Buzzing sound in headphones while gaming

Hey everyone,

So I just recently purchased an HT Omega Claro Halo XT sound card to upgrade from my old one, and it seems that whenever I run a game (Crysis 2 and BC2 are the most recent games found to cause this), there is a slight buzzing sound coming out of my headphones. When I run it through a digital optical cable though, there is no buzzing. What I'm thinking is that the video cards at stress is causing some EMI with the sound card's components, as the sound card is plugged in right between both my cards, but I can't be sure as the digital optical out is fine.

Is there a way (preferably cost-effective) to fix this, or is it something faulty with the sound card itself? Thanks in advance.

Had the exact same problem on my Auzentech Forte. But my solution was a rather expensive one (I decided to buy a DacMagic). EMI is exactly what you're experiencing, and you will only experience EMI through analog ports and not digital ones such as your digital optical out. You could try isolating the soundcard by putting electrical tape in between wherever the soundcard makes contact with your case, but it might be a dumb idea. KHAndAnime

Well, I removed the expansion slot plate from the card to see if it would fix the problem, but no dice :( Chances are I just might get the Xonar Essence STX, as my previous card (Xonar DX) didn't have any EMI problems, and it was in a PCIe slot above the first card.

Nevertheless though; this sucks :(

I've been doing some research on soundcards for a forthcoming update to the sticky. My understanding is that the Xonar Essence STX has superior EMI shielding for its DAC section, so it may solve your issue.

Before you go and make the change, though, you can try the following:

• Move your sound card to another slot, if available.
• Remove one of your video cards if you are using a two-card setup, or if you have on-board video.
• Disable on-board audio if it is still enabled in the BIOS.
• Disable on-board video if it is still enabled in the BIOS.
• If you have a rear case fan, unplug it, you know, just to see. If it solves the issue, try another fan header.
• Move your power wires. Power wires are very noisy, and if you have any near your card they may be causing the buzzing.
• Change the power cables you are using for your video card(s). It's worth a shot.

Good luck,

Boz

Had the exact same problem on my Auzentech Forte. But my solution was a rather expensive one (I decided to buy a DacMagic). EMI is exactly what you're experiencing, and you will only experience EMI through analog ports and not digital ones such as your digital optical out. You could try isolating the soundcard by putting electrical tape in between wherever the soundcard makes contact with your case, but it might be a dumb idea. KHAndAnime

With Forte, the buzzing and random static noise was because of improper grounding. All you had to do was swap the screw used to secure it in the case with a plastic/rubber screw. Really quite a f-up on Auzen's part.

Sorry I took so long to respond, but the reason being that this problem actually caused my computer to die. I went out to see if the card was the problem by picking up a Xonar Essence STX. However, upon plugging it in, my computer wouldn't boot, and still refused to despite removing the card. Out of fear of my other components dying, I went out and tried my other components on my friend's computer. They all worked fine, so I went out and got a replacement for the sound card. I plugged the new one in my friend's computer since I was already there to see if it worked. It booted fine, but I realized the SLI bridge for his cards wasn't plugged in, so I installed it after I powered down. However, after I did that, his computer refused to boot. Removed the card, and it still didn't boot :?

Long story short: Don't get the Essence STX if you have a multi-gpu setup. It kills computers for some odd reason :?

I will try out your recommendations, Boz. Hopefully they'll fix the issue, as it looks like I'm out of potential options for a good high-end sound card.

SLI and Crossfire have been known to cause some buzzing issues in sound cards but that was years ago. Do you guys have the same mobo and cards also?

SLI and Crossfire have been known to cause some buzzing issues in sound cards but that was years ago. Do you guys have the same mobo and cards also?

ChubbyGuy40

Yeah, I managed to fix the issue with my new motherboard. I just placed the optional expansion card with the analog 7.1 inputs between the video cards and the sound card to absorb all the EMI noise from the GPU's :P Works perfectly now, so I'm happy.

As for my friend's stuff, no, he didn't. I had an M4N75TD and two 480's, while he had a P7P55D-E Pro and two 580's.