Sound fried, seeking advice

[thag]

I was "aiming" with GPU card to see which PCI slot covers to remove when i bumped the mobo and my speakers let out a "whump!" like they where being plugged-in into a live audio system. Doh! forgot to turn off the power supply and unplug. Did that and fired it back up with all systems nominal except for a high pitched whining from my speakers as soon as Windows 7 log-in screen prompts. Though some sound can barely whisper through if all volume is maxed out.

Tried theses with no differing results:
Checked with alternate sound system
Tried all other audio jacks
Reinstalled Audio drivers
Swapped out GPU and crossfire to non and vise versa

Tried some other things as well:
Hooked up optical digital output up to my Samsung HT-D5300 this works, total crap, sound is garbled (maybe dolby issue or lack of feature altogether)
HDMI output on GPU to TV w/speakers: Audio works (whew!)

Audio: Realtec ALC 892, HD Audio, version 6.0.1.6468
CPU: Intel Core i7-3930K Sandy Bridge-E 3.2GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 2011 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor BX80619i73930K
MOBO: ASUS Sabertooth X79 LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
RAM: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) Desktop Memory Model F3-17000CL9Q-16GBSR
OS/App HDD: 2X Corsair Force Series GT CSSD-F240GBGT-BK 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD
Storage HDD: Western Digital WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
PSU: Corsair Professional Series Gold AX1200 CMPSU-1200AX
GPU: Sapphire 100352OCSR Radeon HD 7950 3GB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP (connected to monitor via DVI)
LITE-ON DVD Burner
Case: Corsair 800D W/ liquid cooling
Windows 7 64bit SP1

1. What do you think? Any other steps I can take? (other than ALWAYS unplug the psu )

2. Sound card options?


P.S. this is my 1st post after months of viewing, this site is awesome.

 

[clutchc]

If I'm understanding you correctly, the on-board sound is what you think you fried with your (self-admitted ) carelessness, correct? If so, I would not fool with it any more. Boot to BIOS and disable the integrated Audio. Then either use the HDMI sound from your graphics card to your TV/Monitor's speakers, or buy a discrete sound card to continue using your stand-alone speakers. You can re-wire the front headphone/mic cable to the new sound card to put them back in service.

A discrete sound card the equivalent of the on-board quality won't be too expensive. Check your available slots to see which would be the best interface; PCI, PCI express.
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=57&name=Sound-Cards&Order=FEATURED
If you don't see anything you like for the price, check ebay for used ones. They go quite cheap these days.

 

[thag]

Thanks for the input. I didn't think if a mobos integrated sound fried or failed that all would be lost.

I just re-read my initial statement, and quickly concluded that I was really asking "I fried my sound out, do I need a new mobo or can I remedy it?" Look like I can save $200+ for something else, yes! ......(hopefully)

Thanks for quick answer!

 

[clutchc]

No, all is not lost. (?) You could try a clean install of Windows to see if it is actually a driver issue. But I am thinking it's not. If you feel the board is OK except for the sound chip, the dedicated sound card would be an easy fix. And possibly better sound. Is the board still under warranty?

 

[thag]

I'll be doing a clean install of windows soon anyways. There is room for a PCI sound card once my GPUs are waterblocked.

Board still is under warranty less the installed waterblocks on the chipset and VRM, pretty sure that voids it, unless I can find where I put the old ones.

 

[clutchc]

If you modded the board, they'll probably catch it and void the warranty. All you will have done is waste time and sit with with no board. If it was me, I'd check the system out best I can to be sure everything else is A-OK and order a sound card. (and disable the integrated sound in BIOS)

If you ever plan on running 2 graphic cards, you may want to look for a PCIex1 sound card instead of PCI for that motherboard. Using the PCI slot for a sound card will be impossible when a 2nd card is installed.

 

[thag]

Best answer selected by Thag.