The ETA is up there with the time frame of pigs being able to fly. 
Since the problem seems to be centered around Realtek audio chips (likely due to Realteks poor support), it might be worth considering getting a non-Realtek sound card.
I might have to look into dropping some dollhairs on a nice SoundBlaster Z or X card.
That would be good advice, but replacing a soundcard in an MSI gaming laptop is a non-trivial task and voids the warranty.
There are USB audio device options.
Ok, thanks! I’ll keep it in mind.
Ok just did a Windows Update and also selected the optional Realtek updates, but unfortunately it didn’t fix the problem.
sure hope this gets a fix before D4 atleast?
I have never had this issue before but now since S22 started i get it in every play session. tried a bunch of stuffs that i have read could work, but nothing do. sometimes i can play 1 hour without a freeze and sometimes i can get a freeze 3 times in one grift. super annoying to loose gem lvls because of this, and i cant play HC
I use USB Wireless headset by LucidSound, that also has the issue so it isn’t Realtek specific. Also, my Logitech USB headset does the same.
OK, well then, back to the ETA of when pigs fly I guess. 
I dont know what the fuss is about, never replaced Fxmod etc, Have a Ryzen systems . latest Win version, Realtek, running smooth 40 - 124 fps, No problemo
My MSI Tomahawk Max B450 board with Ryzen also has Realtek audio and no issues, but I’m guessing it’s a different chip that has different drivers than those who have issues.
I replaced the Fmodx64.dll using the .bat file and D3 HC is finally fixed.
It is a brand new feel and smooth HC play.
Too bad Blizzard tech doesn’t know much about the game.
I have often observed forum posts with out-of-date sound drivers installed. Whenever troubleshooting, suggest looking at the total picture as other factors could easily be contributing to the freezing issue. Review Blizzard’s tech support performance help pages. Some have reported Realtek 2.8.2 as buggy. Some choose to setup paging file size (virtual memory) instead of letting windows manage. Perhaps at some point, Blizzard will resolve the freezing issue for most of us.
Latest Realtek posted for you is 2019 posted on MSI support and as you said – no issues. I am still using old tech with fourth generation i7 and DDR3. MSI latest Realtek for me is 2017. That is why I chose to use the Microsoft compatible driver.
I’ve done 20 greater rifts today without freezes. Perhaps the Windows update did the trick after an additional restart.
Going to do some more greater rifts to double check.
First of all: “Happy new year!”
Did some GR75’s yesterday and all went ok.
Now this morning I tried a GR97 and got a huge lag spike again.
Logging in D3Debug.txt:
| 2021.01.01 09:36:42.902054700 | Enabling loading screen for 4, 4 |
|---|---|
| 2021.01.01 09:36:42.909832400 | Disposing UI for World |
| 2021.01.01 09:36:42.961749400 | Disabling loading screen for 1, 4 |
| 2021.01.01 09:36:46.185358800 | Disabling loading screen for 2, 4 |
| 2021.01.01 09:36:46.196376600 | Disabling loading screen for 4, 0 |
| 2021.01.01 09:37:28.579530300 | FMOD Error sound not ready in 200ms |
| 2021.01.01 09:37:31.690980400 | FMOD Error sound not ready in 200ms |
| 2021.01.01 09:37:34.820429800 | FMOD Error sound not ready in 200ms |
| 2021.01.01 09:37:35.999830000 | >>> Spikey BnetParty::LockPartyForReason GAME_IS_PAUSED(4) |
| … | … |
| 2021.01.01 09:48:50.914455900 | FMOD Error during ‘FMOD_Channel_SetPosition 2’: An invalid seek position was passed to this function. |
Main thread:
https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/d3/t/main-thread-windows-19041-freezing-for-5-10-seconds/18380/454
I updated to Realtek Audit Driver version 6.0.9071.1 need to do some testing now.
Version I used previously was 6.0.1.7503
Edit:
33 mins into the game I had freeze that lasted around 15 seconds.
Map was Festering Woods.
I have been doing GR 114 ~3 min runs.
D3Debug.txt does contain this “FMOD Error sound not ready in 200ms”
Now I am going to try and reproduce the error again and get log content at exact time when game freezes.
It’s all figured out Peewee.
Use the fmodx64.dll replace and play peacefully.
The cookie recipe works and is very tasty…
No need to reinvent the stove, flour and chocolate chips at this point.
Did not see anyone using Driver version 6.0.9071.1 and testing with it.
It is not figured out how to play with sound and not get screen freezes.
What is wrong with the current install of D3 is the fmodx64.dll is broken and will not work with older systems that are able to run D3.
I have an i7 CPU with 12 cores and 64 GB SDRAM using SSD’s for my drives.
I have a GTX 1070 TI graphics card.
Yet, I have to play with no sound in order to have a pristine HC play with no game freezes and BSOD’s.
Blizzard fired or let go all of the old timers in the D3 tech shop.
So there is no one to really understand why the code is broken or how to fix things easily.
Sometimes the new kids hired are not as smart as they think they are!
Have the exact same problem, confirmed this is Blizzard’s sick way of getting us to play Diablo Immortal. 
Uh, no. Not when Immortal isn’t scheduled to come to PCs. It’s a fairly safe bet that Blizzard learned the lesson about how not to entice your PC user base after the fallout from the BlizzCon Diablo: Immortal reveal.