Share via

Audio cuts out and games unusally stutter (Spec: i7 13th gen RTX 4060 Dell G15)

Lejo C 0 Reputation points
2026-04-24T19:55:16.3633333+00:00

I’m having a very strange issue on my gaming laptop and I’m trying to figure out if this is a driver/DPC latency issue or something else.

Symptoms:

  • In games (GTA V, Roblox, etc.) I get occasional stutters/freezes.

When the stutter happens, audio makes a glitchy dragged/bubbly robotic sound.

Sometimes game audio completely disappears and only comes back after closing the game or restarting.

Here’s the weird part:

I tested with Bluetooth earbuds and laptop speakers.

When I keep Spotify playing in the background while gaming:

The stutter still happens.

All audio (including Spotify) glitches momentarily.

BUT the sound does NOT disappear.

When I play games without Spotify or any background audio:

Same stutter/glitch happens.

But now the game audio can fully die/disappear.

This happens in multiple games, so it doesn’t seem game-specific.

It almost feels like having Spotify running keeps the audio device “alive,” and without background audio the sound driver crashes or drops into a bad state.

Things I’ve already tried:

Windows reset/reinstall

Disabled audio enhancements

Changed power settings

Tested with Bluetooth and built-in speakers

Specs: i7 + RTX 4060 laptop

Has anyone seen something like this? Could this be DPC latency, audio driver power management, chipset issue, or something else?I’m having a very strange issue on my gaming laptop and I’m trying to figure out if this is a driver/DPC latency issue or something else.

Symptoms:

In games (GTA V, Roblox, etc.) I get occasional stutters/freezes.

When the stutter happens, audio makes a glitchy dragged/bubbly robotic sound.

Sometimes game audio completely disappears and only comes back after closing the game or restarting.

Here’s the weird part:

I tested with Bluetooth earbuds and laptop speakers.

When I keep Spotify playing in the background while gaming:

The stutter still happens.

All audio (including Spotify) glitches momentarily.

BUT the sound does NOT disappear.

When I play games without Spotify or any background audio:

Same stutter/glitch happens.

But now the game audio can fully die/disappear.

This happens in multiple games, so it doesn’t seem game-specific.

It almost feels like having Spotify running keeps the audio device “alive,” and without background audio the sound driver crashes or drops into a bad state.

Things I’ve already tried:

Windows reset/reinstall

Disabled audio enhancements

Changed power settings

Tested with Bluetooth and built-in speakers

Specs:
i7 + RTX 4060 laptop

Has anyone seen something like this? Could this be DPC latency, audio driver power management, chipset issue, or something else?

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Performance and system failures

2 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Ivan B 111.3K Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2026-04-24T20:45:59.7766667+00:00

    Hello,

    If you can, type msinfo32.exe in the search bar, then take a screenshot and upload it here so we can see the correct model of your laptop.

    Thanks!

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.
  2. Q&A Assist
    2026-04-24T19:55:48.77+00:00
    AI generated content. This question contains an answer created with AI from Q&A Assist. Learn more

    This behavior is consistent with an audio driver or audio service issue rather than a specific game problem. The fact that:

    • Audio glitches across all outputs (Bluetooth and built‑in speakers)
    • Audio sometimes fully drops until the game or system is restarted
    • Keeping continuous audio (Spotify) playing prevents the audio from “dying”

    strongly points to the audio driver or Windows audio services entering a bad state, or power/format issues on the audio device. The recommended path is to systematically repair the audio stack.

    Follow these steps in order:

    1. Update or reinstall the audio driver
    1. Open Device Manager (search for device manager on the taskbar).
    2. Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
    3. Right‑click the audio device (e.g., Realtek, Intel/MaxxAudio, etc.) and select Update driver → Search automatically for drivers and complete the update.
    4. If no update is found or the issue persists:
      • Right‑click the same device → Uninstall device.
      • Check Attempt to remove the driver for this device (or Delete the driver software for this device on some systems).
      • Select Uninstall.
      • Restart the PC. Windows will reinstall the audio driver automatically.

    If the problem continues, repeat the uninstall and then install the latest audio driver from the laptop manufacturer’s support page.

    1. Try the generic Windows audio driver

    If the OEM driver is unstable, test with the generic High Definition Audio driver:

    1. Open Device Manager.
    2. Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
    3. Right‑click the audio device → Update driver.
    4. Select Browse my computer for drivers → Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
    5. Choose High Definition Audio Device and select Next.

    Test games again. If the audio no longer drops (even if effects are slightly different), this confirms the OEM driver was the cause.

    1. Turn off audio enhancements and adjust audio format

    Enhancements or incompatible audio formats can cause distortion and glitches:

    1. Right‑click the Volume icon on the taskbar → Sounds.
    2. On the Playback tab, select the default audio device → Properties.
    3. On the Enhancements tab, select Disable all enhancements → OK.
    4. Go back to Properties → Advanced tab.
    5. Under Default format, select a different sample rate/bit depth (for example, switch between 16‑bit/44.1 kHz and 24‑bit/48 kHz), click OK, and test.
    1. Restart Windows audio services

    If the audio service is hanging or crashing during heavy load, restarting it can help:

    1. Search for services on the taskbar and open it.
    2. Find and restart these services (right‑click → Restart):
      • Windows Audio
      • Windows Audio Endpoint Builder
      • Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

    Ensure their Startup type is set to Automatic.

    1. Check for special audio codecs (if present)

    Some systems use additional audio codecs (for example, IDT High Definition Audio CODEC) that can misbehave:

    1. Open Device Manager.
    2. Expand Sound, video and game controllers.
    3. If IDT High Definition Audio CODEC appears:
      • Right‑click it → Update driver.
      • Choose Browse my computer for drivers → Let me pick from a list of device drivers on my computer.
      • Select High Definition Audio Device → Next.
    1. Run the Windows audio troubleshooter

    On Windows 11, use the built‑in troubleshooter to detect and fix common issues:

    1. Open Settings → System → Troubleshoot → Other troubleshooters.
    2. Run Playing Audio and apply any fixes it suggests.
    1. Verify microphone/privacy and app access (if voice apps are affected)

    If any apps lose audio input/output:

    1. Go to Start → Settings → Privacy & security.
    2. Under App permissions, select Microphone.
    3. Ensure Microphone access and Let apps access your microphone are On, and that affected apps are allowed.

    If, after these steps, audio only remains stable when continuous playback (like Spotify) is running, it is very likely the OEM audio driver’s power or latency handling is faulty. In that case, staying on the generic High Definition Audio driver or a different OEM driver version (older or newer) is the most reliable workaround.

    References:

    Was this answer helpful?

    1 person found this answer helpful.

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.