HP Pavilion 500-205t sound crackling and popping

Hello!

I am using a HP Pavilion 500-205t with Windows 7 64bit. I purchased this PC in Feburary. It's been working just fine until around a month ago when I started hearing this awful crackling and popping noise coming from my speakers/headphones.

I am using the sound card that comes by default for that model.

I have ensured the audio drivers for the IDT High Definition Codec that came with the PC are all up to date. I have tried different headphones and speakers in both the front and back jacks and this seems to have no effect on the issue.

Another strange thing is that if I restart the computer, the problem will go away for awhile before returning again later (in about a day). 

It's very frustrating and I would appreciate any advice.