[0.16.15] USB/Sound Latency in Windows 7

[Rainboy]

I've had an interesting problem today. I recently picked Factorio back up after being mostly dormant since having a good run of it just after 0.14 was released. I played for about a week on my laptop over the holidays without issue, and decided to migrate back to my desktop upon my return. I noticed a frequent clicking sound which I initially attributed to the Windows Update rollup my PC installed while I was gone. Eventually, my computer stops producing sound through the headset altogether (this process takes 10-30 minutes) until I unplug the USB dongle and plug it back in.

After some investigation, I have discovered that this clicking and disconnect only happens when all of the following are true:

• I'm on my Windows 7 desktop (specs below) and not my Windows 10 laptop.
• Factorio is running and in game (the menu system won't cause it, and neither will running various other games and applications on my machine)
• I am using my wireless USB headset, and not my desk speakers.

I have additionally noticed that my USB keyboard and USB mouse occasionally freeze for a fraction of a second while the clicking is being generated, which makes me think it's a USB latency issue. I have also discovered that I get the same problem as far back as 0.13, which tells me that something is wrong with my system is particular. I wouldn't bother posting here except I can't reproduce it without Factorio running.

I have verified the game cache and reinstalled Factorio to no avail. Running LatencyMon reveals that USBPORT.SYS is indeed the highest reported routine execution time, though the application still reports that my system "seems to be suitable for handling real-time audio and other tasks without dropouts."


Desktop specs:
Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
Logitech H800 Wireless Headset (connected via USB, not bluetooth)
UtechSmart Venus USB Mouse
Logitech G510s Gaming Keyboard
Intel Core i7 Broadwell @3.4GHz (no overclocking)
ASUS X99-A II Motherboard
32GB of G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series DDR4 3200 SDRAM


I don't really expect any significant progress on this, since I do believe that it is an issue that is (at worst) caused by something else in my system interacting with Factorio. That said, writing this has helped me collect my thoughts and perhaps it will help someone else out in the future.

[Rainboy]

This problem continues to plague me a month later. I have had no other sound or USB related issues in any of my other computer use, and still consistently get this problem in Factorio 0.16.22 within a minute of loading up a save or starting a new game. I can't reproduce the problem outside of launching Factorio, despite repeated attempts to stress my system in various ways. I really enjoy this game, but it is unplayable on my main computing device at the moment and I'm really not sure what to do to figure out what's going on with it.

[orzelek]

Tbh there is not much we can help you with other then recommend to disable sound in factorio which could help.
It seems that drivers of your USB sound device don't like what Factorio sends to them - there is no helping that other then using different sound device I think.
Did you check if there are any driver updates for sound card?
Windows update to 10 could help but thats a big one.

[Rainboy]

I understand. I did just try spinning up a Windows 7 VM under VMWare on my main PC (the one exhibiting the problem). Everything plays flawlessly in the VM (except for the expectedly lower performance within the VM), adding another layer of intrigue and annoyance to the problem. Based on that, I don't think it's a driver problem. The build is nearly two years old, so I may just reinstall the OS and call it a day. Still curious about what's going on, though.