Best alternative to onboard audio for gaming?

[breathe3asy]

I have an occasional crackle and pop issue with my audio on an ASUS prime pro X370 board that I can't seem to fix, fresh copy of Windows, multiple drivers, even new pair of headphones. It only occurs in some games but things like this really bug me so I'm now looking into alternatives but it seems the days of PCI soundcards are no more?

Can anyone recommend a good alternative?

 

[breathe3asy]

Cheers both. I'm running the latest BIOS and agree popping audio is a little strange and I don't remember it being an issue with the cooler weather so there is a small chance the chip on the board is getting hot maybe? Not sure.

Anyhow, after a bit of research I've gone with a budget USB replacement in the way of Creative Sound Blaster G3 USB-C DAC Amplifier. Cost me £35 delivered tomorrow, should do the trick! I only have HyperX Cloud 1's (blasphemy in this section I know).

 

[breathe3asy]

Creative x7 user here.

It's fantastic but overkill if you don't also want to use passive speakers.

I'd go for any external creative sound blaster option personally and the more you spend the better it will be. The x7 is their top end.

If you don't want to go conventional then schiit have 2 usb DAC amp and they are much much better than anything else and blow everything out of the water for value for money one is called fulla 3 and the other HEL.

These are more expensive than the cheaper creative options but a lot better one is focused on portability and runs off usb only and designed for laptops but that doesn't mean you cannot use in desktop. The other requires a plug and therefore suited to desktop use.

External soundcards are much better than internal. They have their own clean power source in the best options.

Cheers Sonny

 

[breathe3asy]

Could be also caused by some driver update you did, or Wintoys10 force installing bad driver.

Monitoring DPC latency can give hints of the cause it it's caused by software.
https://www.resplendence.com/latencymon

Unlikely to be drivers, I used to wipe drivers clean with DDU whilst disconnected from the internet plus I formatted and still the same sadly.

I ran the latency test and was well within threshold it seems.

Is it mad that I feel its got something to do with the warmer ambient temperature?

 

[breathe3asy]

Are you using the front audio jacks on your PC or the rear? Because you'll get better sound from the rear. I forget the details why.

I use the rear but have tried both, same results

 

[breathe3asy]

Unless explicitly disabling automatic driver updates, Wintoys10 force installs what ever drivers it wants after getting online.

I'm fairly sure this isn't happening in my case, the driver installed within device manager matches what I expect to see

 

[breathe3asy]

What headphones are you using. No point spending £300 on a dac/amp for £20 headphones and alternatively no point spending £20 on a dac/amp for £100+ dedicated headphones

See above Sonny

 

[breathe3asy]

should be a good match for them. hyper x clouds are actually very good for what they are. they are the better product from hyper x range. them and the cloud 2 are the only ones worth buying IMO and for the money nothing is better.

I game in AKG K702 which are only £1200 now but RRP of £600 and sold for £300 on amazon at one point in time. the fact they are 1/3rd of the price from 6-7 years ago is astonishing.

yeah ngl I do love them and stubbornly hang onto them until something much better comes along without falling into the rabbit hole of audio. I recently bought a new set of pads which enhanced them further.

Your headphones sound the nuts!