The answer may be found at the FAQ page at http://www.cmj.com/mp3/mp3faq.php. You should really check out this page as it
contains lots of good information.
Here's some information from that page:
Press CTRL+P while running Winamp (it has to be the active window).
Select "General Preferences" or "Options" (depending on Winamp version) on the left hand side of the window that just opened.
On the bottom right hand side, pull the "Process Priority Class" to "High"
On the left hand side, under "Plug-ins", select "Input" (double-click "Plug-ins" if "Input" is not visible).
Doubleclick "Nullsoft MPEG Audio Decoder" on the right hand side.
In the new window, drag the "Priority" bar to "Highest".
Click "Ok" to close that window.
Select "Output" on the left hand side.
Double-click "Nullsoft waveOut plug-in" on the right hand side.
Set Priority to the highest level. ("Time-Critical")