WTB: CPU Fan and Soundcard

COD: BO is killing my system. I've had pretty good luck with O/C'ing my Core 2 Duo but its on the stock cooler and is getting into the 60's. A better cooler would help. Does anyone have a 775 compatible cooler that is gathering dust?

The biggest issue with performance seems to be sound related. I'm running an onboard SoundMax HD chip and thought a standalone card might help. If you have something that can handle its own processing requirements and is PCI or PCI/e let me know.

CoD:BO performance issues are NOT related to the power of your system!
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Failure is just success rounded down.

What Nikola said. It IS related to sound, but it's the way the game works, not your hardware. I have a discrete card and still have the same stuttering issues everyone else does.

I replaced the sound card in my desktop at work, and BO works so much better. I have 0 stuttering now, where I'd get a quarter second stutter every 10 seconds or so before replacing my sound card. So yeah, sound card is apparently an issue. I got the Asus Xonar for $30 bucks. I think I'm going to pick one up for my home PC too, as this sound card honestly sounds better than my realtec onboard sound. I've even noticed a CPU usage drop in BO. I was sitting at 95% roughly and am now down to 60%, just from a soundcard swap.
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Blargle Flarg Bergah Merg

so the sound card was making your game stutter? or just the sound stutter?
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EVGA 980ti FTW
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Sound makes the actual game stutter. If you are having stuttering problems in BO, disable your soundcard in Device Manager and reboot. Poof! no more stuttering.

With my card disabled in the system manager (and before the O/C) BO was fluid, no stutter. I know there are performance issues in the game, but I've suspected sound issues for probably 2 years now. Almost ever game that has ever had stutter for me (can't think of which offhand but its 5+) has shown the stutter when something intensive happens in the sound.

I'm curious about the cheap rocketfish at BB or possible a Creative. I'm thinking of buying/trying/returning if it doesn't solve the problem. Before I go that route I wondered if someone had a spare laying around.

Anreill wrote: I have a discrete card and still have the same stuttering issues everyone else does.

detox wrote: so the sound card was making your game stutter? or just the sound stutter?

I told a few other friends about this and 2 of them tossed old sound cards in and instantly fixed their systems. wow what a crazy issue.
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I7 2600K
EVGA 980ti FTW
16gigs
SSD
3x Dell U2412 Monitors