Hi all,
I have been fighting the 2 machines in my studio trying to get them to be noise free. The problem manifests itself no matter what soundcard I use (internal realtek850, internal PCI prosumer cards, i.e. Delta 1010LT, or even external Firewire soundcards).
What I get is noises when moving mouse, dragging windows, as well as there is a constant soft crackle.
We've tried the following to fix the noise (based on the feedback from various websites):
*different soundcards (internal, PCI, firewire)
*muting various channels (even if all channels are muted, the noise is still there)
*exchanging power supply
*removing entire motherboard from the case to see if there was some ground loop inherent to the computer case
*changed motherboard from a8n-sli to a8n32-sli
*disconnecting case speaker is not an option since these cases don't have one
All this, and no change.
So, the only remaining conclusion we have at this point is that a8n-sli series motherboards are worthless. Since the system is still under warranty, our seller is considering allowing exchanging motherboard for a different comparable one.
Since the cpu is socket 939 (as well as RAM etc.), we need to stick to socket 939 boards (AM2 may be a possibility but we won't know for sure until we exhaust all 939 options).
So, here are the questions for the AMD community:
1) is anyone else experiencing these problems?
Here's how to test this out:
i)These noises may or may not be apparent via regular headset hooked-up into the machine, but they are definitely very audible and prominent when computer output is amplified through a mixer or an external speaker set.
ii)Please make sure to mute audio before moving on with the test that you don't damage your hearing and/or equipment--the noise should be there even if the sound is muted.
iii)Once you hook-up external speaker set, try cranking up sound relatively loud and see if there is still some buzzing/crackling noise.
iv)If you hear a soft hiss, this is ok, but there should be no other buzzing, crackling, and/or popping noises (either rhythmic, or associated with various operations, such as dragging windows across the screen and/or moving mouse)
2) what alternative 939 motherboard would you recommend which for sure does not have these problems (please use aforesaid test to see if they do or do not)
3) is there a good alternative chipset to nforce4 for 939 socket chips and if so which one would you recommend (again please do the aforesaid test)
4) there is ABIT AT8 32x crossfire motherboard which apparently has newer nforce chipset and is compatible with 939 chips. But, given that we have Geforce 7600GT video cards in our computers, will they be compatible with this motherboard given that it has ATI's chipset?
Last but not least, a small suggestion. Most of the current motherboard reviews skim across some of the fundamental audio features. Thus, please allow me to suggest providing a more in-depth review of motherboards (i.e. using aforesaid test with internal as well as external soundcard) in order to ascertain their audio capability and/or build quality.
I would greatly appreciate any help I can get in this matter!
Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
Ico
I have been fighting the 2 machines in my studio trying to get them to be noise free. The problem manifests itself no matter what soundcard I use (internal realtek850, internal PCI prosumer cards, i.e. Delta 1010LT, or even external Firewire soundcards).
What I get is noises when moving mouse, dragging windows, as well as there is a constant soft crackle.
We've tried the following to fix the noise (based on the feedback from various websites):
*different soundcards (internal, PCI, firewire)
*muting various channels (even if all channels are muted, the noise is still there)
*exchanging power supply
*removing entire motherboard from the case to see if there was some ground loop inherent to the computer case
*changed motherboard from a8n-sli to a8n32-sli
*disconnecting case speaker is not an option since these cases don't have one
All this, and no change.
So, the only remaining conclusion we have at this point is that a8n-sli series motherboards are worthless. Since the system is still under warranty, our seller is considering allowing exchanging motherboard for a different comparable one.
Since the cpu is socket 939 (as well as RAM etc.), we need to stick to socket 939 boards (AM2 may be a possibility but we won't know for sure until we exhaust all 939 options).
So, here are the questions for the AMD community:
1) is anyone else experiencing these problems?
Here's how to test this out:
i)These noises may or may not be apparent via regular headset hooked-up into the machine, but they are definitely very audible and prominent when computer output is amplified through a mixer or an external speaker set.
ii)Please make sure to mute audio before moving on with the test that you don't damage your hearing and/or equipment--the noise should be there even if the sound is muted.
iii)Once you hook-up external speaker set, try cranking up sound relatively loud and see if there is still some buzzing/crackling noise.
iv)If you hear a soft hiss, this is ok, but there should be no other buzzing, crackling, and/or popping noises (either rhythmic, or associated with various operations, such as dragging windows across the screen and/or moving mouse)
2) what alternative 939 motherboard would you recommend which for sure does not have these problems (please use aforesaid test to see if they do or do not)
3) is there a good alternative chipset to nforce4 for 939 socket chips and if so which one would you recommend (again please do the aforesaid test)
4) there is ABIT AT8 32x crossfire motherboard which apparently has newer nforce chipset and is compatible with 939 chips. But, given that we have Geforce 7600GT video cards in our computers, will they be compatible with this motherboard given that it has ATI's chipset?
Last but not least, a small suggestion. Most of the current motherboard reviews skim across some of the fundamental audio features. Thus, please allow me to suggest providing a more in-depth review of motherboards (i.e. using aforesaid test with internal as well as external soundcard) in order to ascertain their audio capability and/or build quality.
I would greatly appreciate any help I can get in this matter!
Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
Ico
