ASUS XONAR DX turns off in games (click)

[Crazyy88]

Hello
I have a problem with my ASUS XONAR DX sound card, at least that is where I think the problems lies.

Anyway it is a PCI Express card, so I can hear a click from the card during boot, That is when the external power supply kicks in (I guess). But in demanding games or as I just have learned, when running PhysX FluidMark. I hear the click again and the sound is gone, and do not come back before I boot. Also after the "click" videos in Windows media player goes to half the speed, and there is of cause still no sound in them.

I have the newest drivers BIOS, Video, sound, Directx and a full updated win 7 64bit. I have made a clean new installation of windows, nothing helps. No answer from ASUS support. So please help, since I have used all my limited knowledge in this matter.

 

[LePhuronn]

The Xonar cards need external power from a floppy power cable - you got one plugged in? Could be it's switching off because there's not enough juice running through it.

That's all I can think of for now.

 

[Crazyy88]

Yes I have connected it to a power cable, and i had the same thought as you, so I have tried different cables (I have a 1000W PSU with many outputs). Have alsow tried to measure the power to the GPU with a simple voltmeter to see if i can measure any drop i voltage, but it seems ok.

But thx 4 your input.

 

[aaron92]

Mess with allll the sound settings.

All I got sorrz =/

 

[gamerk316]

Hmmm...this sounds vaugly familliar...

There was something a while back about a clicking issue on the DX, but my memory is failing me at the moment...try the ASUS forums; I remember reading about the problem there...(Blocked at work; so I can't check until later tonight).

 

[Crazyy88]

Have searched the Asus forum but cant really find the same problem.

 

[mosox]

Did you try the game mode in the card's application? Click on the triangle next to "menu".

 

[Crazyy88]

Yes I have the "Xonar DX Audio Center" where I can change modes like Game, HIFI, Music and Movie, and also the GX button. There is a sub menu where I can change settings mixer effect and so on, but cant really do anything that helps.

 

[mosox]

Probably it's not the clicking, a lot of people have that on Xonar.

Disable the onboard audio in BIOS. Check the Device Manager for conflicts. It could be an IRQ or DMA conflict.

 

[Crazyy88]

On board is disabled. No conflict in device manager (have also moved my cards around to see if that helps, no go) says it works fine, also after it drops the sound. And about the clicking, it is like when the click comes the card turnes off, just like it turns on during boot.

 

[gamerk316]

I'm POSITIVE I read about this problem somewhere; it had something to do with the cards firmware I *think*...I'll see what I can find when I get off work.

 

[Crazyy88]

That would be very nice Germerk316.

 

[gamerk316]

If this is you posting in the ASUS forums, I'm going to feel really silly...

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?board_id=21&model=Xonar%20DX&id=20100830214043300&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

The clicks are not directly related to the power supply; they come from the relays that are used to disconnect the card from its outputs jacks to prevent pops in the speakers when powering on the computer. (There are also relays for switching to the front panel and for switching between the line-in and mic-in functions, but they sound of those is probably masked by your mouse's clicking.)

That explains away the clicking at boot; I never noticed personally (then again, 5 fans probably masks that sound )

The speaker relays are switched on when the driver is loaded and switched off when the driver is unloaded, or when the computer is switched off.
It is not possible to unload the driver while sounds are being played, so it looks as if your PSU does not supply enough power to the card. This is confirmed by the fact that this happens only when the computer is using much power.

It's obvious that your power supply is not OK; how exactly did you test it?

Still, a 1000W PSU shouldn't be having trouble supplying power...I'll dig around a bit more.

[As an aside: Its this extra power requirement why I favor the D1/D2 over the DX/D2X in most cases.]

 

[Crazyy88]

LOL No need to feel silly but yes that is my post also

But I am more and more leaning towards a hardware problem, either PSU or motherboard. I heard a story think is was ati that had some kind of construction that when there was a error witch resulted in a sound loop, the driver would stop also with a click.
The reason I got my Xonar was because my x-fi extreme gamer sound card never got to work properly on my machine, no problem with the card,only on my system. but it always ended up going into looping sounds in games. So I am beginning to think of an connection. but cant figure out if I am on to something or just hoping. But if I am, is it PSU or motherboard (Asus P5n-D)

 

[gamerk316]

^^ I figured; I saw the dates on the post, but wasn't sure.

Well, a Creative card crashing is quite understandable, and the sound loop problem happens when the audio driver crashes, essentially locking whatever audio is being played at the moment stuck in memory until a restart (this happens if I crash Doxbox on my Xonar D2, and I can reproduce it on other audio devices).

I *think* I know what the problem is, now that I look at your mobo: The PCI to PCI-E bridge chip the DX (and D2X) uses is known to cause some problems on some NVIDIA based chipsets (FYI: Thats why I got the D2 over the D2X). As the P5N-D is a 750i chipset, theres a possiblity thats the issue you are runninig into. I'll look at that possiblity later tonight, but right now, I think thats what the problem is.

 

[mosox]

Can you post a printscreen with your Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information/Hardware resources/Conflicts/Sharing - the part with the Xonar's IRQ?

 

[Crazyy88]

Hi all.
I have talked to the company that sold me the PSU and we have decided to make an RMA on the power supply. So for now the post is on hold.

I thank all of you who have tried to help. And I will post back when I get the PSU back. But i hope that is the problem. If not, its good to see the willingness from people to help.

And gamerk316 the uncomparability with the MOBO sounds very interesting, if you can find anything on the subject I would very much like to see it.

Thats all for now, and thanks again all, I will keep this updated.

 

[Crazyy88]

Well the problem was not with the PSU, It has been checked out and they found no problem, so now the motherboard is in for a RMA.

 

[gamerk316]

Yeah, I remember reading something some time ago that the PCI to PCI-E bridge chip (Remember, the DX is basically the PCI D1 with a interface chip to work in a PCI-E slot) had some issues on nforce brand motherboards. I would look into that as your next step if the RMA fails. You can try contacting ASUS and try exchaning the DX for a D1 to test with, as if the bridge chip is the problem, then the D1 should work fine.

If I get some free time, I'll look around and see what I can find on the bridge chip/nforce compatability issue; I remember reading about it, but never really investigated it (I simply went with the PCI D2 in my case, avoiding the issue).

The DX is a great sound card, and its annyoing to see issues like these pop up,,,

 

[Crazyy88]

They have now accepted my RMA ofr my motherboard, so I will get a new one, so I hope that it fixes the problem, I will let you know.

 

[Crazyy88]

Well new motherboard on the RMA. Still the P5N-D. And still the same problem. How do I contact ASUS, since they never have answered any of my mails regarding the problem.

 

[gamerk316]

Not sure; you can try their forums.

 

[Crazyy88]

Gamerk, Do you think that i could be the soundcard that is faulty?

I am beginning to consider buying a new motherboard with an intel chipset.

And regarding Asus, I have written them two times, and no answer. Not very good customer relations I must say.

 

[gamerk316]

From what I read a while back, the bridge chip was the cause of some incompatabilites in nforce chipsets. I ASSUME thats the problem, but the only way to know for sure would be to either try a D1 (which is PCI native) or try on a non-nforce based chipset.

If you could get ahold of ASUS (keep trying; no company likes a lot of negative attention on their boards, just don't go overboard), try RMA'ing in favor of the D1 (heck, you could try pleading to a D2...)

 

[Crazyy88]

Thanks to everybody who have tried to help with my problem. Here is the news.

Well after almost 3 months of no reply or solutions from ASUS support. I have given up. and bought a new motherboard with an Intel P45 chipset. And low and behold the problem is gone.

So the answer has to be some incompatibility issues with the nForce chipsets.

I would like to thank the good people at ASUS support for doing absolutely nothing, to solve my problem

If anyone ever gets the same problem, I have attach the link to my tread at the ASUS forum. If it do not work, serch for my post it is called "Xonar DX looses sound".

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20100830214043300&board_id=21&model=Xonar+DX&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

P.s. I think that the Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer, has kinda the same problems with the nForce chipsets. But with crashing and looping sounds. FYI