I'm running SteamOS on a DIY gaming PC connected directly to an LG C6 TV over HDMI, with audio sent from the TV to a Denon AVR-S660H receiver through eARC. Audio occasionally pops or crackles every few minutes in both Gaming Mode and Desktop Mode, whether I'm playing a game or listening to music.
I've tried multiple HDMI 2.1 cables, reseating the GPU, checking for loose connections, connecting the PC directly to the receiver, switching to the Beta and Preview OS channels, restarting PipeWire, and changing its buffer settings. None of that has fixed it. There are no unusual CPU or GPU usage spikes or temperature problems, and it happens even with lightweight games or music playback.
The system uses an ASUS Prime B550M-A WiFi II motherboard, Ryzen 7 5800XT CPU, and PowerColor Reaper RX 9060 XT GPU in a Jonsbo C6 case. The motherboard BIOS is updated. I also tried lowering the GPU's PCIe link speed to Gen 3; that seemed to delay the issue slightly, but the crackling still returned. Has anyone dealt with this, and are there other fixes worth trying?
2 Answers
The RX 9060 XT series has a reported history of intermittent crackling over HDMI on both Linux and Windows, so this may be a GPU audio-output issue rather than PipeWire or your receiver. Updating the motherboard BIOS and trying a lower PCIe generation can sometimes help, although Gen 3 isn’t guaranteed to fix it. If the card is still returnable, replacing it may be worth considering.
It’s also possible that SteamOS has limited support for this combination of newer GPU and desktop hardware. Try booting another gaming-focused Linux distribution, such as Bazzite, from a USB drive. If the crackling happens there too, that points strongly to the GPU or HDMI path. If it disappears, the issue is more likely SteamOS-specific. Bazzite can provide a console-like experience and boot into a Steam-focused interface, so you may not lose the setup you like.
I’d prefer not to change distributions because I like SteamOS’s console-style interface, but testing Bazzite from a bootable USB sounds like a good way to narrow this down.
My BIOS was already current, and switching the slot to PCIe Gen 3 didn’t solve it. It felt like the first pop took a little longer to appear, but the problem eventually came back.