weird scritching sound coming from xonar d2x when cpu is near idle

Hey everyone. First of all I just wanna say head-fi rocks! This is one of the friendiest and most knowledgable communities out there. More to the point, I have a d2x hooked up to my headphones and speakers and it makes a very wierd  high frequency noise. The sound is not constant sort of like zi zi zi zi with a rare zizizizizzi in it.

Its nearly bearly audible so you cant hear it while playing any sound but its really anoyiing if youre not. The weirdest thing is, since I wanted to see if its PSU stress related, I used prime to put the cpu on full load and the noise dissapeared. I am not a complete moron so I googled it but the suggestions I found dont seem related to the cpu stress level.

I did the obvious things:

-  updated drivers

-  removed all external devices

-  changed pcie slots

-  removed any other inpu to the d2x apart from headphones

-  checked the wiring inside the case

Here is my system specs in case their relevant:

Windows 7 ultimate x64

Hiper Type-M 800 880w psu

Gigabyte x58-ud5

Core i7 920 D0

ATI HD 5870

1x25-m, 3xseagate barracuda's in raid, 1 WD hard disk

Latest drivers as of 16/09/2011 for video and audio cards.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated

Sorry for the late reply, been a bit busy...
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roseval 

What you can try:

- might be power schema related, disable the power saving schema or set it to full power

 

Thats a good idea, am wondering how I didnt think of that. Didnt help though :(
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrip541 

To quote the FAQ of a well-known audio player, "I have an ASUS Xonar card and am experiencing problems...

 

Asus Xonar drivers are known to be completely broken on multiple levels. Get rid of this card and get a card from another manufacturer."

 

 

I don't have personal experience with the card but I've read about a lot of people who have major problems with it. A lot of people with Windows 7 seem to be having issues.

 

Wish I could help you more.

I agree on the drivers but I dont think thats the issue. And I still think that despite the drivers asus has the best sound card range out there.

Anw for whatever reason the noise is considerably fainter now. I am completely baffled... Guess I have to live with it.
 

I will see if a can borrow a psu from someone after work ...

It doesnt do it with the onboard sound although theres a hiss there. My usb speaker/mic/soundcard has no audible noise...

I though I might also try booting into a live linux install, see if its windows 7 realted.

I will let you know.

Thanks.

I have finally found the problem .

The d2x uses a floppy power connector for its power. Since I ran out of power cables I connected the other end of the floppy adaptor to my hard disk. Now that I ve given it an isolated power connector the sound is gone. Though it might be a power supply issue since the psu should be capable of driving a disk and a sound card from the same cable..

Thanks guys.

Edit: Just noticed a considerable improvement in sq. The highs used to get in the way of the mids and lows at high volumes which I thought was insufficient amplification. It is still there but much less noticable now. I ll be late for work but its so worth it...