Should I avoid ALC4080?

tweaked9107

tweaked9107

tweaked9107

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Hi all, hopefully a quick question.

Finally got my hands on a 5090 so it's all systems go as far as getting everything else.
Getting closer to picking a motherboard but something that's cropped up is people having issues with ALC4080 and audio "pop".

I'm not an audio snob by any means but I do use the PC for gaming and watching movies and tv, so I don't want any issues with this audio pop. I have no intention of adding sounds cards or anything of the like but will be upgrading speakers and headset at the same time.

I was looking at getting the Asus ROG Strix X870-F, largely for aesthetic reasons but also because of good VRAM, but then I noticed it's ALC4080 which has put me off. Should I avoid motherboards with ALC4080 in favour of those with ALC1220, or is it a rare/non issue?

Thanks.
 
I've seen comments that the ALC4080 is inferior too, igor'slab have an article on it and say that it is connected via USB. I can't say that I remember anyone complaining about it here, but I don't look much at the owner's threads.
 
tweaked9107 said:
Hi all, hopefully a quick question.

Finally got my hands on a 5090 so it's all systems go as far as getting everything else.
Getting closer to picking a motherboard but something that's cropped up is people having issues with ALC4080 and audio "pop".

I'm not an audio snob by any means but I do use the PC for gaming and watching movies and tv, so I don't want any issues with this audio pop. I have no intention of adding sounds cards or anything of the like but will be upgrading speakers and headset at the same time.

I was looking at getting the Asus ROG Strix X870-F, largely for aesthetic reasons but also because of good VRAM, but then I noticed it's ALC4080 which has put me off. Should I avoid motherboards with ALC4080 in favour of those with ALC1220, or is it a rare/non issue?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I wouldnt let it put you off, if it was a major issue as in all boards, ASUS are usually quite quick at fixing things with firmware updates, theres quite a few different firmware updates for that board already, and I dont mean bios updates, look further down on that firmware page, not sure what they are all for, but if you do decide to buy it and are experiencing any problems, just flash those and see if it fixes it.

rog.asus.com

ROG STRIX X870-F GAMING WIFI | Gaming motherboards｜ROG - Republic of Gamers｜ROG Global

The ROG Strix X870-F Gaming WiFi brings potent 16-stage power, hyperspeed DDR5 slots and PCIe® 5.0 connectivity. It features four M.2 SSD slots with heatsinks, USB4® support, WiFi 7, AI Overclocking,
rog.asus.com rog.asus.com
 
If you intend to use the optical out then avoid the ALC4080 if not then it should sound like any other on board you have had in the past.
 
I can only give you my opinion on the 5.1 analogue stage with my board, I game a lot and have had zero issues with my ALC4080/ Asus B650E Gaming E board. Sound is crystal clear with no pops or crackles, in fact I don't need to use a soundcard anymore.

Btw for my board for example was a firmware fix for noisy issues.

Firmware
Audio ALC4080/ALC4082 FW update tool

Version -
3.94 MB 2023/02/23
Fixed SPDIF playing music is noisy
Click to expand...


Asus are very good in general with regular updates etc when issues do appear.
 
tweaked9107 said:
Hi all, hopefully a quick question.

Finally got my hands on a 5090 so it's all systems go as far as getting everything else.
Getting closer to picking a motherboard but something that's cropped up is people having issues with ALC4080 and audio "pop".

I'm not an audio snob by any means but I do use the PC for gaming and watching movies and tv, so I don't want any issues with this audio pop. I have no intention of adding sounds cards or anything of the like but will be upgrading speakers and headset at the same time.

I was looking at getting the Asus ROG Strix X870-F, largely for aesthetic reasons but also because of good VRAM, but then I noticed it's ALC4080 which has put me off. Should I avoid motherboards with ALC4080 in favour of those with ALC1220, or is it a rare/non issue?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Just use a motherboard/soundcard with digital out, or use USB out if you just want stereo, to a DAC/digital pre amp and you get around the limitations of poor onboard sound.

I'm using a soundcard with optical out to a AVR and a 2.1 system.
 
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