Audio Stuttering/lagging

Hi. So i have a problem with my macbook that has been making me want to pull my hair out! Almost every time i try to play streaming videos, the audio frequently lags. This stuttering comes and goes but usually the stutters just end up bursting into annoying static-like noise (my real problem). Moreover, when the stuttering turns to static noise, it makes every noise on the computer static-like as well (itunes, notifications, everything).
However, if i let it sit for maybe 10 minutes or I restart, it usually fixes temporarily. But obviously, i want to find a permanent solution. The problem has progressively gotten worse, and now i can't even watch a whole minute smoothly without this lagging.
Is it a fixable problem or is it fatal? I have tried many solutions but none of them really seem to get the job done. Perhaps its a really simple solution, i have no clue. Any support or advice would be extremely helpful! If anyone helps me fix this problem, I will express gratitude from the bottom of my heart haha.


Note: I own a white macbook from about 3 years ago. 1.83 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo. Memory=2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM