I'm not particularly PC-savvy so please bare with me and my 'beginner' like amount of knowledge.
Recently upgraded my home audio production studio computer with a new PC from pcspecialist.co.uk, spec as below:
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Processor i7-860 (2.80GHz) 8MB Cache + HyperThreading
Memory (RAM) 8GB CORSAIR XMS3 DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz - LIFETIME WARRANTY!
Motherboard ASUS® P7P55D PRO: DDR3, S-ATA II, 3 x PCI-Ex, 2 x PCI
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
USB Options 8 x USB 2.0 PORTS (6 REAR + 2 FRONT) AS STANDARD
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 2TB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk NONE
RAID (HDD 1 & 2) NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 22x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Graphics Card 512MB NVIDIA GEFORCE 8400GS PCI EXPRESS
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Sound Card ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Modem NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Floppy Disk Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)
Case COOLERMASTER SILEO 500 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
Power Supply & Case Cooling 450W Quiet Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£25)
Processor Cooling SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Firewire & Video Editing 2 x IEEE 1394a FIREWIRE PORTS (1 onboard, 1 at back panel)
TV Card NONE
First thing I came to do was install my external audio interface (Native Instruments Kontrol1) but as soon as I did this I began getting background noises through my speakers when the hard drive/CPU was accessed, when I moved the mouse and when the graphics card re-draws any part of the screen display.
I have tried un-installing / re-installing the latest drivers, tried different USB ports and tried a different audio interface on the PC, all with exact same results (the background noise). I have also tested my Kontrol 1 audio interface on my old pc again, which is in the same place in studio (so eliminates any possible grounding issues) and can confirm that the interference is coming from the new PC, not the audio interface.
In my desperation I have looked on various forums and one suggestion has been that it could be a badly behaved graphics card which is giving out a lot of radio interference. Apparently Nivida cards are renown for doing so. Has anyone else come across this issue? Does anyone have a solution?
I have contacted pcspecialist directly about the problem (arguing that I purchased this pc for a specific purpose - audio production - and I can't do it without the audio interface working correctly) but they have told me that the computer passed their testing and commissioning stage without any problems and they cannot guarantee support to third party devices. So basically, I'm on my own.
Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated. Interference
Recently upgraded my home audio production studio computer with a new PC from pcspecialist.co.uk, spec as below:
Processor (CPU) Intel® Core™i7 Processor i7-860 (2.80GHz) 8MB Cache + HyperThreading
Memory (RAM) 8GB CORSAIR XMS3 DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz - LIFETIME WARRANTY!
Motherboard ASUS® P7P55D PRO: DDR3, S-ATA II, 3 x PCI-Ex, 2 x PCI
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
USB Options 8 x USB 2.0 PORTS (6 REAR + 2 FRONT) AS STANDARD
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 2TB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 32MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
2nd Hard Disk NONE
RAID (HDD 1 & 2) NONE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 22x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Graphics Card 512MB NVIDIA GEFORCE 8400GS PCI EXPRESS
2nd Graphics Card NONE
Sound Card ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities ONBOARD 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Modem NONE, I WILL BE USING BROADBAND
Floppy Disk Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (READS XD, MS, CF, SD, etc)
Case COOLERMASTER SILEO 500 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
Power Supply & Case Cooling 450W Quiet Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£25)
Processor Cooling SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£19)
Firewire & Video Editing 2 x IEEE 1394a FIREWIRE PORTS (1 onboard, 1 at back panel)
TV Card NONE
First thing I came to do was install my external audio interface (Native Instruments Kontrol1) but as soon as I did this I began getting background noises through my speakers when the hard drive/CPU was accessed, when I moved the mouse and when the graphics card re-draws any part of the screen display.
I have tried un-installing / re-installing the latest drivers, tried different USB ports and tried a different audio interface on the PC, all with exact same results (the background noise). I have also tested my Kontrol 1 audio interface on my old pc again, which is in the same place in studio (so eliminates any possible grounding issues) and can confirm that the interference is coming from the new PC, not the audio interface.
In my desperation I have looked on various forums and one suggestion has been that it could be a badly behaved graphics card which is giving out a lot of radio interference. Apparently Nivida cards are renown for doing so. Has anyone else come across this issue? Does anyone have a solution?
I have contacted pcspecialist directly about the problem (arguing that I purchased this pc for a specific purpose - audio production - and I can't do it without the audio interface working correctly) but they have told me that the computer passed their testing and commissioning stage without any problems and they cannot guarantee support to third party devices. So basically, I'm on my own.
Any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated. Interference
