Sabertooth x58 and sound card question

[traxevc]

Hi all. I ve just finished building a new Pc with an asus sabertooth x58 motherboard and a gtx 470. In my old Pc I have a sound blaster audigy with a front panel that I like very much and I'm thinking to put that sound card to my new Pc. So my question is: due to the placing of the pci slot I will have to move my graphics card (gtx 470) to the pci-express x16 slot no. 2; is this correct? Otherwise if I leave it on the pci-express x16 no. 1, the graphics card would cover the pci slot for my sound card which is placed unfortunately between the two x16 pci-e slots. Will my graphics card be fine seated on the second pci-e slot (and the first pci-e slot being empty of course)? Or is it not recommended?

Thanks

Elias

 

[ko888]

If you have only one graphics card ASUS recommends that you use PCIe 2.0 x16_1.

They don't say you can't use PCIe 2.0 x16_2 instead of PCIe 2.0 x16_1.

My suggestion is that you should try it in PCIe 2.0 x16_2. I would think that you won't have any problems.

 

[Eagle Eye_54]

But why not just not use it? The sound built in to the mobo is awesome! Add in sound cards are going the way of the dino.

 

[traxevc]

But why not just not use it? The sound built in to the mobo is awesome! Add in sound cards are going the way of the dino.

hmmm I just thought I should not bother you with this but since you've mentioned it here we go...the onborad sound of my sabertooth X58 does not work. All I get is crackling sound. So I RMA'd it back to overclockers.co.uk (where I bought it from) who told me that I voided the waranty because of poor handling. To cut the long story short, they said there was a visible scratch right next (left hand side; right next to the case chassis) to the second PCI-e slot where some circuit lines are. Because of that scratch, they said, they would not replace the mobo as it is impossible for them to know what causes the sound problem and any problem in general on my mobo. That was the worst statement Ive heard from a respectable company like OCUK. I did not make that scratch; I even think that they did; no way to prove anything though; by the way, the sound problem is a very well-known issue of that mobo and asus' own forums are full of it.

Anyway, I sort of decided to live with this mobo with no sound and just add my old Audigy 1 sound card. However, this is not the ONLY reason I chose to put my old Audigy; as I said, I like its front panel

Having said all the above, does anyone think there is anything I can do about the mobo? I would not like to send it back to Asus and tell me that I voided my waranty again and be without PC for weeks or perhaps months; or shall I give a try? Finally, is there anything else I can do in order to verify that the scratch I mentioned next to the PCI-e slot has not affected anything else on my mobo but only the sound, and that it is safe to use? By the way the system boots and runs properly with a short beep during post (NO red lights on the mobo etc)


thanks for reading

regards



P.S. this is a by-question: if I decide to get a second graphics card in the future for SLI, I would definitely need to buy a PCI-express sound card too, right? since the two graphics cards will completely cover the only PCI slot of the mobo. Will it be safe to have 2 graphics cards and a PCI-e sound card in my system (750w xfx pro psu)? By the way, here are the components of my pc:

i7 950
sabertooth x58
8gb ram 1600mhz (geil)
msi gtx 470 frozr II
xfx pro psu 750w
antec 100 case

 

[Eagle Eye_54]

Wow. I feel for you under these circumstances but I can understand why they would be concerned about a major scratch too. Boards have to handled very carefully and a major scratch would certainly raise concerns. Having said that..... a good company would and should overlook this and simply replace it as an act of good PR. Also, you might have caught an employee with an attitude (or having a bad hair day) so why not complain about it to the powers that be? In other words, go over their head and see what drops out. You might be surprised. The squeaky wheel gets greased.

I would never be happy with a board that isn't 100% right and I would scream and yell until this problem is fixed to your satisfaction.

As for your PS....Two GPU's will work along side a sound card as long as it doesn't need a PCIx16 slot to work (and I can't see why it would). There would be a spare PCI 4x available. The issue of whether you have enough power in your 750 watt PSU is another matter. I doubt it is suffice but the best way to determine that is to use one of the many PSU calculators and see what it says. I use an 850 watt PSU and I can't use two 6950's with mine....I need a 1000 watts for that.

Good luck with your issue. Let us know what happens.

 

[traxevc]

Thanks for the suggestions. I always fight hard for my right but I have a feeling I am not going to win this time, as the scratch is pretty obvious and I have no proof I did not do it. The most important and last question for me is again:

is there anything else I can do in order to verify that the scratch, which I did not make, -IF, I SAY IF, IT IS THE REASON OF THE PROBLEM- has NOT affected anything else on my mobo, but only the on-board sound, and, that it is safe to use? Again, the system boots and runs properly with a short beep during post (NO red lights on the mobo etc)

sorry for the caps..

kind regards

Elias

 

[ko888]

Examine the scratch very closely to determine if any of the copper traces have been cut or if any of the SMDs (Surface Mount Devices) have been scraped/knocked off. If none of the copper traces have been damaged and no SMDs have been removed then I wouldn't worry about it and consider the scratch as just a blemish.

 

[chancer]

But why not just not use it? The sound built in to the mobo is awesome! Add in sound cards are going the way of the dino.

hmmm I just thought I should not bother you with this but since you've mentioned it here we go...the onborad sound of my sabertooth X58 does not work. All I get is crackling sound. So I RMA'd it back to overclockers.co.uk (where I bought it from) who told me that I voided the waranty because of poor handling. To cut the long story short, they said there was a visible scratch right next (left hand side; right next to the case chassis) to the second PCI-e slot where some circuit lines are. Because of that scratch, they said, they would not replace the mobo as it is impossible for them to know what causes the sound problem and any problem in general on my mobo. That was the worst statement Ive heard from a respectable company like OCUK. I did not make that scratch; I even think that they did; no way to prove anything though; by the way, the sound problem is a very well-known issue of that mobo and asus' own forums are full of it.

Anyway, I sort of decided to live with this mobo with no sound and just add my old Audigy 1 sound card. However, this is not the ONLY reason I chose to put my old Audigy; as I said, I like its front panel

Having said all the above, does anyone think there is anything I can do about the mobo? I would not like to send it back to Asus and tell me that I voided my waranty again and be without PC for weeks or perhaps months; or shall I give a try? Finally, is there anything else I can do in order to verify that the scratch I mentioned next to the PCI-e slot has not affected anything else on my mobo but only the sound, and that it is safe to use? By the way the system boots and runs properly with a short beep during post (NO red lights on the mobo etc)


thanks for reading

regards



P.S. this is a by-question: if I decide to get a second graphics card in the future for SLI, I would definitely need to buy a PCI-express sound card too, right? since the two graphics cards will completely cover the only PCI slot of the mobo. Will it be safe to have 2 graphics cards and a PCI-e sound card in my system (750w xfx pro psu)? By the way, here are the components of my pc:

i7 950
sabertooth x58
8gb ram 1600mhz (geil)
msi gtx 470 frozr II
xfx pro psu 750w
antec 100 case

Hi
I know this is a late reply but ive just come across this post as im still having trouble with the mainboard i just thought id let you know that i too have a asus sabertooth x58. And guess what my on-board sound did not work either when i RMA'd it to scan where i bought it from,they informed me i voided my warenty by having a cracked track,i told them this was absolute bollox,And that i could not have done this,how ever after arguin for a while they decided as scan promise to give the best customer satisfaction around they would send the board to asus and see if they would be able to replace or mend the board,let me tell you that these guys at asus really dont care about how long it takes to get the board back as i was without a pc for over 2 months,how ever they did fix the track and now my on-board sound works,hope this helps like i said before sorry bout late reply
regard

 

[traxevc]

No problem and thanks for your reply friend. I have actually sorted out my motherboard by contacting Asus UK directly. overclockers.co.uk is a bad company who does not respect their customers. If you want to avoid trouble stay away from them!

 

[traxevc]

No problem and thanks for your reply friend. I have actually sorted out my motherboard by contacting Asus UK directly. overclockers.co.uk is a bad company who does not respect their customers. If you want to avoid trouble stay away from them!

 

[traxevc]

No problem and thanks for your reply friend. I have actually sorted out my motherboard by contacting Asus UK directly. overclockers.co.uk is a bad company who does not respect their customers. If you want to avoid trouble stay away from them!

 

[Leinad11]

But why not just not use it? The sound built in to the mobo is awesome! Add in sound cards are going the way of the dino.

I beg to differ on that. It depends what you use your sound card for. I have the Creative X-FI Elite Pro, and to this day, I still have alot more options than any onboard sound configuration, with stunning quality.