HP Victus 15 makes crackling noise with frame drops while playing games.

[TafsirH]

My laptop has been making a crackling noise on the speaker with frame drops while playing games on battery. The game that I was playing (Five Nights at Freddy's: Into the Pit) was not very demanding graphically or performance wise. I have tested this on a different game aswell. The laptop was not in low power mode and on the 'Default' option in OMEN gaming hub. Temps while playing do not go above 70 degrees Celcius. How can I fix this issue?

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @TafsirH,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.
 

Thank you for posting your query. I will be glad to help you.

You’ve done a great job describing the symptoms: crackling audio + frame drops on battery usually point to power management and driver-level issues, not temperature (since you’re under 70°C). Here’s the recommended troubleshooting path:

Why This Happens

• On battery, Windows and HP power profiles may throttle CPU/GPU and audio drivers to save power.
• This can cause DPC latency spikes, leading to audio crackling and stutter.
• Outdated audio or graphics drivers can worsen the issue.

Step 1: Update Drivers & BIOS

• Go to HP’s official page for your Victus 15: 👉 Official HP® Support
• Audio driver (Realtek or Conexant)
• Graphics driver (Intel + NVIDIA/AMD)
• BIOS Restart after updates.

Step 2: Adjust Power Settings

• Control Panel → Power Options → High Performance.
• In OMEN Gaming Hub, set Performance Mode (not Default) when gaming on battery.
• Disable Processor Power Management → Minimum Processor State from dropping too low (set to 80–100%).

Step 3: Disable Audio Enhancements

• Right-click speaker icon → Sound Settings → Device Properties → Disable Enhancements.
• This reduces driver-level processing that can crackle under load.

Step 4: Check DPC Latency

• Download LatencyMon (free tool).
• If you see high latency from audio or network drivers, update or disable problematic drivers.

Step 5: Test on AC Power

• If the issue disappears on AC, it’s definitely power management.
• Consider gaming plugged in for best performance. Victus laptops are optimized for AC gaming.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have an amazing day!
 

Did we resolve the issue? If yes, please consider marking this post as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" to give us a helpful vote - your feedback keeps us going!

Regards,

VikramTheGreat

[TafsirH]

Hi Vikram, won't changing my Minimum Processor State to 80 reduce the battery life when performing smaller tasks or idling?  Thank you for your reply. This has helped my issue

[TafsirH]

This hasn't helped my issue, before it never used to do this. I haven't changed any settings.

[TafsirH · Accepted solution]

I just reset my laptop and the problem has fixed, thank you for your help

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @TafsirH,

Thank you for letting me know that you took care of the issue.

If you need any assistance in the future, do keep us posted

Take care and have an amazing day!
 

Did we resolve the issue? If yes, please consider marking this post as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" to give us a helpful vote - your feedback keeps us going!

Regards,

VikramTheGreat