crackly audio

[stringcheeseincident]

i run onboard sound on my abit nf7-s...basic logitech speakers, i had a surround sound setup but only run the front 2 and center speakers now. lately, after i listen to music for a while nonstop or play counterstrike or any other audio-intensive programs, my sound gets crackly and very ugly. usually if i close counterstrike or turn off audio for a while, it's fixed in a little, but always seems to come back.

i used to get it kind of frequently, i realized i had a lot of dust in my case and would clean it out, that would fix the problem, but i'd have to clean my case every 1 or 2 months. so yesterday i took my compressed air and blew this sucka out, pretty clean now. but i get the crackling audio even more now. so i look in my case and realize the northbridge fan is unplugged...i think it was whining a few months back so i unplugged it.

i plug it back in last night, and didn't get any audio problems all night. now its happening very frequently. is my northbridge overheating? i've plugged in headphones instead of speakers and the problem is just the same. should i get a better northbridge fan and/or heatsink? should i get a new case that will allow less dust with more airflow? should i get a basic pci sound card?

any help is greatly appreciated. i want to get this fixed asap. thanks for reading.

 

[Gamingphreek]

No, correct me if i am wrong people, but it is just poor Realtek Audio Codecs, and poor DACs. Also not the highest quality Audio Jacks. That is onboard audio for you. Soundstorm does nothing in this aspect, it depends on other peoples codecs for this.

-Kevin

 

[bjc112]

I have an Epox 8rda+ which is similar to the Abit Nf7-s..

Both use the onboard nVidia soundstorm..

Are you overclocking?

Does the NF7-S have a northbridge cooler? What about the south bride?

I added cooling to my southbridge and it solved my crackling issues..

 

[Gamingphreek]

Now that i think about it what PSU are you using. IIRC a low -5V and low -3.3V can cause these problems as well as a lot of interference.

-Kevin

 

[stringcheeseincident]

i was able to build my pc, but don't know much past the basics and haven't been reading about PC hardware for about a year. i know what the northbridge is on my motherboard, simply because there's a fan on top. so yes, it has a northbridge cooler. i'm not sure what the southbridge is, though...sorry...so i can't answer for you. i'll go try to find my manual and get back to you. no i'm not overclocking, but if i remember correctly, i don't have a grand CPU cooler at all. a generic heatsink and 80mm fan, that's it. i'll look into some fans or maybe (hopyfully) silent heatsinks for both my northbridge and southbridge.

also, i think i forgot a very important part. in a tragic trying-to-mod incident, i went to put a window in my sidepanel. ended up mauling it. due to my case manufactorer's noname status, they don't even sell replacement panels. so, i've been going without a side panel on my case for about 8 months now, probably longer. the dust builds up fast, but when it gets bad i always clean it out. my fans seem to have been spinning oddly lately, and i'm hoping my power supply isn't dying. without the panel, my 5 80mm fans (including PS fan) get kind of loud, and although i leave my pc on 24/7, i'm still not used to it at night. should i look into a new quieter, cooler case? i'm sure it wouldn't be bad for my crackling issue.

the thing is, i owe my mom $70 i borrowed that i don't currently have (i'm only 15, hence living with & borrowing money from my mom) so i don't have any cash at all for a new case purchase. since i haven't checked hardware lately, is it possible to get a new case and power supply in the $50 region that isn't complete poop? any suggestions are greatly welcome. here are my specs if needed
amd athlon xp 2500+
abit nf7-s
512mb crucial pc3200 ddr ram
2x 80gb western digital se
sapphire radeon 9600np
liteon dvd-rom/cd-rw combo drive
that's about it

 

[stringcheeseincident]

anybody?

 

[bjc112]

i'm not sure what the southbridge is, though...sorry...so i can't answer for you

Well it will be similar to the north bridge, most likely WITHOUT a cooler.. about the size of 2 postage stamps, or one BIG one..

You can buy VERY cheap heatsinks for them ( a fan normally isn't necessary ) that gets the job done..

 

[bjc112]

Pic of ABIT southbridge

However this is the S2 version which comes with a cooler, I don't think yours does.

LMK.

Bryan

 

[stringcheeseincident]

yep, i see it now...no heatsink or anything on it. you think if i look into getting better northbridge and actual southbridge cooling my problem may be fixed? thanks for the help.

 

[bjc112]

Originally posted by: stringcheeseincident
yep, i see it now...no heatsink or anything on it. you think if i look into getting better northbridge and actual southbridge cooling my problem may be fixed? thanks for the help.

I don't believe the NB controls or has anything to do with the on board audio. So a small chipset cooler for the SB should do the trick..

They are easy to install, and easy to find.. Most retailers have them..

Compusa, BB, Frys..

Relatively cheap as well.

 

[stringcheeseincident]

i don't have a compusa or frys near me, i searched the Best Buy website and couldn't find any heatsinks on it. on my old motherboard, i used a Zalman heatsink on my northbridge, and not having a fan was very nice as the heatsink worked great as well. its only like $6 on SVC, so i plan on getting one for my northbridge, and one for my southbridge as well. is it bad if the heatsink is bigger than the chip it's going on? if anything, it'll cooler better, right? if not, are there any suggestions for southbridge heatsinks i can find on SVC? thanks again for the help.

edit: just found a sweet little set with a fan for a video card, and heatsinks for the north and southbridge. i noticed my video card was getting hot to the touch so for $9 i guess the set of 3 will work fine. i'll let you guys know if the audio improves when i add the heatsink.