordings started that was causing the issues. So I prevented it from ever going to sleep to see if that's the issue.

I mean it can be in my head but it seems the issues started when I started recording my MIC as well. However the delay isn't exclusive to when the mic is on or off. Just If it was on or off when it was last restarted.

As you can probably tell Im going schizophrenic about this at this point lmao.
 
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I would test with one of the Desktop Audio sources removed. Device Timing is being used for both & maybe they're not operating completely in sync. After some time, your Desktop Audio lags (Headphones).

BTW, Rendering Lag is in fact GPU overload.

21:00:30.396: [win-wasapi: 'Desktop Audio'] update settings:
21:00:30.396: device id: {0.0.0.00000000}.{0c4b3f07-18b9-4c1b-bee1-4f59f725d00b}
21:00:30.396: use device timing: 1
21:00:30.397: [Loaded global audio device]: 'Desktop Audio'
21:00:30.397: [win-wasapi: 'Desktop Audio 2'] update settings:
21:00:30.397: device id: {0.0.0.00000000}.{71053185-aded-48a0-84e0-64c531427f8d}
21:00:30.397: use device timing: 1

21:00:30.413: WASAPI: Device 'Headphones (Realtek USB Audio)' [48000 Hz] initialized (source: Desktop Audio)
21:00:30.609: WASAPI: Device 'Speakers (Realtek USB Audio)' [48000 Hz] initialized (source: Desktop Audio 2)

21:39:24.153: Max audio buffering reached!
21:39:24.153: adding 917 milliseconds of audio buffering, total audio buffering is now 960 milliseconds (source: Desktop Audio)
21:39:24.153:
21:39:24.176: Source Desktop Audio audio is lagging (over by 103762.75 ms) at max audio buffering. Restarting source audio.
22:49:00.367: Output 'Replay Buffer': stopping
22:49:00.367: Output 'Replay Buffer': Total frames output: 390232
22:49:00.367: Output 'Replay Buffer': Total drawn frames: 390279 (390294 attempted)
22:49:00.367: Output 'Replay Buffer': Number of lagged frames due to rendering lag/stalls: 15 (0.0%)
22:49:00.368: ==== Replay Buffer Stop ============================================
22:49:00.393: Video stopped, number of skipped frames due to encoding lag: 15/390293 (0.0%)
22:49:01.610: Source Desktop Audio audio is lagging (over by 37043.72 ms) at max audio buffering. Restarting source audio.
22:50:00.575: Source Desktop Audio audio is lagging (over by 23518.89 ms) at max audio buffering. Restarting source audio.
22:51:21.619: Source Desktop Audio audio is lagging (over by 77834.44 ms) at max audio buffering. Restarting source audio.
 
I was not leaving OBS open while in sleep to clarify. I close OBS when not recording which is 90% of my PC use.

"BTW, Rendering Lag is in fact GPU overload."

If the GPU is being overloaded and cant handle the audio, how is it that when the PC restarts and I go back to doing what I was doing the issue does not happen? The GPU was being used exactly the same or do you mean something else? I cant possibly imagine a 5080 being overloaded while my 3080 TI was not.Z

"I would test with one of the Desktop Audio sources removed. Device Timing is being used for both & maybe they're not operating completely in sync. After some time, your Desktop Audio lags (Headphones)."

This is where my mind is going as well. However I want to understand WHY this might be happening. As it should not be overloaded or mistimed, because this is exactly the same headphone/speaker setup from the OLD pc that did not have issues.

Even if it is Windows 11. How do I fix it where I don't have to worry about it ever again!

Im going to try and catch it and upload another log file.

https://obsproject.com/logs/zh0TTHBygrVAUhDn - No issues, Been recording on and off all day. Restarted PC in the morning before starting. OBS has been running nearly all day on and off recording and pauses recordings at times.
 
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AsukaoYL said:
Been using OBS for YEARS absolutely no issues. I recently built a new PC and Its been completely random. Just today I noticed all my gameplay recordings had a decent audio delay. Never had this issue with my old PC. Pushing it to the limit as well. Recording while doing 5 more system intense things with zero issues. Gaming, recording, editing and rendering at the same time for example. Its also seems like it is completely random when it happens and when it doesn't. Sometimes it happens while doing replay buffer, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it does it while recording sometimes it doesn't.

OLD PC
Windows 10
AMD RYZEN 9 3900X
3080 TI
GIGABYTE X570 AORUS MASTER
32GB RAM

I never had an audio delay with my old pc. Pushing it to the limit as well. I was recording gameplay in 1024, Rending video in Davinci Resolve in 4K, Recording a zoom call and sometimes even gaming while also recording. All at the same time with no delay.

NEW PC
Windows 11
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
5080 Founders
MAG X870E TOMAHAWK
64GB RAM

Completely Random delay anywhere between 200ms to 32ms so the off set is not realistic as I wont know till after the fact how delayed the audio will be. Recording in 2K is the only difference and not doing anything else in the background. Yet audio delay is present..

https://obsproject.com/logs/OdzAEE0IvW9ystrB - Delay
https://obsproject.com/logs/aMpbJa5IKz7mjYAda - No Delay
https://obsproject.com/logs/zJBXDzx1EyOFyeTt - Delay

The Capture Interference in the log with delay was me trying to change audio inputs from mixer to added mic and headphones to sources rather mixer to see if the problem was fixed. The delay existed ether way.

Max Audio Buffering exists in every single log regardless if there is a delay or no delay.

Been trying different encoders as well, sometimes a encoder has no delay sometimes it does.

Its absolutely been driving me crazy.
Click to expand...
This kind of issue is very common after moving to a new system, especially with Windows 11 and new hardware.


First thing I would check is sample rate and audio device settings. Make sure Windows sound settings and OBS are both set to the same sample rate, usually 48k. A mismatch can cause random drift and delay over time.


Also try disabling any audio enhancements in Windows for your mic and headphones. On some new boards and drivers this can add processing latency that comes and goes.


Another thing is buffering and monitoring. If you are using monitoring or replay buffer, test once with monitoring off and see if the delay still appears.


On a similar setup I fixed a random 200ms delay just by setting all devices to 48k and switching the mic from a USB hub to a direct motherboard port. After that the audio stayed in sync in every recording.
 
Rendering Lag, I was just pointing out that there is some slight overload. Your running both monitors @ high refresh rates & one of them is @ 360 & the other @ 144. You're wasting resources that could be used somewhere else, like rendering those lagged frames.

You're still using the wrong Preset but the latest log looks OK.
 
rockbottom said:
LOL, I still haven't moved on from W10. After reading that, I won't be anytime soon either. Thx for the honest review!!
Click to expand...
I got all my Win10 systems set up on Extended Security Updates (and what a hassle to do that... more MS incompetent coding, but separate rant). So that gives those of us on ESU until Oct of this year.
The issue is when dealing with modern BIG.little CPU architecture, Win11 really does make more sense. So I'm dealing with the 'nuances' 'challenges' of Win11... some of which, if you know where to look, and settings changes to make, can be wrestled into a largely tolerable OS. I'm still having some odd behaviors, but I'm not sure how much of that is new Precision mobile workstation, Win11, and/or the latest VMware (broadcom) Workstation [which I've made the tweaks to disable the E-cores for VMs]. So, I accept that Win11 itself may not be the source of some specific VM odd (poor) performance behavior [like hiccups] I'm currently suffering with on new system. Still working on it.. ah the joy of tech [well payed career, at least]
But I'm not running OBS Studio on Win11. And the setup I had uses a physical external audio mixer (just bought a new Allen & Heath CA-18T digital mixer, but not installed yet). So, I'm barely having to deal with Windows Audio sub-system as it is, and intend to keep it that way (for the time being).
 
AsukaoYL said:
I was not leaving OBS open while in sleep to clarify. I close OBS when not recording which is 90% of my PC use.
Click to expand...

From decades of experience, I've learned to simply avoid Windows OS hibernation (sleeping) outright. On Desktop systems, I disable it (requires using command line process). On my new workstation laptop, I have not disabled 'sleep/hibernation' but I've not used it. and probably won't in most circumstances.
Once computers moved to SSDs, I powered off computers at night, rarely locked. Even before then, I had too many issues with poor system behavior post-sleep. If I absolutely needed to, I'd Lock, or if a flight, maybe use Sleep. But as soon as whatever drove not shutting down passed, I'd do a restart regardless. That has become 'muscle memory'.
so, I've found sleep instability something easy to work around, I simply shutdown when I'm going to be away from computer for more than a few hours. I shutdown every night. Time lost for me is minimal. works for me. ymmv

Windows Desktop OSes have gotten better in regards to sleep, but I still way too many 'oddities', even in recent years, to bother {But I admit that is largely due to trust lost, and MS doing plenty to not rebuild that trust in other areas}. Especially on modern systems when a reboot is so fast ('cuz I remember multi-minute boot sequences). There are also those who use Sleep all the time without problem (at least that they notice), so I'm sure it depends on drivers, running applications, etc.
And I wouldn't be surprised if an audio driver or 'enhancement' is part of issue (but just a guess), but it could be any number of issues.

The question is, can you work in a quick reboot before starting a Recording session? if yes, I'd recommend addressing the suggestions with the other issues mentioned earlier (screen refresh rates, etc), reboot as appropriate, and move on.
The other option would be to learn some OS internal operations and see if some specific service restarts might help, but that would require much more combined time than a year of reboots... so up to you to dig in deep to find memory/handle leak, or driver instability issue, or possibly an OS bug, and potential workarounds without a reboot. I've been in the corporate world where spending significant time and money to resolve such issues was justified. But even in the corporate world, sometimes it was simply decided to schedule a nightly server reboot to deal with an application issue.
 
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