[SOLVED] Best ITX/mATX mobo for 12600K... For Sound?

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Regev

Regev

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Jul 3, 2020
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I got a $2,000 Evox sound system I want to connect to my new computer.
Which reliable motherboard (under $300, hopefully MiniITX, but if mATX gets you better sound, ill go for it) offers the best possible sound output ?

Thanks!
 
Solution
geofelt
For a i5-12600K cpu you would want a Z690 based motherboard for best cpu performance.
What is your case?
ITX and MATX have much different considerations.
First of all, integrated sound these days is reasonably good.
That will be available on all motherboards.
Plan on trying it out first.

Check the specs to see what audio chips are used. Commonly ALC897 in the less expensive units.

If you can really tell the difference in sound, then you will want a discrete sound card.
That eliminates a ITX motherboard. They have only one expansion slot, and that is usually for a discrete graphics card.

MATX would allow you to add a sound card.

Most MATX motherboards will use a B660 chipset and they are not expensive.
They also will include...
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I don't know what an Evox sound system is. I assume it is external speakers of some type

Have you rejected the idea of a sound card? I'm guessing you want to rely on the onboard sound chip. Sound cards can be internal or via USB external.

Most onboard sound is via some version of Realtek.

There are a lot of pre-conceived notions about "high fidelity" sound in general in the home, through standalone amplifiers and tuners as well as on computers.

Few minds are changed by discussion in my experience, due to "golden ears", the placebo effect, etc. So who knows what answers you might get. Take it all with a cubic yard of salt.
 
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It appears that a major issue would be connecting the units to the computer. According to the manual it looks like you would need to take the green 3.5mm output on the back of the computer and split that into separate channels with either 3.5mm or 1/4inch jacks. Then cables from those jacks to the speakers. So you might be better off getting a sound card which already outputs the sound through separate 1/4inch jacks. Or maybe I don't understand how these speakers work.
 
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For a i5-12600K cpu you would want a Z690 based motherboard for best cpu performance.
What is your case?
ITX and MATX have much different considerations.
First of all, integrated sound these days is reasonably good.
That will be available on all motherboards.
Plan on trying it out first.

Check the specs to see what audio chips are used. Commonly ALC897 in the less expensive units.

If you can really tell the difference in sound, then you will want a discrete sound card.
That eliminates a ITX motherboard. They have only one expansion slot, and that is usually for a discrete graphics card.

MATX would allow you to add a sound card.

Most MATX motherboards will use a B660 chipset and they are not expensive.
They also will include lower end sound chips.

The downside is that B660 will not let you overclock the 12600K.
That is not a big negative since using the native turbo mechanism results in better performance in games and such.
 
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Solution
Regev said:
I don't plan to overclock, or use a discrete graphics card at all. Can I use the PCIe slot of the ITX mobo for a sound card?
Click to expand...
Yes you can.
They will likely be pcie x4, but that is ok.

In your situation, look at the sound chips that are included on ITX motherboards.
The better chips will be on the more expensive units.
You may need to go to a pc sound forum to get a review of how differing chips perform.

Then, look at the specs of add in sound cards.
You would want one with a superior sound chip.
Check the reviews for candidate cards.

You may need to take a guess if the included sound would suit you.
If you think it might, spend more for the motherboard.
If you think not, or are particularly picky, then a less expensive motherboard and a discrete sound card would be the path to take.
 
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Use a USB DAC, motherboard impedance and what that Evox is expecting to use are most likely not quite the same. You also won't loose signal quality with USB, it's a shielded cable, whereas the green 3.5 often is pretty miserable for signal loss at higher frequency.
 
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Regev said:
Why would you use a split cable?
I have a 3.5mm to XLR cable (which help me connect the Evox to my old Pixel 4a)
Click to expand...
If one cable could carry both left and right channels, that would be great. But the diagram for that cable seems to indicate that stereo output is converted to mono. If you're going for a mono output, then just plug the cable you already have into your computer. Stereo would require a different solution.
 
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dwd999 said:
If one cable could carry both left and right channels, that would be great. But the diagram for that cable seems to indicate that stereo output is converted to mono. If you're going for a mono output, then just plug the cable you already have into your computer. Stereo would require a different solution.
Click to expand...

What's the point of stereo if it's just one unit of Evox connected?
 
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Karadjgne said:
Asus also uses the ALC 4080 whereas ASRock still uses the older ALC1220 design.
www.igorslab.de

The Realtek ALC4080 on the new Intel boards demystified and the differences to the ALC1220 | Insider | igor´sLAB

The Realtek ALC4080, which was launched in 2020, can now be found as a sound solution on many new mid-range and high-end Intel boards without the customer really knowing what’s behind it.
www.igorslab.de www.igorslab.de
And Yes, igorslab is highly respectable source.
Click to expand...

So all this "ASUS ROGstrix 7.1" etc are just re-names of Realtek chips ?
 
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