Do You Need a Separate Sound Card? Built-In Audio, External DACs and Audio Interfaces, and Where Noise and Crackling Come From

Once upon a time a separate sound card was an essential part of a good computer. Today audio is built into every motherboard, and that's enough for most people. But many run into hiss in their headphones, crackling under load, hum from the speakers or sound cutting out, and decide the built-in audio is "bad" and a card is needed. Sometimes that's true, but often the problem lies elsewhere. Let's look at who needs a separate sound card, the options available and where unwanted noise comes from.

Built-in audio today

The audio codecs on modern motherboards are perfectly decent, especially on mid- and high-end boards where the audio circuitry is separated from the rest of the board and uses good capacitors. For ordinary speakers, an office headset, films and games, built-in audio is more than enough. If you can't hear a difference, you don't need to buy anything.

When separate audio is justified

• Demanding headphones. The built-in output may struggle to drive high-impedance or low-sensitivity headphones: the sound is quiet and lifeless. An external DAC with a headphone amplifier helps here.
• Noise you can't get rid of. If there's heavy interference inside the case, an external USB DAC moves the audio conversion outside the noisy computer.
• Recording voice and instruments. Musicians, podcasters and streamers need an audio interface with good mic preamps, phantom power and low latency.
• Broken built-in audio. If the motherboard's audio jack or codec has failed, an inexpensive USB sound card is a simple fix without replacing the board.

The options

• An internal PCIe card — fits into a motherboard slot. Less common today: there's a lot of interference inside the case, and built-in audio has become good.
• An external USB DAC with an amplifier — a small device for headphones and speakers; the most popular choice for people who care about sound quality.
• An audio interface — for recording: mic inputs, instrument inputs, monitor outputs and special low-latency drivers.
• A simple USB sound card — an inexpensive dongle to replace broken built-in audio or connect a headset.

Where hiss and crackling come from

• The front case jacks. The lead from the front panel runs through the whole case past the graphics card and power supply, picking up interference. Plugging into the rear jacks often removes the hiss straight away.
• Interference from the graphics card and power supply — the sound changes with the load, mouse movement or page scrolling.
• A ground loop — hum from the speakers when the computer and speakers are plugged into different sockets, or connected to a TV via HDMI. Common in old buildings without proper earthing.
• Driver latency (DPC latency) — crackles and pops, especially in games and when recording, caused by drivers interfering with audio.
• Windows audio enhancements — effects, spatial sound, or the wrong format and sample rate.
• Bluetooth — stuttering in wireless headphones because of Wi-Fi interference and a weak signal.

Sound disappears altogether

A common situation after a Windows update: a generic driver is installed instead of the motherboard or laptop maker's driver, and the sound disappears, or the jacks or microphone stop working. Other causes are the wrong playback device selected, sound switching away when an HDMI monitor with speakers is connected, or a faulty jack. Installing the right driver and checking the sound settings helps — not buying a new card.

How not to waste money

Before buying a sound card, rule out the simple causes: switch to the rear jacks, test the cables, speakers and headphones on another device, install the manufacturer's driver, turn off unnecessary effects, and plug the speakers and computer into the same socket. If the problem remains after that, or you want a higher class of sound, then a separate device really is justified.

What our technician does

1. Diagnoses the source of noise, crackling or lost sound.
2. Installs the right audio drivers and adjusts the Windows settings.
3. Eliminates interference: connections, cables, earthing and cable routing.
4. Selects a DAC, sound card or audio interface to suit your headphones and needs.
5. Sets up voice and instrument recording, microphones and software for streams and podcasts.

A real example

A musician in Mtatsminda was recording guitar through his computer's built-in input, and there was always a hum on the recordings, while his headphones crackled with every mouse movement. He was about to buy an expensive sound card. Our technician found that the headphones were plugged into the front panel, the computer and combo amp were on different sockets, and the guitar was going into the microphone input, which isn't designed for it. We moved the headphones to the rear output and the power to a single surge protector, and for recording chose an inexpensive audio interface with an instrument input and set up a low-latency driver. The hum and crackling disappeared.

Call a technician

If the sound on your computer hisses, crackles or has gone, we'll come to any district of Tbilisi around the clock. Learn more on our driver installation, computer setup and computer diagnostics pages.