When I play World of Warcraft or Farcry, there are certain points in the game when the sound turns very staticy and is unbearable. In both games, this tends to occur when there is a short second or two load or new music starts. Has anyone else encountered this or know what I can do?

Audio hardware problem I would guess. Or at least a disagreement with the games in question.

I had the same problem in Deus Ex--I suggest buying a cheap SBLive 5.1 or something. It fixed my problem. Sorry I couldn't be of more help :/.