My stuttering problem and how i solved it(still need help) ATI card and AC97 sound

[ivanmadman]

Hi ppl,i thought it could be useful for other people to post about my experience with the game.
I'll start sayin my config

P4 3.0ghz
Asrock p4vm800 motherboard
2gb ram
x1950 pro agp 512 mb
c-media AC97 integrated sound card
windows xp sp3

When i installed the game,i noticed it was lagging badly everywhere,even when i was soloing,every single time i played.
I checked every option,installed all latest drivers available for my devices, and i would like to note that i reformatted my pc some days ago,so DDO it's the only game i got for now.
Nothing worked,even playin the game to Very low settings didnt help.
That seemed strange to me..i know my pc it's not very powerful,but if "detect optimal settings" in-game sets the game to very high,i supposed i should be able to play decently at very low
After a lot of trials i found out my real problem,the c-media card.
If i disable my sound card every stuttering problem it's solved,and the game runs well at high settings.
Now my real problem it's that i have to play the game without sound,and there's nothing i could do to solve this.
Every driver i tried doesnt solve my problem,if i enable the sound card the game becomes unplayable..
I can post my directx log if needed,or answer to any question that can help on this.
And i hope someone else that has my same stuttering problem and my same audio card can try my fix,and see if it works for him too.
It's nice to be able to play the game,but i just hate to destroy skeletons without bein able to hear their bones crushing xD
Every suggestion it's welcome.

[ivanmadman]

Update: i tried updating OpenAL drivers,didnt help.
Tried using DirectMusic instead of OpenAL,same thing.
Tried lowering hardware acceleration,didnt work either..
I obviously also tried software instead of hardware,but nothing changed...
I just dont know what else i can do,i'm running out of ideas
P.S. dont tell me to buy a new sound card lol

[joker965]

In my opinion it is a combination of factors. Every piece of hardware on your PC is borderline. The only thing I can think of is a bios update for your motherboard. Is there a firmware update just for the integrated sound card?

[Impaqt]

Pickup a Cheap Audio card and pop it in. You can get a basic soundblaster for about $30

[Cleitanious]

Pickup a Cheap Audio card and pop it in. You can get a basic soundblaster for about $30

I can confirm that this would work.

[ivanmadman]

Thanks for taking the time to answer me guys.
About the BIOS update i did it long time ago,but my motherboard is somewhat old and it's not supported anymore with updates.
I know buying a sound card should solve my problem,but DDO it's the only game i have sound problems with.
So i suppose it depends if i will continue playin or not (still lvl 3 for now xD ).
Btw if someone comes up with other suggestions or ways to solve this problem without buyin a sound card it's always welcome.

[Cleitanious]

This same phenomenon is apparent on my older rig. I have not found a way around it... yet.

Other specifications inlude: Intel P4 3.8ghz CPU & Nvidia GeForce 7800 GTX PCXE