Static Noise with sound

[ForSciGuy]

Hey,
I am having an issue with my motherboard?s built in audio and I am wondering what I should try to do in order to fix it. I have an IP35 pro motherboard and an Antec 900 case. I have crappy speakers (~$40) but really nice headphones ($299 ? Bose). There is a constant static and when I move my wireless mouse there is an added static that is synchronized with the movement. This happens with the speakers, when I plug my headphone into the speakers, and when I plug my headphones directly into the tower. So this leads me to believe that there is some weird electrical noise with the motherboard and it is not a speaker issue. So just wondering if there is anything I can try to fix this.

Also, sound related, when I watch movies the voices are REALLY quiet compared to everything else. I have tried adjusting the settings but it really does not do anything?not really sure what to do about it.
Thanks for any help

 

[Paperdoc]

So it appears something is acting like an "antenna" and picking up the wireless mouse signal and feeding it into the on-board sound system. Try checking two things.

1. What is plugged into the sound input jacks on the back of the case? If there's a cable plugged in with a poor outer shield not properly connected to the outer (ground) contact, it could pick up such noise. Unplug anything there to see if that makes a difference. You could also try just unplugging your speakers and using the headset on the front panel, see if that is different.

2. What connections do you have inside the case between DVD / CD drive and the mobo? Surely there will be the data cable (IDE or SATA) and a power supply cable. But do you also have a thin cable for audio signals from the CD to a mobo connector? On most modern systems that cable is not needed - the audio data is sent digitally along the data cable path. For this you may need to check the CD hardware setup in Start ... Control Panel ... System ... Device Manager to be sure the digital path is being used. Maybe that cable is picking up noise inside the case? Just maybe.

 

[Electric Amish]

It could also be poor isolation on the motherboard. Your wireless mouse antenna plugged into a USB port next to the onboard sound setup on the motherboard. There is probably nothing you can do other than going to a wired mouse or separate sound card. Maybe moving the mouse USB receiver away from the sound ports (maybe to the front of the case) might work.

 

[ForSciGuy]

Thanks for the replies.
Paperdoc, only the speaker input is connected to the input jacks on the back of the case and there are no audio cables connected to the MB from anything except the front panel.
Electric Amish, I moved my USB reciever to several different ports (even the front of the case) with no luck. But in playing around with all of this I noticed that not only are the headphones (I also tried a different set of headphones to see if it was the Bose and got the same thing) making a static noise when I move the mouse but also when the HDD light comes on. I unplugged and cleaned all of the connections from the front panel to the MB and it is still producing the static. So I think I am just going to chalk this up as some weird front panel noise issue that I will have to live with?unless anyone can think of something else.

 

[Paperdoc]

Only other suggestion I have is to borrow a sound card and install it in place of the on-board system for testing. See whether the noise is still there with a separate sound card. If it goes away, that would indicate a problem with the on-board system.

 

[Blain]

I suspect that using a dedicated sound card will correct your static problem.

If it does, make sure and report back...
Then the "onboard audio is good enough" crowd can have their noses rubbed in it. :laugh:

 

[ForSciGuy]

thanks, I will have to see if I can find one or perhaps research getting a new one. If I do, I will let you know if it fixes the problem.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: ForSciGuy
thanks, I will have to see if I can find one or perhaps research getting a new one.
If I do, I will let you know if it fixes the problem.

Well?

 

[Comdrpopnfresh]

they used to include little ferrite circles you'd loop the fp wires around to reduce line interference- if you have a charger or adapter with a cylinder-shaped nodule on it, and were to open it, you'd find a hollowed out ferrite cylinder, with the wires looped around it. Try placing your internals differently, or just pick up an iron ring for cheap and see if it helps. You could change the polling rate on ur mouse if it is usb too... Are you using front-panel ports, or ones at the rear? Seems like the interference would happen ont he cable run after the computer case though- I'd think a case would work as a... what's it called?..... gauss cage?.... and block em interference from the outside....