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Sound card that connects to front mic/headphone jacks?

I

imported_stev

Senior member
I've been shopping for possible sound cards to use in place of onboard sound (see sig). I'm assuming that once you disable onboard sound, you lose the functionality of the front microphone and headphone audio jacks. So, if I get a sound card, I'd like to find one that will still allow me to use the front jacks. Looking at a few manuals for several cards leads me to the conclusion that, either they aren't spelling it out for an audio newb like myself, or all of the cards I have seen don't allow for this. What's the deal here?
 
Don't those front plugs go into the mobo, not the sound card? I think you would keep the functionality. If it didn't, you could save a few bucks and just run the outputs on the soundcard with a extender to the front of your case. It won't be pretty, but it'll work.
 
dBTelos: Yes, those front jacks plug into the motherboard, but maybe I lose that when disabling onboard sound? There's a really easy way for me to find out...I'll try it out tonight! 🙂

I'm trying to keep things pretty plus have the functionality.
 
Originally posted by: dBTelos
I think the OP might want to try out an alternative method before putting $85 into a sound card 😀
Click to expand...
Yes, the OP would! I'm looking for a mid-range sound card to possibly alleviate the periodic popping and occasional skipping of music playback, but I'm not sure if I want to do it at the expense of my front audio ports.
 
the audigy 2 platinum is a great card with the convinence of the front 5.25 bay, but i heard there was a way to mod the audigy 2 to output to the front case headphone/mic ports
 
Originally posted by: dBTelos
Extenders + Chaintech AV710. $2 for the extenders. $25 for the AV710.
Click to expand...

I'm already using one rear output for my PC speakers and one for output to my TV for HTPC duties, but even if I wasn't, having an extension cable hanging by my computer when I have perfectly good jacks built into the case is just silly.

I guess the first step is seeing if the front ports will still work when onboard sound is disabled (I'll do that tomorrow and let you guys know). If they don't, then it seems very odd to me that there aren't pins standard on every modern sound card that allows for headphone/mic connections to the front of the case. This is a standard feature of most cases nowadays, right?
 
Originally posted by: dBTelos
I think the OP might want to try out an alternative method before putting $85 into a sound card 😀
Click to expand...
Perhaps so, but he is the one that opened the door to the subject of using a sound card, and I don't know of a better card for the money.

 
Originally posted by: Seekermeister
Originally posted by: dBTelos
I think the OP might want to try out an alternative method before putting $85 into a sound card 😀
Click to expand...
Perhaps so, but he is the one that opened the door to the subject of using a sound card, and I don't know of a better card for the money.
Click to expand...

Is the 2 ZS better than the X-Fi Extreme Music? I'm intrigued by the $100 rebate...

Also, does the 2 ZS have a header connector that the X-Fi doesn't?
 
Originally posted by: IndyJaws
Originally posted by: Seekermeister
Originally posted by: dBTelos
I think the OP might want to try out an alternative method before putting $85 into a sound card 😀
Click to expand...
Perhaps so, but he is the one that opened the door to the subject of using a sound card, and I don't know of a better card for the money.
Click to expand...

Is the 2 ZS better than the X-Fi Extreme Music? I'm intrigued by the $100 rebate...

Also, does the 2 ZS have a header connector that the X-Fi doesn't?
Click to expand...
I've not used the X-Fi, but from what I've read, it doesn't have anything that matters enough to pay the price for. As far as the header connector, I'm not sure what you mean? I can tell you what the Audigy 2 ZS Platinum has, but not the X-Fi.
 
Originally posted by: stev
Originally posted by: dBTelos
Extenders + Chaintech AV710. $2 for the extenders. $25 for the AV710.
Click to expand...

I'm already using one rear output for my PC speakers and one for output to my TV for HTPC duties, but even if I wasn't, having an extension cable hanging by my computer when I have perfectly good jacks built into the case is just silly.

I guess the first step is seeing if the front ports will still work when onboard sound is disabled (I'll do that tomorrow and let you guys know). If they don't, then it seems very odd to me that there aren't pins standard on every modern sound card that allows for headphone/mic connections to the front of the case. This is a standard feature of most cases nowadays, right?
Click to expand...

That's so creative can sell you their special drive bay models 😛

The front panel connections should be associated with your onboard sound, so I would imagine if you disable your onboard, the front connections will stop working.

 
Originally posted by: IndyJaws
Originally posted by: Seekermeister
Originally posted by: dBTelos
I think the OP might want to try out an alternative method before putting $85 into a sound card 😀
Click to expand...
Perhaps so, but he is the one that opened the door to the subject of using a sound card, and I don't know of a better card for the money.
Click to expand...

Is the 2 ZS better than the X-Fi Extreme Music? I'm intrigued by the $100 rebate...

Also, does the 2 ZS have a header connector that the X-Fi doesn't?
Click to expand...

The X-Fi is the superior card. This A2 ZS Platinum is basically just and Audigy 2 ZS with the front drive bay and remote. The X-Fi Xtreme Music does not come with a front drive bay and would be similar in price on its own.

Creative has made it very difficult to get connected to case front panel connections. There are some mods you can do to get them to work. You can google them to check them out. I should save links once I've found some good ones, but I'm too dumb to do that 😛.
 
soundcard manufacturers haven't got a clue what the hell they're doing. It's all about flashy boxes, drivers, and the promise of 45.1 surround sound... and no hardware. They can't even engineer a pcb so as to solder in the FP_AUDIO connector that's standard on just about every case I've seen in the last 3 years.

There's MILLIONS to be made in the PC soundcard industry. When onboard offerings school the sh!t out of any sanely priced (<$100) soundcard on the market in terms of marketing hype (this x.1 surround sound garbage), connections (digi-out, internal ports, etc), and driver stability and compatibility (..with the non-windows world), then something is very wrong, and there's a huge, gaping hole that has been in need of filling for years. It's so, so, so sad. There's millions to be made. If any CompSci/EE people want to work on a fun project and make ass-loads of money, then we should start a project that fills that huge hole.
 
I just came on to ask this same question. So let me get this straight, there are no sound cards (even something generic) that has the headers for the front speaker and mic plugs? Ugh!
 
Originally posted by: Racer7
I just came on to ask this same question. So let me get this straight, there are no sound cards (even something generic) that has the headers for the front speaker and mic plugs? Ugh!
Click to expand...


Ive never seen one
 
Front speaker... you mean headphone? The "problem" isn't really the headers as many sound cards have them -certainly Audigy & X-Fi at least for the last half-decade, but there seems to have been a lack of a standard so it has always been a DIY affair of matching the headers to the case, in lieu of buying obscenely priced accessories to bypass that route.

But the same can even be said for many mobo headers, even gameports. Intel HD is s standard though and the matching headers were just introduced on the new X-Fi's.

Personally, I'm not a fan of wires hanging out the front of a case getting in the way and have always used headphones from some external device (boom box, mini-system, receiver) which has been much more convenient especially including remote control and rarely having to fiddle with software after initially configured.
 
Originally posted by: Auric
Front speaker... you mean headphone? The "problem" isn't really the headers as many sound cards have them -certainly Audigy & X-Fi at least for the last half-decade, but there seems to have been a lack of a standard so it has always been a DIY affair of matching the headers to the case, in lieu of buying obscenely priced accessories to bypass that route.
Click to expand...
Front speaker and mic plugs... ie. headphone and mic plugs in the front, with the adjective "front" applying to both. I worded it badly.

My last two cases and motherboards have had matching headers/connectors for the front headphone and mic plugs. I have a hard time understanding why it's so hard for Creative (or some knock off) to add one of those pin blocks.

I normally game through surround speakers. However, I do occasionally use some flavor of voice chat when playing MMORPGs. It's very handy to plug a headset into the front of the case on those occasions, while having it disconnected in a cabinet when I'm not using it.



 
Ok, so this was bugging me so I tried to chase down a solution. Please excuse me if I mangle some terms or acronyms.

It looks like the PC cases are coming with a FP_AUDIO connector. There are two flavors that are pin compatible with the connector. They are AC-97 Front Panel Audio and Intel HD Front Panel Audio. From Intel's site:

Compatibility:

HD front panel audio solutions should be plugged into HD onboard headers.
AC'97 front panel audio solutions should be plugged into AC'97 onboard headers.
Some AC'97 front panel audio solutions (but not all) may work with HD onboard headers.
If you want connect an AC'97 front panel audio system to HD onboard headers, try these steps:

Connect Mic_IN (MIC) to MIC2_L.
Connect Audio_R (RIN) to OUT2_R
Connect Audio_L (LIN) to OUT2_L.

MIC_RET and OUT_RET are for HD audio only; you don't need to connect them for AC'97 audio.
Note: Intel does not validate AC'97 front panel audio solutions with boards using HD audio. If the steps above do not work, you will need to use an HD front panel audio solution for full compatibility with Intel Desktop Boards using Intel® 945 chipsets and later.
Click to expand...
Intel Link (to give proper credit where it is due)

I had some luck finding cards based off this information. I found a cheap ($18.99+shipping) Sabrent card that seems to have a 10 pin header. I couldn't find anything that said how that header was wired though. I would buy one to check, but it's currently out of stock at the Egg.

The other options are a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer for $90 and a AuzenTech X-Meridian for $190. The AuzenTech comes right out and says it has a FP_AUDIO header, but I didn't find if it was specifically AC'97 or INTEL HD. It sounds like a sweet card, but it's also more than I want to spend. That leaves the Creative which has a "Intel HD Audio Compatible Front Panel Header (2x5pin)". HD, so I guess that depends on your luck if it's going to work or not with typical case wiring (see quote above).

I'll see what else I can find, but if anyone has any insight regarding these cards, please post it. Thanks!
 
I was disappointed to discover that my Audigy 2ZS didn't support my front ports, though the onboard audio had.

There is a solution described here and here, if you don't mind putting together a connector for it.

I'm going to see if I can get my hands on some cd audio cables in some local shops and give this a go.
 
I just wanted to follow up to say that I bought a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer. The header on the card worked fine with my Antec Nine Hundred case. I now have working front jacks on my case off a X-Fi card.
 
Originally posted by: Racer7
I just wanted to follow up to say that I bought a Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer. The header on the card worked fine with my Antec Nine Hundred case. I now have working front jacks on my case off a X-Fi card.
Click to expand...

teh win! 😀

 
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