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70095
XPS 15-9570, Windows 10, high DPC latency, acpi.sys
Hello,
I have a dell XPS 15 9570, and I have big issues with on board and external audio.
HW Spec:
Dell XPS 15 9570, i7 8750H, 4K screen, 16g ram /512g ssd, qualcomm Killer wifi and then intel AC-9260, nVidia 1050 Ti with latest WHQL drivers, bios v1.2.2, all drivers to date as of 2018/15/07
Symptoms:
- audio cracks and pops with system audio when watching videos, listening to mp3/flac, playing games with built-in card,
- audio cracks and pops with external ASIO soundcard (focusrite scarlett 18i8 2nd gen) when running pro DAW software with 256 samples buffer @48Khz or 512 buffer @96Khz
This can damage external speakers and makes the machine unusable for live audio or even standard multimedia use.
What I did:
- applied all tweaks recommended by my external audio card's manufacturer https://support.focusrite.com/hc/en-gb/articles/207355205-Optimising-your-PC-for-Audio-on-Windows-10
- ran LatencyMon and found that TCPIP.sys and ndis.sys were causing 4ms DPC latency spikes, followed by ACPI.sys 2ms and dxgkrnl.sys 1.7 ms
- swapped the qualcom card for an intel AC-9260 which eliminated totally the TCPIP.sys and ndis.sys spikes
- now ACPI.sys and dxgkrnl.sys are still causing 2ms DPC latency spikes
- audio glitches are still present
- disabled all peripherals except for keyboard, integrated graphics, trackpad, screen and storage (I disabled wifi, bluetooth, webcam, nvidia graphics, fingerprint reader, ACPI battery manager, cardreader, fall accelerometer, screen touch, etc.)
- disabled Speed-Step/ SpeedShift and Turbo-Boost, disabled virtualisation support in the BIOS to try to minimize randomness in the behaviour
- disabled fastboot
- ACPI.sys latency is still culminating at 1.7ms and causing audio dropouts with either built-in or external USB asio interface
- I've opened a support ticket over at dell with my premium support, the ticket was automatically closed a week later without anyone getting in touch with me.
I've run out of options and am looking for help.
shacked277
1 Message
2
January 14th, 2019 17:00
Thiago Konrad
1 Message
1
January 16th, 2019 17:00
RGBR
42 Posts
3
January 16th, 2019 18:00
Come on Dell, we are waiting for the solution.
Gurkster
3 Posts
0
January 17th, 2019 16:00
Just want to add my voice to the list of complaints. I have read just about every forum and web posting related to the XPS 15 9570's audio issues, and yes, it's all true. I mulled returning the DELL, but in the end I decided that for my primary use of the Dell, it would be ok, and I didn't want to give up other aspects that I liked about it. Normal audio playback is usually ok, although I have had times where I randomly get noise (e.g. sometimes after resuming playback on a video after pausing it). The issue that bugs me the most is audio latency for real-time playing of virtual instruments, which I do sometimes as a musician. The latency renders the Dell completely unusable for this purpose, at least using the onboard audio and ASIO4All. I have yet to try with an external audio interface, but from what I read that also may be an issue. If anyone has any experience using a Thunderbolt audio interface with the XPS 15, please let us know if the latency is ok with that. I have done audio playback, including virtual instrument MIDI playback with a DAW, and that was ok, but real-time playing is impossible.
Gurkster
3 Posts
0
January 17th, 2019 22:00
Here's an update. I tried my XPS 15 9570 with a "proper" audio interface (the Presonus Audiobox USB). It's basic, but from a reputable company and with ASIO drivers written specifically for the device. I'm happy to report that I was able to get good latency performance for real-time playing of virtual instruments. I was able to lower the buffer to 128 samples on two different programs without getting pops & clicks. The first time I lowered it to 128 I did get some clicks, but later I was able to get it without clicks. In any case, the latency at 256 samples was also acceptable. I would still be curious as to latency performance with virtual instruments using a thunderbolt interface.
I guess I was freaking out earlier because in previous computers I have used (much more low-end than the XPS 15), I was able to get decent latency playing virtual instruments using just ASIO4ALL and the onboard audio.
Bart66
1 Message
0
January 18th, 2019 09:00
abragagn
31 Posts
0
January 18th, 2019 12:00
Same problem here. Clearly Dell fault, no problem in Linux but with W10 audio quality is terrible.
RGBR
42 Posts
0
January 20th, 2019 00:00
Im using the Focusrite 6 Usb interface (2.0) that worked without any problems on my old samsung laptop. In my new Dell 9570, I get constant clicks and pops. THe plugin GTR 3.5 by waves that I use to play guitar generates a lot of noise (there was none in my old Samsung laptop - it was clear and beautiful audio). And just now I was working writing music on Sibelius with my midi keyboard and out of nowhere, the sound of the key input stopped - had to reinitialize the program. I have to keep the buffer size very high to work with audio programs, wich is bad for playing, recording, etc... I've bought this new laptop to get better performance but there are a LOT of this audio problems....
Axl Jay
1 Rookie
1 Rookie
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54 Posts
0
January 24th, 2019 02:00
I confirm clicks and pops using an external audio device as well. Currently using Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 2nd Gen.
Audio latency is good, but those dpc latency bursts keep causing clicks and pops. OK, the issue may not be blocking but is definitely annoying.
Why can't this laptop just work as intended?
This is my LatencyMON report:
Latency MON
AlexisMef
11 Posts
0
January 24th, 2019 15:00
Jonah66
14 Posts
0
January 24th, 2019 16:00
Ladril
1 Message
0
February 1st, 2019 02:00
SelmNT
1 Message
1
February 2nd, 2019 08:00
And now my turn... Same issue here ! XPS 15 9570 i5-8300h.
Not even possible to line up to tracks in ableton !
While my 10 years old laptop does the job with 12 tracks and 4 returns with full of effects and postprocessings. Difficult to understand... !
Very dissapointed. Do something Dell !
FrancoARod
3 Posts
0
February 4th, 2019 18:00
Same issues here. Very frustrated.
I'm getting around 1.7 to 1.9 ms on the proces ACPI.sys as shown in my LatencyMon tests while recording.
Please fix this. We can work our way around temporary solutions, but it needs to be adressed by the dell developers!
RGBR
42 Posts
0
February 5th, 2019 18:00