A/V ASUS Xonar DX - Graphics card EMI - Bad buying decision.

Case - Fractal Design R3
Motherboard - MSI P67A-GD53
Graphics Card - Sapphire 6850 HD Dirt 3 Edition
Sound card - Asus Xonar DX

The problem I am having is as follows:

The microphone works perfectly until I launch a graphically demanding game. At which point the microphone data my friends are recieving starts to buzz in Mumble and TeamSpeak. It sound like a small scooter engine! I can hear no issues at my end.

I am attributing this problem to EMI either created by the twin mounted fans on the graphics card or the large amount of current the graphics card is using which is creating the interference.

What I have tried so far:

1. Having moved both cards the maximum physical distance away each other, there is still a faint buzzing. It is impossible with this particular motherboard to move the two cards any further apart.

2. Enable AEC in the Asus Audio Centre software. Makes no difference.

3. Ensured the on-board sound is disabled in the BIOS.

4. Tested the on-board sound, which is working correctly with no buzzing for the receiver on the MIC.

Can anyone give me a cost effective solution which will enable me to continue use both the graphics card and sound card I have listed above?

I realise that what I have made, is a poor buying decision. In hindsight I should of purchased a shielded sound card but I had thought the Asus DX was suitable for a moderate gaming rig?

Thank you for your thoughts and suggestions in advance,

Steve.

 

Not to try and make you look, stupid but have you plugged the power in to the sound card?

I had that sound card running in a machine, with 2 Palit GTX 580s in SLI and both of the cards had twin fans on them and I had no problems with it.

 

Could probably make an EMI shield out of tin foil.

Found a basic guide here apparently there are also ready made kits you can buy.

And in response to above i don't believe that card will emit any sound without power. Is a mistake i made once when i forgot to plug the power in and only realised while trying to reinstall drivers.

 

I've never had a soundcard with shielding and I've only ever had noise problems with some on board solutions, mostly on laptops Never noticed it with a Soundblaster. I expect the problem is electrical.

 

The problem isn't EMI, I can tell you that now. I used to get exactly the same problems - my current fix is not perfect, but it will do.

I assume you are using your case's front panel audio jacks for your headset/microphone+headphones. The problem is that some, if not most cases (Antec is particularly notorious) bridge the ground connectors of the audio, USB and eSATA ports (along with any others that may be there). You obviously didn't notice the problem with motherboard audio - USB, eSATA and everything else comes from there, so the ground was shared anyway. Using a separate soundcard with a different supply of power means that there is current flowing through those connected ground rails. This creates your noise, in both microphone and headphone ports.

My case is an Antec 1200. My (hopefully temporary) solution was to disconnect the USB and eSATA headers from the motherboard, as well as disconnect the connector to the case. The noise issue stopped. I tried only connecting back the USB, or just the eSATA, but I got noise in every case. Although it is a shame to loose two front USB ports I have a card reader with a USB port, so it does the trick for now.
A more permanent solution would be to take out the whole front panel assembly, open it up then cut the connecting ground wires that join up the audio and USB/eSATA ports. Here is a guy who did exactly this. I haven't quite got the nerve to attempt it yet...

Hope this helped

 

Thank you for the reply chaps.

Yes I did remember to plug the Berg connector into the card

I'm afraid the problem is EMI and is probably all the fault of my graphics card. Ive situated the cards the maximum distance apart and lowered the MIC gain to 40 percent. That is the only fix I can think of thus far.

I did try placing rubber between the case and the card, so they didnt make contact......didnt work. I also tried your suggestion Rob, of unplugging all the headers. The buzzing was still there even when using the sockets on the card itself.

 

In the recording and playback tab in the sound panel, make sure that all unused port are at BOTH:
-> Minimum volume
-> Muted

Pay particular attention to: Line-In, Auxiliary and, if you have it: CD-In

It may help your problem further.

 

More of a workaround than anything else, but could you not use the onboard sound just for the microphone then use the Xonar for your speakers/headphones? I think you can select what input and output devices you can use in most programs. I know my friend used this exact setup when he was using his analogue headset and speakers with the headset using his soundcard and the speakers on the onboard. He then setup his programs so teammates and whatnot came out of the headset while game sounds came through the speakers.

 

If it's really EMI then your card is duff and needs to be RMA'd. I never had an issue with mine when I had it and it was literally on top of the graphics card in my PC.

 

I have enabled Spread Spectrum in the BIOS and sadly there are no options for PCI bus frequency.

The graphics card is now over a year old. I have never had any issues with it until now. It is still for sale for 200 pounds despite the fact it is old and i really cannot afford to replace it as this time.

I'm afraid it now looks like I'm going to have to uninstall the card totally from my case. The gain is set as low as 10 percent and people in teampspeak and Mumble are getting annoyed with me because they can still hear the buzzing. People who play lots of online games can be anti-social types so I cannot really afford to lose their friendship over some buzzing!

EMI is one of those things that is difficult to prove, so despite the fact the sound card is not even a week out the doors of Scan I'm going to have sell it on eBay and maybe take the risk of buying another card......if that fails a break out box.

Can anyone recommend a card that handles emi on the PCI-E bus better than the Xonar DX? I am looking at the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional PCI-e (despite driver issues)?

P.S. I forgot to mention I'm using a Razor headset, so one would assume the MIC is of some quality.

Heres a youtube video of exactly the same issue:

 

Can you try these alternate Xonar drivers:
http://brainbit.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/asus-xonar-unified-drivers/

Direct download, because the site is a mess:
http://www.mediafire.com/?vbspyd1dz5zsp7s

Install using the C-media control panel mode.


After more researching... you are apparently not alone with this sound card:
http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum/troubleshooting/48111-buzzing-sound-while-using-mic.html (he played with the mic settings and solved it)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0zuD0c0SRQ (same issue as you)
and a lot more...

It seams to affect the DX, the PCI version, and the DG, with any modern GPU.

 

Some good information thre GoodBytes. Thank you.

I did try the unified drivers but it made no difference.

In a few days I should be able to pick up a creative card. I hope i dont bankrupt myself!

 

I think a different Xonar will be better than what Creative have to offer today

 

Well if it has EMI, it will be fixed.
And if you have crackling or popping issues from playback, then don't worry, just the X-Fi doesn't like your hardware specs. I have an X-Fi, and I know. I am just waiting for Windows 8, and see which sound card is Windows 8 ready, before buying anything.

 

Hello mate. Ive been experiencing same problem. I tried 2x asus xonar dx same thing. Untill i read better my motherboard specs . The PCIe x16_2 slot shares bandwidth with PCIe x1_1 slot, PCIe x1_2 slot. From here i think its the problem. Im using Asus xonar dx + asus P8Z68-V LX. No idea what to do further. Im trying to change my xonar dx with a xonar d1 ( pci ) from shop tho. If they dont want that im happy to give them my motherboard and give me a new one.

 

So you are saying that because you have SLI/Crossfire, the Xonar essentially doesn't work properly?
Because the GPU is suppose to be on PCI-E x16_1, where it's independent

 

Im not using dual video cards. Im just saying that video card slot shares bandwith with the audio card slot and when video card is used then my problems start. Sorry for the poor explanations , im not very good into computers. But beleve me im already sick of this problem.

 

Are there any other PCIe slots? 1x or 4x?

 

1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (blue) *1
1 x PCIe 2.0 x16 (x4 mode, black) *1
2 x PCIe 2.0 x1
3 x PCI
This is what my motherboard curently has. I tried both slots : pcie 16 for video , pciex1 for audio. Same issue. Today i tried to a new computer , didnt tried all video slots , only the pciex1 slotsand it has same problem( and this was brand new audio card wich i got from warranty)
This is the new comp : Source: Corsair VX550
motherboard: Gigabyte P67-UD4
videocard : Gigabyte 6950OC

 

Grrr. I'm having the exact same problem, except it's only noticeable on my new speakers.

I've tested my speakers with my laptop, various portable players and through a USB DAC. I've also tested the outputs through my most sensitive IEMs, which just about pick up the buzz. Most of my less sensitive fullsize headphones don't resister the noise. It's the Xonar along with the GPU since the noise goes to silly levels when I put the GPU under stress.

Rearranging my PCI-E cards helped reduce the noise a little(50%), so my config is now:
PCI | PCI | GTX460 | Wireless card | PCI-E 1x | PCI-E 1x | Xonar

I may have to sell the Xonar and get a ODAC or similar, this irritates the heck out of me.