I notice the problem in most games, but the most major hit is in Counter-Strike. Especially after quitting to the menus and coming back in, the game will freeze so that the sound repeats itself over and over for about 4-5 seconds. This will continue and occur every 15-30 seconds.
This is not internet lag related, as it happens in other single-player games as well, such as NOLF 2, Medal of Honor, etc. It usually happens when something in the game happens (character comes into view, shooting the gun).
Also when I play No One Lives Forever 2, the longer I play straight (20 minutes or so) the more it happens. The load times also become excruciatingly long.
I'm running Intel P4 2.53 ghz 533mhz FSB, Geforce4 ti-4600, and 256mb DDR 333mhz ram. I have AOpen AX4B-533 motherboard, 20GB 5400 rpm Western Digital HD, o/b sound, 300W power (AOpen HQ45-P4 case), and a SMC Ethernet card. Nothing is overclocked.
I have the newest nVidia Det40 drivers, WinXP Home, DirectX 9 Beta (It happened in 8.1 too).
Any suggestions would be appreciated.