[Loser777]

Since my main rig's power supply blew up about a month ago, I've switched back to my old PC... and now that I'm actually using it for music with headphones on, I'm noticing buzzing and slight beeps when I'm using the computer... like if I minimize a window I'll hear a slight buzz or when I scroll down a web page I'll hear a faint sound in the background...
I know that this is probably a power regulation issue related to the graphics adapter, but I'm wondering if this affects my music experience significantly...

When I have some tunes cranking, it's impossible to notice such faint sounds, so I'm kind of hesitant towards spending more $$$ toward fixing this.

I want to avoid spending loads of money on a new sound card that I'll be unable to use when I'm using a different source (I don't use the computer much)

 

[Happy Camper]

An external DAC moves all analog conversion out of your computer's noisy environment with its own power supply. Changing cards may isolate better than what you have or not.

 

[Leonchan]

You usually have this problem when you plug the headphones into the front audio of the computer. Problem usually goes away when you use the rear audio.

 

[_Spanky_]

I've seen this problem before, some people say it's due to something not being grounded properly, of course assuming that you're using onboard sound. I had this on my old motherboard, constant buzzing when moving my mouse. I installed a cheap-o Creative card (they can be found on ebay for $10 or so) and the buzzing was gone.

Also, I used that card while my X-Fi was being modded, it was pretty clear and worked without problem. I have a few spare ones if you're interested...

 

[Loser777]

Looks like a DAC might be a good long term solution... the world of DACs is so confusing to me -.-;

 

[_Spanky_]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loser777 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Looks like a DAC might be a good long term solution... the world of DACs is so confusing to me -.-;

How so? Simply, it's an un-amplified sound card on the outside of your computer that offers many better options and features than a cheap one inside your computer.

 

[Loser777]

Soooooooo many choices, I'm just going through old threads now to find a good and cheap one.

 

[Dubbaya]

To echo what the handful of folks have said here, for my case I had a grounding issue in mine. Similar thing of buzzing/humming when moving the mouse and/or clicking. Solved it by getting a 3.5mm ground isolator typically meant for car audio systems. Placed that in the loop and all the noise disappeared. Pretty great and convenient piece of tech and now perfectly silent. The one I got was the Mpow ground loop noise isolator.