Sound Issue and HDD/SSD Question

[kramerdc9 0]

Hey guys, I purchased a new computer last month and all seems well. I just have a couple questions. I have a 128GB SSD and 1TB 7200 HDD. Right now I have FSX as the only thing installed on my HDD. SSD running windows. However, I just purchased megasceneryearth and I know it should be on it's own HDD. I can't afford to buy another HDD so what would be the solution for me here? Install FSX and photo scenery on HDD, or FSX on SSD and photo scenery on HDD? Also, when I start up FSX after about a minute I get what sounds like a pop in my speakers and then it goes away. I have BOSE speakers and have tried the onboard Realtek. Both the same. I have 4 Saitek units connected to my USB ports. I have also followed Nick N's Bible to the T. Everything seems fine except for that. I tried lower settings in Nvidia inspector and still got the noise. My specs are:

 

i5 4670k- 4.2GHZ

GTX 770

8 GB 1600mhz ram

600 watt PSU

H60 cooler

ASUS Z87-C

 

My thinking is it might be PSU related since the noise sounds like an electrical input coming into my speakers. Just a guess. Anyways, any help on these two subjects would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Jim Young 2,356]

I own all of the MSE V2 for the United States and it is all located on a separate HDD.  My fsx/Windows is installed on an SSD. 

 

It's my understanding that onboard sound is not fully compatible with FSX (new-fangled technology; fsx old stuff).  I have a separate SoundBlaster sound card.  I did some searching on the Internet about this problem (realtek onboard sound noise) and the following links might be of some assistance:

 

http://www.sevenforums.com/sound-audio/95244-realtek-onboard-sound-card-static-crackling-noises.html

http://www.sevenforums.com/sound-audio/94931-audio-popping-crackling-3.html

 

Best regards,

[Luke 782]

 

 

It's my understanding that onboard sound is not fully compatible with FSX (new-fangled technology; fsx old stuff).

 

Onboard sound is much older than FSX - it dates back to the late 1990s and I was most assuredly running FS2000 with onboard sound. FS9, FSX and P3Dv2 all run great with my onboard sound.

 

From the standpoint of FSX, it neither knows nor cares how a device is attached. It's either a sound device in Windows, or it's not. Whether it's attached via an ISA, PCI, PCIe or USB bus makes no difference, nor does whether it's removable or part of the motherboard (unless you know what you're looking for it's almost impossible in Windows to distinguish between the two).

 

If you get audio interference, you're either dealing with bad drivers, bad hardware or an electrical grounding problem. The latter is likely the problem here - not compatibility with onboard sound.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

[mixen82 2]

Hi Kramerdc9,

 

I would suggest you install FS and all of it's addon scenery onto the SSD instead of the HDD. FS will benefit significantly from the speed of the SSD (as any other program does). The issues with SSDs regarding their lifetime have been solved with modern SSDs. 

 

Regarding the sound issue: The onboard sound chip on your Mainboard is OK, but nothing special. I cannot say if FSX and the Realtek chip like each other or not since I still run FS9. But in any case I would recommend you invest in a separate soundcard. If you don't need "the-best-of-the-best-more-performace-than-any-living-human-can-imagine" - card, they are not very expensive. I wouls suggest a Sound Blaster Recon 3d or comparable. That card is at about €50.- here in Germany. I don't know where you live, but it will probably be at the same price at your place. If you live in the US, it's maybe even a little bit cheaper.

 

Like Luke said, bad drivers or electrical grounding problems are the most likely reasons for your sound problems. The nVidia inspector is a control and monitoring software for your graphics card and has nothing to do with your sound hardware, unless you use a monitor with speakers connected via HDMI ( which I doubt, as you mentioned your BOSE speakers ). The nVidia Inspector is just a tool to monitor your VGA card(s) regarding clocks, temps and specs, and is able to override the VGA driver settings with user defined settings. Nothing sound related.

 

Hope this helps.

 

cheers

Mike

[Jim Young 2,356]

Onboard sound is much older than FSX - it dates back to the late 1990s and I was most assuredly running FS2000 with onboard sound. FS9, FSX and P3Dv2 all run great with my onboard sound.

 

From the standpoint of FSX, it neither knows nor cares how a device is attached. It's either a sound device in Windows, or it's not. Whether it's attached via an ISA, PCI, PCIe or USB bus makes no difference, nor does whether it's removable or part of the motherboard (unless you know what you're looking for it's almost impossible in Windows to distinguish between the two).

 

If you get audio interference, you're either dealing with bad drivers, bad hardware or an electrical grounding problem. The latter is likely the problem here - not compatibility with onboard sound.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

Thanks!  I have been educated but I'm still staying away from on-board sound and will continue to advise others not to use it.

 

Best regards,

[Luke 782]

 

 

I'm still staying away from on-board sound and will continue to advise others not to use it.

 

Out of curiosity, on what basis?

 

I don't disagree that there have been some crappy on-board sound systems over the years, between the hardware and drivers. Yet those same crappy chips got repackaged in add-on cards and used the same crappy drivers in such a circumstance, making one no better off. It's also worth noting that on-board sound has come a long way and one shouldn't make hardware decisions based on something that might have been an issue several years ago.

 

If you don't want to use on-board sound yourself, it's your money and the extra $50 won't make much of a difference. But when you're counselling others to spend an additional $35-50 (which could be better spent on video cards, memory storage or CPU and actually have a tangible impact) I question the value.

 

You should also consider that many recipients of your advice may cheap out and get a low-end sound card. In a lot of cases, they'll be replacing the on-board sound that comes with their motherboard (a pretty high-quality Intel part) with a low-end Realtek chip and driver set. I'd trust the Intel hardware and drivers any day - so in those cases add-on sound could actually be a downgrade.

 

If you have specific concerns with specific on-board sound implementations, that would be a discussion well worth having here. There are likely certain chips and motherboards users should avoid. But it's a more complex discussion than merely "on-board bad, add-on good".

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

[mixen82 2]

 "on-board bad, add-on good".

 

 

 

I do not agree with this very general term. And I agree with your statement that putting an addon soundcard into your rig might even be a downgrade to sound performance. But I used to work in a computer store from 2000 until 2008 and PCs are my second big hobby besides aviation. And I made the experience that onboard soundchips, especially on lower end mainboards, tend to not giving satisfying sound quality if you are an ambitioned gamer, which I am. There are many games where one can find the exact same problems that the OP mentioned. Adding a high quality addon soundcard solves those problems in 95% of all cases where problems occur.

 

I do not believe that the onboard chips themselves are bad, but in most cases poor drivers are the problem. In addition, the sequence in which drivers are installed after reinstaling Windows or whatever OS one uses might produce problems. I just made the experience that with high end addon soundcards you get some good drivers. 

 

But I totally agree with your statement that there are quite a few people who, on one side, want to get themselves an addon soundcard, but on the other end want to save any single buck they can. Those people end up with buying a lowest end card which in many cases don't just not solve their problems but makes it even worse ( you wouldn't believe the things I have seen on that matter during my time in the computer store ). 

 

Unlike firehawk I don't generally advise people to get an addon soundcard. It depends on the usage of the system. A person who just uses his rig for surfing the net and doing a little office work just doesn't need it and the onboard sound is more than enough. Of course a music technician ( like my brother ) just needs sound hardware of the highest end segment to fit their needs.

 

cheers

Mike

 

P.S.: hope my post doesn't go too much off topic now. :rolleyes:

[Jim Young 2,356]

Couldn't say it much better than you did.  Tech is always improving.  I like internal sound cards and you like on-board sound.  I do not want to argue which is better.  It won't solve anything. 

 

Best regards,

[mixen82 2]

Tech is always improving.

 

Totally right. And like you, I tend to prefer addon soundcards. But as I mentioned in my previous post, it kind of depends on how the system is used.

 

But it is also a fact that lke any other component, onboard sound has improved and made huge steps over the last decade. 

[Luke 782]

Couldn't say it much better than you did.  Tech is always improving.  I like internal sound cards and you like on-board sound.  I do not want to argue which is better.  It won't solve anything. 

 

Best regards,

 

I am not interested in an argument. I am interested in the basis for why you feel that way. There's a difference.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

[kramerdc9 0]

Thanks for the feedback!!! As far as FSX and scenery, right now I think I'll do what Firehawk44 suggested. I can't afford a SSD large enough for the megascenery I plan on installing. Maybe down the road. I think I've narrowed the sound issue down. I own a Bose Companion 5 and everything but FSX works fine. No popping in music or movies, only FSX. The Companion 5 has it's own soundcard built into the subwoofer, so an updated driver is not the issue. In the manual, it says that if you here popping or other strange noise, make sure it's not connected to a USB hub. I don't have a hub. It's connected directly into my computer. Since it's connected correctly, I don't know what else could be creating the problem. I tried my onboard Realtek soundcard and it works just fine. Being that the speakers work fine with music and movies, I got to think the has something to do with the interaction between the speakers and FSX. I tried every USB port on my motherboard and front of the computer and all did the same. Any thoughts of what might be causing this? Thanks.

[mixen82 2]

In that case I would suggest it's an electrical grounding problem with your mainboard. Have you made sure that the mainboard sits perfectly aligned on the mainboard tray before screwing it in? I'm asking because if it is not perfectly aligned, the screws or the motherboard standoffs could touch some electrical lanes on the mainboard ( some of those are pretty close to the screwholes ), leading to a short circuit.

To check that, I would primarily check the screws and standoffs closest to the I/O panel of the mainboard as that is the most likely spot with power and data lanes going to the USC ports. I once had a similar problem with a customers' PC and it turned out that the customer did not align the standoffs 100% correctly. After fixing it, everything worked just perfect.

 

Have you already tried to plug your BOSE system to another USB port?