Question Popping audio in games - Asus Z170-A MB - would internal soundcard solve the issue ?

Apr 22, 2019
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Hey guys !
I'm not usually a fan of posting on forums, as I do like to solve my issues myself.

But right now I am facing somewhat of a weird issue with my ASUS Z170-A MB audio. To describe it simply : audio pops / crackles very frequently while in games, and less so frequently while watching videos or movies.

Now I have done my research and found that many, many threads seem to point out a faulty onboard audio for the Z170-A motherboard.
One thread is particulary close to my setup, this one : https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/sound-static-and-crackling-possible-emi-issue.2878905/

The weird thing about it is that both 3.5mm AND USB devices render the same crackling popping noise. That's kind of a concern to me since I bought my present headset (Arctis 7) because it was managed through USB, which is supposed (?) to not use the onboard audio components/drivers.

Seeing as I don't have the budget to change the motherboard, I thought of getting an internal soundcard. Now my concern is this : my USB audio is bad even when it is not supposed to be. So would an internal soundcard actually do the trick and solve the issue ?

I'm thinking it could actually work because (weird again) the sound coming from my GTX 1070 is crystal clear, even when I plug my headset into the monitor's 3.5mm port.

I've done several of the recommanded actions, namely :

  • disable Fast Start
  • updating BIOS
  • monitoring DPC Latency (it seems normal)
  • updating Realtek drivers
  • testing sound with/without video card
  • fiddling with the sound formats
  • disabling all audio enhancements

I'm not really looking for a solution to the motherboard issue, but rather a confirmation that said motherboard is known to have audio issues. And of course, confirmation that an internal soundcard (such as this one : https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audigy-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00EO6X7PG ) would sove the problem.

Thanks alot !
 
Apr 22, 2019
3
0
10
I've tried the USB ports (2.0, 3.0 and 3.1) in both the front and the rear. Overall I've tested the audio with 4 different devices and they all sound bad on this PC. The only way audio can be good (especially while gaming) is through HDMI on my video card.