Arc A770 16GB Dolby Atmos issues

[clayton86]

Hello,

I am getting some pretty persistent audio drops with this card. Basically, I'll be playing a game and the audio will cut out for a good minute or two and then come back. 

Originally this was happening with Spider-Man Remastered and Spider-Man Miles Morales, both of which have known issues with audio drops, so I thought it was the games. However, when I used my gaming headset, which is connected to the USB port on my MoBo, the issues went away. The audio drops are also happening in Starfield (Starfield is also pretty consistently crashing, too) and sometimes when I watch YouTube.

I'm certain this has something to do with Dolby Atmos/spatial sound, as when the audio comes back, my soundbar flashes to let me know that Dolby Atmos is re-enabled.

Steps I have taken so far: 

1. Changing the HDMI cable

2. Reseating the GPU

3. DDU uninstall of previous drivers and fresh install of new drivers

4. Confirmed I have the most recent drivers installed.

I did read some other posts on this forum indicating other users were having this issue. However, Intel reps advised that the issue had been patched in subsequent driver updates. I do not believe the issue has been sufficiently patched.

[Andres_Intel]

Hello clayton86,

Thank you for posting on the Intel®️ communities. I know is very annoying when the audio does not work properly, I will be happy to help you.  

To understand the issue in a better way, please answer the following questions: 

• What is the device make and model that is platin the audio?
• Does the issue happen just when Dolby Atmos is enabled?
• Does it happen with different graphics drivers versions?
• To check you hardware and software information, run and attach the report for the following tool Intel® System Support Utility for Windows (SSU), you can find the steps on the link How to get the Intel® System Support Utility Logs on Windows. 

Regards,  

Andres P. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[clayton86]

Hi Andres,

Thanks for responding. Questions answered below:

• What is the device make and model that is platin the audio? It's a Samsung N950 soundbar. Up until two months ago, I had an AMD RX 480 8GB GPU. Never had any audio issues with it when playing through the soundbat.
• Does the issue happen just when Dolby Atmos is enabled? Appears that way. I also have a SteelSeries Arctis Wireless headset, which is connected to the PC via USB dongle. The headset supports DTS:X surround sound, and I have not experienced audio drops when DTS is enable through the headset.
• Does it happen with different graphics drivers versions? Yes. It's happened with every driver version I've had since purchasing the card on Aug. 17th.

[Andres_Intel]

Hello clayton86,

Thank you for your response, all the information provided has been really helpful.

In order to continue with the next steps and start with the troubleshooting steps, please attach the report of the Intel® SSU.

Regards,  

Andres P. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[clayton86]

Hi Andres,

I've attached the SSU report below.

[Andres_Intel]

Hello clayton86,

Thank you for your answer and for attaching the report.

I see on the Intel® SSU that your BIOS and graphics driver are not up to date, please follow the steps below and let me know the results:

• We released a new graphics driver some days ago, clean install it with Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to version 31.0.101.4885. For guidance, How to Use the Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to Uninstall an Intel® Graphics Driver.
• Update BIOS to version 7D36vAF. Contact the motherboard manufacturer for installation steps.

Regards,  

Andres P. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[clayton86]

Hi Andres,

I've updated the drivers and BIOS as suggested and attached the SSU summary for confirmation, but the issue still persists.

[clayton86]

I should add that I can confirm the issue is happening in Cyberpunk 2077 as well.

[Andres_Intel]

Hello clayton86,

Thank you for your reply, and for completing all the steps.

I will start with an investigation and as soon I have further information I will let you know. 

Regards,  

Andres P. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Andres_Intel]

Hello clayton86,

Thank you for your time.

We still working on the investigation, we would like to run some tests to see if we can replicate the issue, so answer the following questions.

• Does this happen exclusively in games?
• Is there any particular setting that seems to be related to this besides enabling Dolby Atmos?
• Do you use Dolby Access to enable Dolby Atmos or is there any other particular app?
• Can you share the settings of at least one game to test it, maybe a screenshot?
• Provide step-by-step instructions, to replicate the issue as accurately as possible.

Regards,  

Andres P. 

Intel Customer Support Technician

[clayton86]

Hi Andres,

Answers below:

• Does this happen exclusively in games? No. I've experienced some drops while watching YouTube videos as well, but it's most noticeable in games.
• Is there any particular setting that seems to be related to this besides enabling Dolby Atmos? Doesn't seem to be. Like I said, when I'm using my headphones, there are no audio issues. 
• Do you use Dolby Access to enable Dolby Atmos or is there any other particular app? No, I just enable spatial sound through the Windows sound settings.
• Can you share the settings of at least one game to test it, maybe a screenshot? See attached
• Provide step-by-step instructions, to replicate the issue as accurately as possible. Not sure how I would do this. I just have Atmos enabled in spatial sound. I don't really do anything else to enable it. Then the sound just intermittently cuts out in games at random times.

I've attached the display, graphics, and sound settings from Spider-Man: Miles Morales. I've also attached my sound properties in windows. I should note that the sound properties list my TV as the audio device. This is because I have my PC running to my HW-N950 soundbar, and then the soundbar is connected to the TV via ARC. I can try connecting the PC directly to the TV if necessary, but it's a bit of a nuisance to do so and I won't have access to spatial sound if I do.

[Andres_Intel]

Hello clayton86,

Were you able to check the previous questions?   

Let us know if you still need assistance.    

Best regards,   

Andres P.   

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Andres_Intel]

Hello clayton86,

Thank you for your response, and all the information provided, that will help us before to start with the issue replication.

Before we start with the issue reproduction, please follow the steps below and let me know the results:

• This week we released a new graphics driver, clean install it with Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) as you did before but this time to version 31.0.101.4885 If you still need guidance remember to use the article How to Use the Display Driver Uninstaller (DDU) to Uninstall an Intel® Graphics Driver.
• I understand this could be a nuisance, but it will help us a lot to troubleshoot the issue, try connecting the PC directly to the TV.

Let me know the results

Regards,  

Andres P. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[clayton86]

Hi Andres,

I was able to test with the new drivers and the issue is still there. Have not been able to test with the cable going directly to the TV and am currently away from home. Should hopefully be able to test it later this week.

[Andres_Intel]

Hello clayton86,

Thank you for keeping me informed.

I will wait for you to test the cable directly connected to the TV, please let me know as soon you have the results.

Regards,  

Andres P. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[clayton86]

Hi Andres,

I can confirm that the audio issues do not occur when the PC is plugged directly into my TV. Furthermore, disabling spatial sound/Dolby Atmos also seems to prevent the drops from occurring when the PC is plugged into the soundbar. So the issue appears to be a compatibility issue with the GPU and Dolby Atmos. 

As I mentioned before, my previous AMD GPU had no such issues with Dolby Atmos, so I'm hoping Intel can come up with a fix for this issue.

[clayton86]

I should add though that the latest driver update seems to have reduced the length of the drops. Before this last update, the audio would drop for about 30-60 seconds. Now it's very brief (I'd say 3-5 seconds).

[Andres_Intel]

Hello clayton86,

Thank you for your answer, and for sharing the results. 

I will continue with the investigation to provide you with the next steps as soon as possible.

Regards,  

Andres P. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[Andres_Intel]

Hello clayton86,

Thank you for your patience.

We have been working on the investigation, and we will start with the issue replication, as soon I have the results I will let you know.

Regards,  

Andres P. 

Intel Customer Support Technician 

[clayton86]

Hi Andres,

Just wanted to provide an update that I downloaded the new drivers released last week and am still having the issues.

The drops are back up to 30-60 seconds on Miles Morales.

[Andres_Intel]

Hello clayton86,

Thank you for the update, that is really helpful.

I will continue with the investigation and replication of this issue and as soon I have the results I will let you know.

Regards,  

Andres P. 

Intel Customer Support Technician