Question about Fatality AB350 and 2.1 audio setups

[Stg-Flame]

With the PC I just built, I'm using a Klipsh (links below) 2.1 stereo system that just has a single green 3.5mm jack, but it only seems to work when I plug it into the front headphone port on the PC case. I've tried plugging it into all three different audio jacks on the board and nothing works. Now, this wouldn't normally be an issue, except when we try to load up a game (Witcher 3 for example), we have to unplug the 3.5mm jack and plug it back in before there's any sound. It worked just fine with Fallout 4, but we tested several games and the majority of them don't have any sound until the jack is unplugged and plugged back in.

Please tell me I'm missing something extremely simple here. It seems a little weird that a modern-day motherboard wouldn't have on-board support for 2.1 setups. Also, the specs on the Newegg page says it supports 7.1 channels, but there's only three ports whereas my motherboard has all five, so I'm a little confused here. I should have looked into this prior to purchasing the motherboard, but I just assumed the green jack on the back would allow for 2.1 stereo.

The motherboard: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157759
Stereo: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAC4Z54X9677
The case: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811853012

My motherboard (for reference): https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293

 

[William Gaatjes]

Have you checked which devices are enabled ?
In the control panel look for sound and then check which output devices are enabled.
Maybe your front and rear outputs have separate codecs or at least an option to turn them on individually.


Should look something like this example:

 

[Stg-Flame]

I've looked in the sound options and it shows it as Headphones. The only ones available are the monitor's speakers and the headphones. Speakers doesn't even show up.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Turn off "Jack Detection" in the RealTek control panel, and manually set it to 2.1 and the speaker/headphone (green) rear jack.

 

[Stg-Flame]

I've never even used the RealTek control panel. I'll give that a try, thanks.

 

[Valantar]

Have you made sure your audio drivers are up to date? As for the interface, there's no difference between a 2.0 and 2.1 speaker set, as most simply run the audio through a low-pass filter for the sub. There might be some high end kits with separate sub inputs, but id they exist at all, those are exceedingly rare.

Is the situation any different if you use headphones?

 

[Stg-Flame]

I don't know if the situation is any different, but it appears with them plugged into the headphone port on the case, not every game detects them.

 

[Valantar]

Have you checked device manager for any unrecognized devices or error messages? Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling the audio drivers?

 

[Stg-Flame]

I checked the device manager and everything was working fine. As for the drivers, I didn't mess with them because the ports didn't work prior to installing the drivers that came with the motherboard or after.

 

[Valantar]

Have you checked the motherboard manufacturer's site for updated drivers, or the audio chip maker's site?

 

[Stg-Flame]

I'm going to try the RealTek suggestion and if that doesn't work, I'll look around for new drivers.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Sorry it's so late for this reply, but unlike on my current Windows 7 setup, I can't find any RealTek on the Windows 10 PC. It's just not there, so I'm not sure if this means I'm missing a driver or what's going on, but the issue still persists. When the PC is first turned on, the speakers won't work, but when the PC is restarted, they work fine.

Any suggestions as to why RealTek isn't in the control panel?

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Sorry it's so late for this reply, but unlike on my current Windows 7 setup, I can't find any RealTek on the Windows 10 PC. It's just not there, so I'm not sure if this means I'm missing a driver or what's going on, but the issue still persists. When the PC is first turned on, the speakers won't work, but when the PC is restarted, they work fine.

Any suggestions as to why RealTek isn't in the control panel?

I have this board on the way, but I will be using AMD audio via HDMI though my Onkyo A/V.

If you installed the realtek software http://www.asrock.com/MB/AMD/Fatal1ty AB350 Gaming K4/index.asp#osW1064

Did you also install the sound blaster cinema 3 utility?

 

[Stg-Flame]

It's possible I missed some drivers somewhere down the line because I'm have one hell of a time getting a USB-tethered aircard to work for the internet. Sometimes the USB ports will be detected, other times they won't be. I don't understand what's going on, so the only thing I can think of is to flash the updated BIOS via thumb drive and go through the drivers again one by one.

 

[Stg-Flame]

Got the new drivers installed today and everything is working as it should through the 3.5mm jacks in the motherboard. I guess I missed the RealTek and Sound Blaster drivers (they aren't on the All-In-One disk that came with the motherboard).

Thanks again for all the help.