GA-MA78GM-S2H audio interference

[alexhull24]

I am experiencing bad audio interference from any 3.5mm jack on the onboard audio of the above board. It presents itself as high pitched noises that vary with computer activity and mouse movement.

I have tried both speakers and headphones, it's present on both.

One observation I've made is that setting the jack sense prompt to 'front speakers' instead of 'headphones' when plugging in alleviates the problem slightly. Different drivers seem to have the same issue. This is on Windows 7 x64.

The front panel exhibits the same behaviour, and I've also tried unplugging all cables (inc video etc) from the machine to isolate the problem, but with no avail. I've also removed the front panel audio connector, but this also made no difference.

Any suggestions as to what is happening here? I don't have much (if any) room in the case for a soundcard, and I've already purchased an external graphics card as the onboard would not function with my TV. I don't really want to have to replace the sound too!

Thanks

[absic]

Hi,

as a matter of interest are you using HDMI output from your Graphics Card? In some instances using the HDMI from the GPU and on-board sound can cause these issues.

Another place to look would be your PSU and/or fans. High pitched whines are commonly caused by DC motors and as they increase their speed to cool components, so they draw more power and the whine changes, rising and falling in pitch. Check that all the connections are firm, that there is no corrosion on the pins or headers and that the Mobo is earthing properly.

I know this answer doesn't give a definite solution but, as with most of these kind of issues, it is a case of searching until you can find the root cause of the problem. I've had to disable the sound scheme in Windows 7 on my rig to solve click and pop noise issues and this was after a lot of swearing, re-seating components etc., Who'd have figured that one?

[alexhull24]

Thanks for your reply absic115.

As a matter of fact, I am using the HDMI from the PCI-E GPU, since the machine is a HTPC, this is how it was intended to be used. Unfortunately the HDMI onboard would not work with my TV, so an additional card was required. Do you have some further information on this issue you suggest? A source perhaps?

I must note that I've tried unplugging the HDMI cable, but the sound remains. I imagine the GPU is still outputting the image to the port though.

The case and PSU are almost brand new. The fans are at fixed RPM bar the CPU fan I believe, which is a decent model, and probably not even close enough to the board to cause a problem. The fact that it responds to mouse movement leads me to believe the source is somewhere else.

I am going to try some spread spectrum options in the BIOS to see if that makes any difference, and I'll try verify the board is earthed, though I believe it should be earthed properly by the 24-pin power connector and the numerous screws into the chassis. Perhaps a ground loop would be causing interference here? Any tips as to check how well the board is earthed?

Thanks

[absic]

Hi there,

The original post that got me looking into this issue can be found here: http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,1608.msg7320.html#msg7320 Although this was regarding no sound output rather than noises and was sorted by disabling the HDMI Audio out. Whilst I was trawling the internet I came across several articles relating to this and PC Audio noise, but I didn't bookmark them, sorry.

Whilst thinking about your noise problem I wondered if you had the latest BIOS for your board and, if you are not running the latest version, it would be worth doing, just to eliminate this as a source of the problem.

[alexhull24]

Thanks for that.

OK, I was running BIOS T8d (a test BIOS from gigabyte to help resolve my HDMI problem). I'm now back on F11 as I was previously, the latest BIOS. It has made no effect to the audio interference.

I also tried the spread spectrum option for the southbridge, which, if anything, made it slightly louder.

The only thing that makes it quieter in my headphones is changing the setting to front speakers. Disabling all the HDMI audio made no difference.

I am going to keep trying some other driver revisions just in case it was overlooked.

I would welcome any further assistance.

[absic]

Hi,

I've been looking into this some more and there does seem to be a lot of issues with "noises" and Windows 7 64 bit. Most of them appear to be driver or PSU based and, without knowing your full PC configuration I am struggling to come up with a solution, sorry. 

As the noise increases with PC activity and also with mouse movement it got me wondering what type of mouse you are using. Is it USB or PS2?

If possible could you post your full system specs (CPU, Memory Brand and speed, GPU, PSU, HDD's etc.,) also let us know if you are overclocking anything. As I mentioned before, this kind of problem can take a lot of time to resolve and the more information you can post the easier it becomes to help with your troubleshooting.

Cheers

[alexhull24]

Perhaps it is software based then. I must also note, I've noticed this interference without the mouse plugged in. The machine is usually my HTPC, but I'm using it as a main PC for the time being, hence having keyboard and mouse plugged in. Here are the specs:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ @ stock under an Alpenfohn Panorama (kept nice and cool)
GA-MA78GM-S2H v1.1 on BIOS F11 (latest)
2x2GB OCZ Gold PC2-6400 @ 1.8V, 800MHz (stock)
Antec Micro Fusion Remote case, with Antec 380W PSU
Samsung F1 1TB
ATI Radeon 4350 256MB (Asus, passive)
Hauppage WinTV Nova-T 500 Dual DVB-T tuner (PCI)
LG BD-ROM/HD-DVD combo drive
Logitech G11 Keyboard
Razer Deathadder
Samsung SM226BW, connected from HDMI (card) to DVI (monitor).
Windows 7 Home Premium x64

All software is up to date, including drivers. Audio drivers are latest from the gigabyte website. I have yet to play around with older versions, or drivers direct from Realtek for this. I recall the Realtek drivers not installing anyway. As you can see, no overclocking on this machine, just after reliability. Oh, lastly, there is a USB drive plugged in for readyboost.

So, I'm going to try audio drivers again, I might also change the USB polling rate for the mouse too, and see if any difference is observed.

Thanks for your efforts.

[absic]

Hi,

sorry to see this is still causing you a problem and also that it is taking sometime to get to the bottom of but, as my signature says: Never give up; Never Surrender! 

Looking through your system specs (thanks for posting) and knowing the steps you have taken so far I was wondering if you have tried a different keyboard. If not, could you try a basic PS2 one?

At this stage of trouble shooting, it really is a case of trying every component, one at a time, until you can find the root cause, which could be anything if it is hardware based.

If it is software based a complete, clean, re-install of the OS and then installing drivers again, one at a time, then testing the system before moving to the next driver, is the only truly reliable way of pinpointing the cause.

This process is time consuming and also frustrating but it is one I have used, very successfully, on several occasions to solve such issues.

[mbdude]

Hi alexhull24,

I had the same noises but I solved them.

I'm really pissed off because I spend the money in a not-so-cheap stand-alone sound card believing the problem was the onbord Realtek audio, but after that I found that the problem was software-related. In part, because nobody in this forum could help me with the same noises explained in my previous message with the problem.

Believe me, the one and only thing responsible for these noises is the Gigabyte EasyTune6 (aka PieceOfCrap6) software (that came with your mobo) when running in the system tray. Uninstall it and you will never experience the noises. Besides, it does not seem reliable to me, because it closes with errors when clicking the Memory tab, for not to mention that some shown values are not correct.

Additionally, you can download and execute this software (http://www.thesycon.de/deu/latency_check.shtml) that warns you visually when something noise-related may occur. You will see the change when running and exiting EasyTune 6.

[absic]

Hi,

the one and only thing responsible for these noises is the Gigabyte EasyTune6

Thanks for the info. As I rarely use any of the bundled software I wasn't aware of this issue with EasyTune6.

[alexhull24]

@absic115

Indeed, troubleshooting takes time. I work part time in PC repair actually, so I know how long it can take sometimes! What I wanted ideally was some input from GB saying it was an issue known to them, unfortunately not it seems. I will take the necessary steps once I'm back (away for ~4 days) and let you know how I get on.

I usually run the system with no keyboard, and it's still an issue. I should have made that clearer.

@mbdude

Thanks for posting, much appreciated. Glad I'm not alone with this issue. Just one problem though - I'm not running EasyTune! I've also tried the latency checker tool before, as I was having blu-ray playback stuttering due to AMD cool 'n' quiet in the end. The latency was fine after I disabled that, but still interference! The windows 7 is a clean install. I might try booting off a ubuntu live cd and see if it's still there. It presents itself whenever the machine is on. I should see if it does it before windows is booted too, that may help narrow things down.

[mbdude]

try if it happens prior to installing any drivers, just the OS.
If it doesn't at this point, then it should be software-related (drivers or processes in the background causing drop-outs).
Install one driver at a time, and after that, one program at a time, having DPC latency program opened all the time and see when it alerts you so that u can find the program responsible.

It'd be nice to post your veredict.
Good luck

[aheskin]

I see this is an old thread, but I'll add my own 2 cents in case it might help someone.

I upgraded my GA-MA78GM-S2H based system from Windows XP to Windows 7 64-bit about a week ago and immediately experienced audio clipping like most of you.  I installed all the latest drivers from the Gigabyte website.  I've been trying everything I could find on any forum - none of which helped. 

I downloaded DPC Latency Checker at the suggestion of this forum and found I have major latency issues.  I tried disabling everything I could think of and none of it helped.

Finally this evening, I found a post (can't remember which website) that suggested changing the Windows power setting from "Balanced" to "Performance".  I didn't think it would work, but I had nothing else left to try.  After I did that, lo and behold, my latency issues vanished and now I'm experiencing perfect sound.

Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Power Options -> Change Power Saving Settings
Create a new power plan based on Performanace

I hope this helps someone avoid the aggravation I've gone through.

[absic]

Hi
Thanks for the information.
Whenever I install Windows OS I automatically go through the process of resetting the Power Options, disabling certain Windows features and making a few other tweaks that I know improve my systems.

As this is one of the options I automatically adjust I wasn't aware that at its default setting it could cause this issue so I have learnt something today!