ATA "chatter" in audio

Erik-the-Red · 15th March 2004, 12:39 AM

hi, i've noticed a long time ago that when my hard drive is being accessed, i can hear "chatter" through my headphones.

this has happened on my old soundcard, some old creative thing a friend lent me when someone else blew up my Muse, now it's still happening on my onboard 5.1 on my Asus P4P800.

this is purely hardware related i take it, but does this happen on more expensive/quality audio gear?

dillusional · 15th March 2004, 12:36 PM

I'v heard that with the more expensive soundcards,such as the ones with the External Box that the audio processing is done in there, and elimiates noise that would be picked up via the PCI bus normally. I can't gurantee this but thats what I recall reading.

jarnex · 15th March 2004, 2:20 PM

I've got the same problem as well. Usually a combination of poor PCI design on the soundcard, poor drivers and/or poor mobo chipset. The old SB Live + VIA combo was a guaranteed crackler.

External soundcards aren't affected by the internal noise generated by your PC components so there's supposedly less noise.

However, most of them are connected through USB which can give other problems like CPU hogging (which has the same effect of clipping/crackling the sound).

Maybe a few of the Extigy owners on here could pass some comments?

muzzer67 · 15th March 2004, 6:00 PM

i have that on my gamesoround muse. also you can have the speakers turned up fairly loud and whenever the mouse is moved ya can hear some very very faint constant static. mouse stops noise stops..... cant hear it with music going tho. so it isnt tooo bad.

Prosper · 16th March 2004, 2:39 PM

try moving the card to another slot.

Prosper · 16th March 2004, 2:42 PM

oh, yeah, also try muting unused inputs and outputs in your volume control. Patricularly Microphone and CD.

fad · 16th March 2004, 2:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jarnex
I've got the same problem as well. Usually a combination of poor PCI design on the soundcard, poor drivers and/or poor mobo chipset. The old SB Live + VIA combo was a guaranteed crackler.

External soundcards aren't affected by the internal noise generated by your PC components so there's supposedly less noise.

However, most of them are connected through USB which can give other problems like CPU hogging (which has the same effect of clipping/crackling the sound).

Maybe a few of the Extigy owners on here could pass some comments?

Extigy's are good, but they do suffer from bandwidth problems,
if only they used usb2 or 1394

apart from they they are very low in noise

15th March 2004, 12:39 AM	#1
Erik-the-Red Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Brisbane Posts: 471	ATA "chatter" in audio hi, i've noticed a long time ago that when my hard drive is being accessed, i can hear "chatter" through my headphones. this has happened on my old soundcard, some old creative thing a friend lent me when someone else blew up my Muse, now it's still happening on my onboard 5.1 on my Asus P4P800. this is purely hardware related i take it, but does this happen on more expensive/quality audio gear? __________________ "Only two things are infinite. The Universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former" - Einstein

15th March 2004, 2:20 PM	#3
jarnex Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Sydney Posts: 1,934	I've got the same problem as well. Usually a combination of poor PCI design on the soundcard, poor drivers and/or poor mobo chipset. The old SB Live + VIA combo was a guaranteed crackler. External soundcards aren't affected by the internal noise generated by your PC components so there's supposedly less noise. However, most of them are connected through USB which can give other problems like CPU hogging (which has the same effect of clipping/crackling the sound). Maybe a few of the Extigy owners on here could pass some comments? __________________ "All-wheel-drives and front-wheel drives are pretty spectacular and they’re going to continue to get better... You guys are obsessed with rear-wheel-drive." "... Masterpieces in automotive history are created by passion. As the industry has evolved, human passion has been replaced by standardised procedures, committee meetings, accounting figures and market surveys."

15th March 2004, 6:00 PM	#4
muzzer67 Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Melb S/E Near warragul Posts: 226	i have that on my gamesoround muse. also you can have the speakers turned up fairly loud and whenever the mouse is moved ya can hear some very very faint constant static. mouse stops noise stops..... cant hear it with music going tho. so it isnt tooo bad. __________________ Folding@Home 100000 Points Milestone Recommended traders: Arcadia, PappaSmurf, leggit, eVirtue, unixyk, sw-m78, technoir, dodger

15th March 2004, 12:36 PM	#2
dillusional Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Wahroonga Posts: 571	I'v heard that with the more expensive soundcards,such as the ones with the External Box that the audio processing is done in there, and elimiates noise that would be picked up via the PCI bus normally. I can't gurantee this but thats what I recall reading.

16th March 2004, 2:39 PM	#5
Prosper Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 614	try moving the card to another slot.

16th March 2004, 2:42 PM	#6
Prosper Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 614	oh, yeah, also try muting unused inputs and outputs in your volume control. Patricularly Microphone and CD.