Hi JimH,
I realize that recently, MC performance is linked to the sound card. I have the exact same problem as Joe. However, I did download the latest Creative drivers 2 weeks ago for my Extigy, but it did not really help.
I then purchased a new sound card, Terratec DMX Fire 6.1 and found that it has the same problem. I then checked the website and found a new product Terratec Aureon 7.1 with 24bit/192k sampling.
I upgraded the card to Aureon 7.1 and I found that it works perfectly, and also with better sound reproduction.
I'm not sure if our MC ouptut could be related to our choice bit rates and sampling, since MC now gives us the flexibility to choose it. Also, the buffering does not seem to work well. I tried increasing buffer to remove noise and hiccups, but it does not appear to work consistently- which means it is not propotional to increasing buffer time.
My recommendation is:
a) For System Information, should include the sound driver and manufacturer if possible, so that you can support us better with the information
b) Provide more details on the choice of configuring MC's playback options like bitrate, sampling, and output type. Please also provide information on how performance can improve or be affected with these choices.
c) The buffering time does not seem to solve hiccups?