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Old 11-03-2021, 02:54 AM   #1
judelaw
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Default best DDR3 motherboard with isolated audio circuit

Good morning everyone!

So I've been using an old computer for quite some time for everyday life use and intense flawless recording with reaper. I had a gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3 withan alc889 codec. I didn't have any major issue until recently when I had to change my hard disk. The audio parasites whine bip bip.., became too loud, and there was nothing I could do to help it even removing the new disk help didn't help.

I have a nice working studio setup with microphone, analog monitoring and preamp, so the line in of the motherboard was enough.

Now I'd like to keep as much as I can of my former computer (AMD FX 6100 cpu and ram)and buy the best ddr3 motherboard for audio that would be compatible with my cpu and ram. I think this motherboard should have a isolated audio circuit (you know with the line drawn), but I don't know anything about that, maybe that drawn line is just marketing and there will be parasites anyway, I have no clue.

The new motherboard has to be a large one (I have a huge custom gpu that takes a few pciex rows,) and it has to work nice with windows 7 (I dislike w10). Also the motherboard has to be new as I want to be able to trust it.

I don't think I can get an easy stable flawless setup with an audio interface, external DAC and ADC and stuff like that, hence my interest for a motherboard with a fully isolated audio circuit.

I've been told RME gear is what it's used for good audio setups but I don't have the cash for that.

Do you know what motherboard I can buy to continue using reaper flawlessly?

Please only clever advise from people used to make things work flawlessly, I've spent so much money and time already for nothing because of people on forums basically telling me "Dude just me that dac, adc, interface..." There was always something that was wrong, some popping or cracking sounds,driver issues, playback cutting, audio parasites, you name it. I Never could get the real thing.

Thank you for reading

Edit : The codec must be as good in every way as the alc889.

Last edited by judelaw; 11-03-2021 at 03:13 AM.
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Old 11-03-2021, 03:42 AM   #2
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This sounds more like you should to replace the dodgy drive with an SSD disk instead. Nowadays you can buy a brand new decent performance one for about 40 UK pounds for 500gb.
Way cheaper than replacing your motherboard & will vastly improve performance.

In order to check on the noises on the existing setup, I would suggest you use resplendence.com `s latency checker which coincidentally checks your whole computer for issues relating to audio efficiency & errors.

With luck, this alone will sort out the noises & mean you don`t have to actually spend any money at all.

P.S. Just to reassure you, I have been a builder & repairer of computers for several decades. My only other suggestion is that if you are really not able to do much with your own gear in terms of trouble shooting, PAY a pro to check it out & tell you what the problem is.
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Old 11-03-2021, 06:15 AM   #3
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Hi Ivansc,

Actually the new drive is a SSD , and the parasites are caused by the computer it's just a magnetic or electronic noise that varies depending on what you're doing. Moving the mouse for instance. I don't see how a software could pick that kind of noise even less how it could do something about it.

BTW the parasite noise problem is entirely solved by using a toslink DAC. This DAC named "topping E30" would be perfect if not for some annoying popping noise when you stop the playback abruptly. To be true I haven't installed the drivers of this DAC yet, but I have the issue might not be solved by installing the driver.

But even if the DAC was perfect I'd still have to solve the ADC part of the problem as there are some parasitic noise on the ADC part of my motherboard too. I'm studying different options, but I'm not sure I'll be able to solve it. that's why I'm getting interested in a new motherboard.

I wouldn't know where to look for a pro. I live in Paris. I don't know of such thing as a pro who would come to my home to have a look at my amateur setup and solve it for a reasonable price. the guy would probably tell me to buy RME gear or something similar that I can't really afford...
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Old 11-03-2021, 11:49 AM   #4
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If you care about audio, go external. Finding a motherboard that supports solid audio and DDR3 is going to be expensive since DDR3 is outdated. You CAN try an isolator like this one:

Many motherboards have poor-to-no isolation between the audio section and all the high power components on the motherboard. This often results in a high noise floor which has the annoying tendency to vary depending on load on your CPU/GPU.

Most motherboards cheap out on the amplification section. This is largely unrelated to the previous issue. In general this means that with some exceptions motherboards can drive only low impedance headphones. Precision, clarity and channel separation will always suffer.
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Old 11-03-2021, 03:16 PM   #5
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O.K. You have clarified the issue(s) a little.

Are you able to speak and understand French? I lived about 6 months of the year in Brittany until about 2016 & am pretty good at french.
Unless you really don`t have the means to ask around for someone who could help you locally, I would suggest you go into a local computer shop (NOT a box shifter) and see if they can either recommend someone nearby or take your machine in & check it out for you.

P.S. This is almost certainly a computer problem, not the audio chain, so don`t worry about people demanding that you buy RME stuff.
FWIW I DO use RME interfaces, but they are not the ultimate cure for all ills, especially something like you describe.
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Old 11-03-2021, 04:27 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by judelaw View Post
I don't think I can get an easy stable flawless setup with an audio interface, external DAC and ADC and stuff like that, hence my interest for a motherboard with a fully isolated audio circuit.

Where do you get this idea? They are made for this.

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I wouldn't know where to look for a pro. I live in Paris. I don't know of such thing as a pro who would come to my home to have a look at my amateur setup and solve it for a reasonable price. the guy would probably tell me to buy RME gear or something similar that I can't really afford...
Try asking students at local music schools or audio schools.
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Old 11-04-2021, 11:16 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by judelaw View Post
I don't think I can get an easy stable flawless setup with an audio interface, external DAC and ADC and stuff like that, hence my interest for a motherboard with a fully isolated audio circuit.

I've been told RME gear is what it's used for good audio setups but I don't have the cash for that.

Do you know what motherboard I can buy to continue using reaper flawlessly?
I'd like to notice that you, as a successful onboard chip user, are a much rarer sight on this type of forums than a successful user of any popular (and non-RME) dedicated interface. Like, infinitely more rare. There must be a reason huh.
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Old 11-04-2021, 06:28 PM   #8
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ASUS tends to pay better attention to audio than others. I’d look into an older ASUS gaming motherboard if you are really looking for something more isolated. PC Parts Picker would be a good place to look
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Old 11-04-2021, 09:25 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by judelaw View Post
Good morning everyone!
I don't think I can get an easy stable flawless setup with an audio interface, external DAC and ADC and stuff like that, hence my interest for a motherboard with a fully isolated audio circuit.
.
your logic here is flawed. An interface is much better for audio recording than any motherboard's built in audio. Period. Even an entry level Focusrite 2i2.....
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Old 11-05-2021, 09:22 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by zeekat View Post
I'd like to notice that you, as a successful onboard chip user, are a much rarer sight on this type of forums than a successful user of any popular (and non-RME) dedicated interface. Like, infinitely more rare. There must be a reason huh.
My guess is that people accept the downsides of using interfaces. Whether it's driver issues, bsods, annoying pops, cracks, average sound quality, the obligation to use win10 or even price. And they don't complain too much in order to feel good, something like that.

I've narrowed down my choice to 4 motherboards with the help of a website. But it looks like I'm going to have a hard time finding some new old stock...

Gigabyte GA-990XA-UD3 R5
https://motherboarddb.com/motherboar...90XA-UD3%20R5/

Gigabyte GA-990X-Gaming SLI
https://motherboarddb.com/motherboar...-Gaming%20SLI/

Gigabyte GA-970-Gaming SLI
https://motherboarddb.com/motherboar...-Gaming%20SLI/

Gigabyte GA-970-Gaming
https://motherboarddb.com/motherboar...GA-970-Gaming/

They all have a Realtek ALC1150 codec. I'm not sure how it compares with the ALC889, I hope it's good.
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Old 11-05-2021, 09:41 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by judelaw View Post
My guess is that people accept the downsides of using interfaces. Whether it's driver issues, bsods, annoying pops, cracks, average sound quality, the obligation to use win10 or even price. And they don't complain too much in order to feel good, something like that.
I use a Behringer UMC1820 and ADA8200, with NO DRIVERS, NO BSOD, NO pops or clicks, NO Windows 10, in fact NO Freekin' Windows at all (Manjaro Linux), excellent transparent audio quality and the two rack mount units with 16 Midas mic pres cost me only $250 for the UMC1820 and $199 for the ADA8200 expansion unit.

Just to feel BAD, I'm gonna complain that they WERE NOT FREE!!!
.
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Old 11-05-2021, 09:47 AM   #12
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I keep doing double-takes when I read your posts LOL.

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My guess is that people accept the downsides of using interfaces. Whether it's driver issues, bsods, annoying pops, cracks, average sound quality, the obligation to use win10 or even price.
No, they enjoy the upsides of interfaces over crappy mobo sound card chips that sit and live right beside all the other mobo components. All your assumptions/responses concerning this are very unusual and sound uniformed. Can you find a sound card on a mobo that works for some stuff, yes, #1 choice for DAWs, no not really at all.

The entire reason external interfaces exist is due to the myriad of issues that come with 95% of mobo sound cards. Most of us answering have been doing this for decades, we aren't blowing smoke up your rear.
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Old 11-05-2021, 09:59 AM   #13
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I keep doing double-takes when I read your posts LOL.

No, they enjoy the upsides of interfaces over crappy mobo sound card chips that sit and live right beside all the other mobo components. All your assumptions/responses concerning this are very unusual and sound uniformed. Can you find a sound card on a mobo that works for some stuff, yes, #1 choice for DAWs, no not really at all.

The entire reason external interfaces exist is due to the myriad of issues that come with 95% of mobo sound cards. Most of us answering have been doing this for decades, we aren't blowing smoke up your rear.
My guess is that the new Hard Drive (not an SSD) is not shielded as well as the one he took out of the machine, or it got located closer to the cheezy on-board sound, and now because there are electromagnetic actuator arms for a spinning disk drive, the pulses of electricity to move the head stack is being picked up and played through the audio device.

Note: I use the on-board sound of my Asus B550 Prime for OS audio like U-Toob, and my rack mount audio is dedicated for REAPER audio. Before I went all solid state drives, I could sometimes hear disk seeking bleeding into the lesser quality on-motherboard audio.
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Old 11-05-2021, 07:34 PM   #14
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The new drive is an SSD, and loudness of the parasites was still there even after I removed the new drive. It's hard to understand what causes what.

I don't totally exclude the possibility of finding an interface that works well on my computer, it's just that I'm trying different things in order to have something that finally works.

The motherboard onboard audio has the advantage of being simpler than an interface I think. Also the ALC889 codec was the best at his time, really good and praised codec (I don't know how it compares with newer codecs). So far I've never felt it was inferior to any other sound device I've tried, (except for the parasites).
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Old 11-05-2021, 08:08 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by judelaw View Post
The new drive is an SSD, and loudness of the parasites was still there even after I removed the new drive. It's hard to understand what causes what.

I don't totally exclude the possibility of finding an interface that works well on my computer, it's just that I'm trying different things in order to have something that finally works.

The motherboard onboard audio has the advantage of being simpler than an interface I think. Also the ALC889 codec was the best at his time, really good and praised codec (I don't know how it compares with newer codecs). So far I've never felt it was inferior to any other sound device I've tried, (except for the parasites).
Try moving the SSD then. If you are getting interference that wasn't there before, move the SSD as far away from the audio chipset as possible and see if that helps.
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Old 11-06-2021, 03:03 AM   #16
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But the noise is there even If I remove all disks except the one (an old one) I obviously need for the Os to work. I've been fighting for years with that noise. Until now I had it under control, but now it's too much and although I tried to understand, I just can't find the issue and I don't want to continue looking for it.
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Old 11-06-2021, 03:04 AM   #17
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I use a Behringer UMC1820 and ADA8200, with NO DRIVERS, NO BSOD, NO pops or clicks, NO Windows 10, in fact NO Freekin' Windows at all (Manjaro Linux), excellent transparent audio quality and the two rack mount units with 16 Midas mic pres cost me only $250 for the UMC1820 and $199 for the ADA8200 expansion unit.

Just to feel BAD, I'm gonna complain that they WERE NOT FREE!!!
.
Are you using windows 7?
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Old 11-06-2021, 07:03 AM   #18
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Are you using windows 7?
I used Windows 7 until they ended support for it at which point I switched to Linux instead of going to Windows 10. About half of the 39 songs up on my music page, were recorded in Linux on a Ryzen 3700X with a USB Behringer UMC1820.

The other half (before August of 2018) were recorded in Windows 7 on an older 2009 Intel i5 machine with a pair of M-Audio Delta 2496 PCI cards.

I did also keep Windows 7 setup so I could dual boot, and have used the USB Behringer UMC1820 in Windows 7, where it performed the same as when booted up in Linux. The only difference was I did install the driver from Behringer in Windows, where the driver is built into the Linux kernel, so no driver install from the user is needed.

Neither computer or audio interface ever had any problems or artifacts in the audio, and I mostly record stuff like real drums, real guitars, real bass, and vocals.
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Old 11-09-2021, 12:30 PM   #19
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My only advice in the topic is build your computer completely wrong. I did and it worked swimmingly. Took like five minutes of reading "best ofs" from Tom's hardware and picking recommended buys on store's page. Which means I landed with a crossfire mainboard despite using a single Nvidia GPU and an unlocked CPU on a chipset not supporting overclocking (didn't plan it anyway, just failed to research what "K" in CPU name means). Interface was the first suggestion after I asked here about an interface that will handle an electric guitar without clipping. Everything frickin works like a greased lighting for my Reaper projects, lowest buffer and all.

^ all of this is obsolete so no point in specific recommendations of course
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Old 11-09-2021, 09:41 PM   #20
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"But the noise is there even If I remove all disks except the one (an old one) I obviously need for the Os to work. I've been fighting for years with that noise. Until now I had it under control, but now it's too much and although I tried to understand, I just can't find the issue and I don't want to continue looking for it."

This kind of noise problem is almost to do with ground loops, rather than a lack of isolation of the on board audio.

If you plug headphones directly into the on board audio device is there any noise? If not, then the noise is only happening when you link the computer to another device, like an amp and speaker. So, the noise is caused by the ground loop you get when you connect these devices. If the on board audio was insufficiently shielded, then you'd hear the noise in headphones. It's a good test because you can hear exactly what is coming out of the computer without any possible ground loops to introduce noise.

This is a common problem when using on board audio devices, because they use unbalanced audio connections, where a ground wire is part of the signal chain.

"BTW the parasite noise problem is entirely solved by using a toslink DAC."

Yeah, because there is no ground wire between the computer and headphone amp/speaker amp when you use an optical fiber link. That's breaking the ground loop.

If however the noise is there in headphones directly connected to the on board audio, then it is a poor on board audio implementation. But it's pretty much always ground loops.

As others have suggested you could just get an audio device with balanced I/O like a scarlett 2i2. This allows you to avoid ground loops, and has better audio fidelity than on board sound anyway.

Last edited by drumphil; 11-10-2021 at 05:15 PM.
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Old 11-14-2021, 09:45 PM   #21
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The Alc889 was praised for its perfection. I don't think the Scarlett 2i2 ever was.
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Old 11-15-2021, 12:16 AM   #22
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The Alc889 was praised for its perfection. I don't think the Scarlett 2i2 ever was.
And here you are with noise problems because it uses home type unbalanced audio ports and circuitry rather than professional balanced ports and circuitry like the 2i2 has.

And the alc889 was praised for it's perfection?? By who? Have they got measurements?

Spend some time at audiosciencereview.com if you want to get some perspective on how close to perfection has been achieved, and where things sit in the relative scale of quality. Proper measurements of all the things you need to know to assess the fidelity of an audio device.

I've been through this sort of discussion before with people who come from a hi-fi audio perspective, who haven't got much experience what happens when you link multiple devices together in a recording system. Like the guy who insisted on using an audioquest DAC, because of it's supposed audiophile quality, but then ended up with massive noise problems, because he was trying to interface it with professional equipment designed to be connected to with balanced I/O. Now, the audioquest gear isn't that good anyway, but having compatible connections is more important. DAC specs don't matter if they're drowned out in noise caused by ground loops.

Having compatible interconnects is the most important thing. Fail at that and it doesn't matter what the raw figures from your DAC are when connected to compatible equipment.

People overestimate the importance of ADC/DAC quality, and underestimate the importance of having compatible correctly set up I/O to prevent noise problems that are far louder than the noise from even very poor ADC/DAC.

Listen to any album recorded on analog tape. Pink Floyd for example. Far lower recording fidelity than what you get from something like a scarlett 2i2. Modern cheap digital recording is an amazing thing.


Have you done what I suggested and plugged your headphones directly into your on board sound device and checked to see if the noise is still there? If it is gone when you connect headphones directly to the motherboard, then you know you've got a ground loop problem.

How about we at least establish that first. Are you using a microphone preamp before the computer input?

Would be really helpful to understand exactly what your setup is and how everything is connected.

If you have a ground loop, then nothing will fix the noise apart from fixing the ground loop. So, exactly how is your stuff set up. Are the power cables two pin, or three pin with a safety ground. What cables and plugs connect things together? Balanced or unbalanced?

I work as a studio technician, and I can promise you that the systems I put together absolutely work without any of the problems you describe having in your first post. It's absolutely possible to achieve that, but in order to have some computers connected from their on board audio interfaces, I've had to use transformer isolation, precisely because of ground loops. This costs money, and introduces some extra distortion.

Using gear with balanced I/O means that these problems mostly don't happen, and when they occasionally do, they can almost always be fixed by snipping the shield to electrically disconnect the chassis of each device from each other.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to rag on the alc889. It's output is decent, if the supporting analog circuitry on the board is good, but only when connected to gear in a manner that doesn't cause a ground loop. For instance, a hi-fi amp that has no ground pin on it's power cable. Or when headphones are directly plugged into it.

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Old 11-16-2021, 01:36 AM   #23
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Also, regarding the pops with the Topping E30, it's not just you by the look of it.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/f...k-stops.27644/
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Old 11-16-2021, 05:34 AM   #24
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The most common "pops and crackles" audio complaint on forums like those is usually not a problem with one or the other audio interface - it's a problem with a computer being unable to process realtime audio, and using an onboard chip is defo not the first solution you should think of here.
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Old 11-16-2021, 06:46 AM   #25
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That is true, but this is a known issue with that particular Topping DAC. Not a buffer under run issue.
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Old 11-16-2021, 07:10 AM   #26
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Yeah it was a general, kinda ever relevant remark .

I wonder if there will be a time when DPC problem gets addresed for good. Crazy you can buy a monster system that will stutter.
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Old 11-18-2021, 02:30 AM   #27
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boy this takes me back to my first attempts at making music on a power mac in 1996 trying to record direct via into a mobo into cubase... just horrible My first real interface was Guillemot isis into a custom built pc runnings win98. The difference in quality was amazing. yes batttled with clicks and pops for many years. These days its a thing of the past as I run a machine that I bought for $200 with i5 quadcore (circa 2015) into a behringer fca1616. I also have 2 old motu boxes which run in win10 flawlessly still!!, and which were built around 2006-7 you just need to install a decent firewire card with Texas Instruments chipset. There is so much quality second hand gear available for ridiculously cheap prices, You just have to do your homework online to ensure there are drivers for your OS. my 2 cents worth, the fact you still prefer win7 is a bonus, but the downside if your running amachine from that era you will always have the noises, clicks and pops, as the more cores the better, Any machine after 2015 pretty much would do if you have quad core i5 or better and reaper you will not believe how stable these sytems are...I have to pinch myself some days when look back at all those years of battling bios, drivers, software..
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Old 11-18-2021, 05:38 AM   #28
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Now I'd like to keep as much as I can of my former computer (AMD FX 6100 cpu and ram)and buy the best ddr3 motherboard for audio that would be compatible with my cpu and ram. ... and it has to work nice with windows 7 (I dislike w10). Also the motherboard has to be new as I want to be able to trust it.
Bare in mind that if you go to another Motherboard, you most likely will have a problem with installing windows 7.

If you cannot find and resolved you noise problem, it may be cheaper and easier to get and use an external audio interface.



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Old 11-18-2021, 10:35 AM   #29
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I'll just leave this here: As you can see, there are plenty of options for an external audio interface that will blow away ANY motherboard audio, and for cheaper than a new motherboard based on outdated components will cost you.

Audient Evo 4 - $129
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...udio-interface

Native Instruments Komplete Audio 2 - $139
https://www.amazon.com/Native-Instru...7256130&sr=8-1

Mackie Onyx Producer 2.2 - $179
https://www.amazon.com/Mackie-Interf.../dp/B076646D8H

Audient ID4 MK2 - $199
https://reverb.com/p/audient-id4-mki...udio-interface

IK Multimedia iRig Pro Duo I/O - $199
https://www.ikmultimedia.com/product...rig-pro-duo-io

Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 3rd Gen - $239.99 ($217 used)
https://www.amazon.com/Focusrite-Sca...07QSC92NG?th=1

Steinberg UR22MKII 2-Channel USB Interface - $242
https://www.amazon.com/Steinberg-UR2...7256365&sr=8-2

SSL 2+ audio interface - $299
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Solid-S...o-Interface.gc

Universal Audio UAD Apollo Twin MkII - $899 ($820 used)
https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Aud...7256072&sr=8-3

Arturia AudioFuse Studio USB Audio Interface - $899
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...diofuse-studio

Antelope Audio Zen Tour Synergy Core - $1,999
https://en.antelopeaudio.com/product...-synergy-core/



I personally own and use the M-Audio Air 192|4 with Windows 11 and have had zero interface issues at all. No drivers are needed since they are built into windows. It's quite literally Plug'n'Play.

https://www.m-audio.com/air-192-4
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Old 11-23-2021, 02:37 AM   #30
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boy this takes me back to my first attempts at making music on a power mac in 1996 trying to record direct via into a mobo into cubase... just horrible My first real interface was Guillemot isis into a custom built pc runnings win98. The difference in quality was amazing. yes batttled with clicks and pops for many years. These days its a thing of the past as I run a machine that I bought for $200 with i5 quadcore (circa 2015) into a behringer fca1616. I also have 2 old motu boxes which run in win10 flawlessly still!!, and which were built around 2006-7 you just need to install a decent firewire card with Texas Instruments chipset. There is so much quality second hand gear available for ridiculously cheap prices, You just have to do your homework online to ensure there are drivers for your OS. my 2 cents worth, the fact you still prefer win7 is a bonus, but the downside if your running a machine from that era you will always have the noises, clicks and pops, as the more cores the better, Any machine after 2015 pretty much would do if you have quad core i5 or better and reaper you will not believe how stable these systems are...I have to pinch myself some days when look back at all those years of battling bios, drivers, software..
I get it, "buy a new computer"... Not an option in the immediate future. Also newer motherboards only have one or two usb2 ports,maybe even none, I don't remember. They have a lot of usb3 ports which (for the little I think I understand) work notoriously bad with win7.

Yeah those were awful times, I remember myself using a cheap midi keyboard and some soundblaster live platinium sound card or similar on win98, then xp : Huge latency so I had to press the keys of my keyboard before hearing the sound. Yet I managed to produce some stuff, but I wasn't talented anyway, now I just sing.

@Lynx_TWO : I'm on win7, not 11. And if the price for perfection and stability is $1,999 just for using one microphone (which is all I need), then I'm in deep despair.

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Old 11-23-2021, 10:48 AM   #31
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@Lynx_TWO : I'm on win7, not 11. And if the price for perfection and stability is $1,999 just for using one microphone (which is all I need), then I'm in deep despair.
If it works on Windows 11 it'll certainly work on Windows 7, and I paid $125. It's on sale for $99. Don't think too hard, just buy it. You'll be happy you did!

Forget about 'perfection' as you'll be paying over $10k for something that claims to be 'perfect'. For $99 bucks, the Air 192|4 will blow away ANY motherboard you can buy for ANY sum of money.

https://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-AIR-1.../dp/B07YYWLGFM
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Old 11-26-2021, 05:08 PM   #32
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"If it works on Windows 11 it'll certainly work on Windows 7"

You seem quite sure.
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Old 11-27-2021, 01:50 PM   #33
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"If it works on Windows 11 it'll certainly work on Windows 7"

You seem quite sure.
Just saying, for $99 you can’t go wrong and can always return something that isn’t working. I suppose I could always fire up a VM with the ancient 12-year-old Windoze 7 to be sure. If only software aged like wine does, amiright?
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Old 11-28-2021, 10:34 PM   #34
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Actually, running windows 7 is one of the times I'd avoid devices that use the windows usb audio drivers, as round trip latency can be crappy.

It wasn't until windows 10 release 1703 that windows got a proper USB2 audio class driver.

... As I was writing that I thought, does the Air 192|4 have drivers for windows 7? Had a look on the M-audio website, and the answer is yes.

They have a statement about the drivers in the FAQ for the product:

"Do I need a driver to use the AIR 192|4?

For Mac operating systems, the AIR 192|4 is class-compliant and does not require a driver.

For the Windows OS, the AIR 192|4 requires the installation of a driver to ensure the best possible performance. You can obtain the Windows driver from the M-Audio Knowledge Base."

So it will work on mac without a driver, and will probably work on windows 10 1703 and newer without a driver (although a driver is available), but will either not function without a driver or work but have poor latency performance on windows 7 or older versions of windows 10.

Short version is, looks like windows 7 is supported, and there is a windows 7 driver, for 32 and 64 bit.

Being class compliant can be handy, because in the future if you move to a version of windows or mac os after M-audio stop putting out new drivers for it, it will still work with the built in class compliant drivers.
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Old 11-30-2021, 09:40 AM   #35
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Short version is, looks like windows 7 is supported, and there is a windows 7 driver, for 32 and 64 bit.

Being class compliant can be handy, because in the future if you move to a version of windows or mac os after M-audio stop putting out new drivers for it, it will still work with the built in class compliant drivers.
Good call! Looks like the driver is unified for all Windows OS, so I just installed it
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Old 12-03-2021, 02:54 AM   #36
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I don't know, The thing is I bought three recent audio devices in the past years and all three had some kind of driver issue related to either unsigned drivers, uefi bios, or whatever kb update that you need but can't install because it needs another kb update that apparently doesn't work or won't install for whatever reason.
It's like they can't release a driver that would automatically detect what updates of windows you have or not.

But sure, I could try it and send it back.
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Old 12-03-2021, 03:00 AM   #37
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I was thinking about buying a new recent computer, but new motherboards have usb3 ports instead of usb2 and for what I know win7 doesn't like that.
Also imagine the money I would spend for an entire computer plus all the efforts to make it totally silent. I'm too old for that.
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Old 12-03-2021, 06:55 AM   #38
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I was thinking about buying a new recent computer, but new motherboards have usb3 ports instead of usb2 and for what I know win7 doesn't like that.
Also imagine the money I would spend for an entire computer plus all the efforts to make it totally silent. I'm too old for that.
Yea I mean, at the end of the day, you’ll eventually need to update to Windows 11. I will say that every now and then I run into some strange quirks, but nothing that has effected Reaper, and the updates fix the quirks. Windows 11 is simply Windows 10 2H22 with a different skin and I suspect there’s some machine learning going on in the code, just based on some quirks I’ve run across, so it is the way forward, love it or hate it.
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Old 12-03-2021, 08:26 AM   #39
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Steinberg UR22MKII 2-Channel USB Interface
I have other, more expensive interfaces, but this is the one front and centre on my desktop for day to day use.

Others have covered it. There is no downside to an external USB interface.

Internals are noisy as hell. Offload it.
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Old 12-03-2021, 09:06 AM   #40
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Internals are noisy as hell. Offload it.
Not to mention if you want/need to change your internal sound card for whatever reason, you have to buy another motherboard. About the only reason to use an onboard sound card is when you really don't have any other choice.
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