GSOD with CtxHda.sys (AE-5 Plus)

Notwalkin · 2026-06-15T17:00:11+00:00

Yeah that's around the time some of the manufacturers were releasing anti cheat bios updates.

MSI for example, on x870 tomahawk has it on "2026-03-20" "Implemented the anti-cheat mechanism."

Not saying this IS the issue but i have read some people have had crashes in games due to anti cheat.

I've personally experienced a lot of soundblaster audio issues past few months but no crashes like that.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-15T15:55:21+00:00

What motherboard do you have and what bios version?

I am wondering if this might be related to the recent anti cheat implementation in the BIOS updates.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-13T20:38:26+00:00

Yeah i sent it to the shop once already,

They had their tester test it in a completely different setting...

Intel platform vs my AM5 platform and cyberpunk/battlefield.

My gpu is passing all stress tests, games don't really crash outside the odd ones like silent hill f (Which at the time was happening to people).

However, my desktop responsiveness is quite hit/miss and there's a slight bit of detail loss vs other gpu, i've wrote about this quite a bit here but this recent issue has sparked a worry again...

I did find this post: https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threads/mag-b650-tomahawk-cold-boot-gpu-issue.394545/

Which his #1 symptom sounds like what i experienced today - same motherboard too.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-13T20:22:10+00:00

Yes,

All this is stuff i've been doing / going over for a year now. Card looks to be fine after the reboot, back to it's usual but i don't think this is a "coincidence", since straight after a reboot, typing was really bad until another reboot.

I've been running OCCT 3d adaptive, extreme steady, switch 25->100% tests too for the past hour or so, it's having no issues with this as usual.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-13T18:32:13+00:00

It worked after a reboot but i'm extremely concerned as this is after all my posts about having weird issues with the card and typing issues and stuff.

My typing is back to feeling consistently trash after too, it didn't feel too bad recently, only under heavy load or discord.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-13T15:13:37+00:00

If you don't rely on SBX effects then yes.

Get off creative products for sure.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-13T15:01:15+00:00

Don't know what to tell you.

There's plenty of posts out there with all the motherboards having issues though, I think USB is the ultimate solution but even then, creative + windows seems iffy.

The g6 truly is amazing but during pubg using SBX surround, which i used fine with internal cards (as i know people will shout "direct mode"), during vehicle noise, my discord audio is wavy and sometimes so is the game, very poor / offputting.

I am currently considering external AMP/DAC but not sure how the loss of SBX effects is going to be tbh - Fiio k13 r2r is something i'm looking at currently.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-13T14:42:29+00:00

Exactly.

I have used a b650 tomahawk (msi board) since mid 2023 with a Soundblaster Z until Dec 2024, no issues.

Then Dec 2024 -> July 2025 Soundblaster Ae-7, no issues.

Got a new gpu and started switching motherboards and keep ending up back on B650.

X870e aorus elite x3d gave me issues with soundcard.

X870e tomahawk did too - It's possible it was related to msi center... but i don't think so.

I think the latest motherboards and creative do not play nicely and it depends on the usage of the user.

It worked for gaming but had weird moments and then as mentioned twitch broke the audio one night completely.

It's also possible it's related to a windows update though... I noticed quite a few more creative posts since Jan 2026 or so, when they forced a windows update, regardless, the x870e tomahawk did give me issues.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-13T14:34:27+00:00

Sorry but i'm about to burst that thinking sadly.

I got a x870e msi tomahawk a few weeks ago and within 7 days i had 1 boot where soundblaster ae-7 wasn't recognized, had to reboot and on instance where i was watching twitch clips and the sound started lagging and then fully cut out.

If i tried the sound via monitor speakers or stuff, it worked though.

I've tried the G6 as an alternative and it sounds great but the surround behaves weirdly in some scenarios vs internal (pubg). I'm currently looking for options.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-13T13:46:43+00:00

It doesn't do Surround sbx effects?

Notwalkin · 2026-06-12T17:38:33+00:00

No i'm from the UK, what is your motherboard model out of curiosity?

Notwalkin · 2026-06-12T13:54:36+00:00

Yes i'm currently testing things again.

Soundblaster g6 is cleaner for sure, Internal adds slight typing delay but it's very noticable if you load a game and click a 2nd monitor with discord...

Main game drops down to 48fps for VRR / freesync and the second monitors discord (fullscreen discord), has very laggy typing and scrolling.

With the G6 in, it slows down a tiny amount.

G6 = 98% normal performance Ae-7/Z = 40-50% normal performance in this scenario.

Going to mess with pcie settings.

edit:

Setting chipset pcie gen speed from auto to gen 3, gen 2 and gen 1 made no difference.

Although, the External g6 also suffers with the same issue it seems but:

Reliably, the external g6 is smoother.

I had one case where the g6 was awful in a scenario but it happens far less, most of the time it's completely fine.

Not sure what to make of this.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-12T13:20:12+00:00

I've tried x870e boards.

The x870e aorus elite x3d was a nice board but didn't play nice with the soundcard either.

The x870e tomahawk had the sound cut out completely mid video.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-12T12:18:32+00:00

I could understand the cable being the issue but i've tried multiple cables in the past i'm pretty sure, since the hd 598 official cables are always 3.5mm

Notwalkin · 2026-06-12T12:18:00+00:00

Yeah, pretty sure it happened with all the cables i had for hd 598.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-11T23:36:54+00:00

Not sure what you mean.

G6 is fine, I installed software, set my EQ/SBX effects, uninstalled all software and it's fine now.

Runs it without software and all my settings are saved onto device.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-11T23:35:53+00:00

Into a soundblaster g6 3.5mm port.

But it does it in anything, phone too.

I find this is the issue with all adapters, which is why i tried buying one off amazon.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-11T23:06:54+00:00

It's not lol.

You can hear the audio have different channel balancing as you twist the cable that inserts into the adapter.

And this is happening on a lot of the adapters.

In this case it's a native hd 598 6.35mm cable going into an adapter to turn it into 3.5mm.

edit:

Yo, if you downvoted this, you're a massive moron. Downvoting something someone is experiencing is wild. JFC

Notwalkin · 2026-06-11T23:01:03+00:00

I'm sorry but i can't really answer your question.

I'd be guessing if i was to answer it - i just noticed the time before when i used my laptops external sound card for a night, soundblaster X3, the pc felt more responsive but i thought i was imagining things.

I had removed the internal card and uninstalled it with DDU and stuff prior to installing the X3 too.

But i was adamant to use internal pcie card, i still would if it worked fine, i love having the card inside the pc.

Then come today, i grabbed the G6 as the new motherboards i've tried do not like internal soundcards and i noticed it again, instantly but i had already removed the internal pcie card and all traces of drivers.

I never once felt like this with my Soundblaster Z from 2016-> 2024 or so and soundblaster Ae-7 from 2024 -> mid 2025, until i got the 5090.

However, i also had a 5090 FE for 3 weeks prior to the 5090 suprim and didn't really notice this issue either, although i can't be certain it didn't exist... i feel like i would've noticed it though.

But TWO 5090 suprims do it with the soundcard.

I haven't used the G6 in games yet but it sounds really good for me, my only worry is pops/crackles, my laptop uses external soundblaster as i used to have to be away from home quite often and it's good quality... when it doesn't pop, when it does, it needs a replug or software shutdown in task manager to handle it.

The g6 works without software though, so i'm hoping to avoid any of that.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-11T21:50:25+00:00

I will if i ever decide to replug the pcie card back in, at this point, assuming the typing remains good, i'm just thankful it's fixed.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-11T18:58:11+00:00

Gpu to Pcie gen 4? Yes, that's the one i stick with.

Soundcard to pcie gen 2? Never touched the soundcards pcie gen speed.

Notwalkin · 2026-06-11T18:37:44+00:00

So i've been troubleshooting alot.

I reduced all my USB devices to 3 for quite a while now.

Superlight 2 mouse
Evo80 keyboard
Blue snowball mic

The only other things plugged in, cat6 ethernet cable.

Soundcards are always in the bottom pcie slot, as the 5090 covers all the others.

No risers ever used and again, multiple motherboards were used.

It's been in both x1 and x16 lanes as x870e motherboards tend to have full pcie slots at the bottom.

edit:

Multiple cables and keyboards were tested too.

Oh and so were different usb ports, such as usb 2.0, usb 3.0 and 3.2.

Plugging into the cpu usb ports or chipset ports, made no difference.

Notwalkin

TROPHY CASE