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Audio Drivers

I've been having a problem recently with my audio drivers, as I explained in this HP support forum.

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Audio-Video-Monitors/My-Realtek-drivers-glitch-out-every-week/td-p/5268401

I have a Realtek card with the HD Audio Driver, and it glitches out constantly, forcing me to reinstall it on a weekly basis. What I found interesting was that the person who responded to me suggested that I install some other audio drivers.

Is that even possible? Wouldn't I need hardware from another sound card manufacturer in order for that to work? That seems like a strange suggestion to me...

Comments

  • You can write any number of drivers for a device whether they work or not is another issue.
    I know the Asus Xonar series has 2 community made drivers that work fine and make the audio in work very well.
    (It's just like a Raspberry PI you can write any software for hardware and make it work).
  • So, if I downloaded a driver from Beats Audio or ASUS Xonar, it could work with Realtek?
  • It has to be specifically written for your card.
  • I only use external soundcards these days. My RIG is a USB soundcard for general use. The Mackie Onyx or Firestudio are soundcards for more important use.

    I disabled the shitty sound capabilities of my motherboard.
  • Rym said:

    I only use external soundcards these days. My RIG is a USB soundcard for general use. The Mackie Onyx or Firestudio are soundcards for more important use.

    I disabled the shitty sound capabilities of my motherboard.

    What's the best way to do that? Is it as simple as uninstalling it, then just plugging in a USB external, or is there something more to it?
  • I use internal sound, but I have a soundcard rather than using motherboard sound - I would have bought a Xonar U7, because it's good enough for the purpose, but frankly, I'm not exactly running an oversupply of USB ports.
  • A USB external will usually become the default device, and will be used for any audio while it's plugged in. If it isn't, just set it in Windows as the default device after you plug it in.
  • edited September 2015
    Sweet! I think I may have found my solution.

    I'll go shopping for one tomorrow. Thanks, Rym!
    Post edited by Daikun on
  • It seems to be a recurring issue with the Win10 "Windows Audio" service, as a lot of people are complaining about this online. If you don't wanna buy a new card and don't mind a jank-ass solution, try restarting it when you're having audio trouble.
  • edited September 2015
    Okay, I just bought the X-Fi Go! Pro to test it out. I have the software for it and everything, but when I try to plug it in, the sound is completely mute. I can't hear anything until I take it out.

    EDIT: Never mind. I figured out where I screwed up.

    It works now. Yay!
    Post edited by Daikun on
  • edited December 2015
    So, after a few months, the sound card is starting to fuck up. MP3 files sound like shit on a browser, and when I listen to them offline (the only preferable method now, it seems), whenever I load images on a webpage, I get an annoying staticky sound.

    Can anyone recommend a sound card that probably WON'T break after a few months? This is driving me nuts.
    Post edited by Daikun on
  • What do you want, true 7.1, high quality, USB only, open to having PCI-E or PCI and what's your price range, is it for speakers or headphones or both?

    I don't have any speakers connected or use them any more and only use headphones so I've been using the Asus Essence STX series. It requires its own power source to charge the headphone amplifier on the card.

    This card would be useless for someone who wants USB or can't make room for an extra card or doesn't have headpones which benefits from a high signal to noise ratio.

    Asus has a few external cards which provide good sound too. Haven't tried anything else that I can recommend.
  • edited December 2015
    USB-only would be preferred. It's mainly for speakers.

    I don't think my rig is powerful enough for 7.1, so I'm not reaching for the stars here.

    I'm thinking maybe a budget of $50 (the X-Fi cost me about $30). Is that reasonable enough, or should I aim higher?
    Post edited by Daikun on
  • I don't think you're going to get anything quality (or resilient) for $50, you sound stuff should last you many iterations of your machine.
    It's one of those things where the more you pay the better off you are and then you get to stupid prices where every extra dollar is not giving you a worthwhile improvement in durability or sound quality (if any).
  • edited December 2015
    I found the root of the problem. Turns out it wasn't my sound card after all. There was a background app that was disrupting it. I uninstalled it, and now it works like it should.

    Thank god! I was starting to freak out.

    Warning to anyone who uses AMD: Beware the Raptr app. If you receive an offer for that update (it might come around whenever you receive a prompt to upgrade your Radeon graphics or whatever [which happened to me last week]), decline that shit!
    Post edited by Daikun on
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