Rare audio problem

[SethK]

Hi. I have a very rare audio problem. The sound card might be glitched out or something. But it doesn't sound very clear. It sounds like the volume level is at 10 but I have everything maxed out. I have it at 100 and in-program volume maxed as well and it sounds like the volume level is very low and I sometimes have trouble hearing what is going on in my games. I can only hear the big stuff. It also sounds like everything is distorted. It doesn't sound clear neither. It overall just sounds like crap. I need to use some sort of disk cleaner or something to clean out the glitches or something? Anyways, the audio card I have is "IDT High Definition Audio Codec". I have couple others listed in my device manager and not sure why or what they are. They are "Bluetooth Hands Free Audio", "Bluetooth Stereo Audio", and "High Definition Audio Device". Not sure if the sound card is actually "High Definition Audio Device" or "IDT High Definition Audio Codec" but I think it's the latter. I think it's just glitched out sound card and I need some program that will clean out the glitches and/or restore it to it's normal/fresh state.

Btw, I am not the one who bought or customized this computer. And its.... Dell. Lol I hate Dell. My step mom picked the parts and bought it.

I'm using Windows Vista and it's Dell XPS 420.

 

[MrBlkfx1]

Well, you have a integrated sound card. It's not necessarily common for them to go bad. Is sound bad when using headphones as well? It sounds like you just have some bad speakers.

 

[SethK]

I actually use the headphones, so it does still sound bad. When I use speakers.... I do not hear a damn thing unless you put your ear less than an inch to the speaker even when everything is maxed out.

So it has to be a sound card problem.

 

[nismo91]

It is obviously the soundcard problem. whether it's hardware or software problem I don't know. probably first thing you need to do is to completely uninstall the original IDT driver and install the latest driver from the IDT or Dell website.

you should be prepared to shell out 20-30 bucks for a USB sound card (I.e. Sound Blaster Play) in case that doesnt work. in return you'll get better sound quality and lower noise than what IDT can possibly give in the first place.

P.S. IDT integrated sound went bad in my intel mobo before the mobo itself dies. just a precaution.

 

[SethK]

A while ago, I did uninstall and re-install... and guess what the result is? It got much worse. :|

Hmm, not familiar with Sound Blaster Play or USB sound card. I'll have to give it a research. Time to google. A link to a cheap, good one would be nice.

Thanks for the precaution.

Any other suggestions?

EDIT: Yeah, looks like I will have to buy those sound blasters. I don't think there's anything I could do to restore it to its normal state. Maybe CCcleaner or something that cleans out the drivers. Never done that before so I wouldn't know if that's an option.

Found out there are all kinds of sound blasters. Not sure which one I should be looking after to. Any advice? A cheap and high quality one would be very nice.

 

[DjKraid]

Based on your description I would vote for hardware problem, I have had the same on my old mobo...anyhow, in general almost any audio card is better than the integrated but there is a few things that you will have to make sure before buying:
1 - that there is a free slot where to put it. For example if you have a huge GPU and a m-ATX mobo then the GPU most probably covers the PCI slots...
2 - make sure that the audio card is compatible with your system even tho if you are running windows any sound card should work.

You haven't filled in your location so I can't say where to find anything, however for example amazon should should have some

 

[SethK]

DjKraid, I never bought or installed any drivers before. So, I would need some help/guideline in this. I just looked into the computer and found 2 free PCI slots.

They look like this:

I assume that they're 32-bit PCI slots, correct?

If so, then what kind of audio card am I looking for?

If you know.. a link to a very nice cheap and high quality one would be awesome. Newegg or amazon/ebay works.

Btw... is mobo a nickname for a motherboard? Never heard of m-ATX mobo before.

EDIT: Looked up the audio cards on newegg and amazon... and man I do not have a damn clue which one to buy. Lol.

 

[DjKraid]

Yeah, those are normal PCI slot. Here is an audio card that is cheap and fairly good however if you have never installed any drivers nor anything like that then I suggest that you start there...even tho if you still have malware or anything like that you should:
1. Do a clean install of windows using a cd/dvd and format the hard drive(s).
2. Download and install all the drivers from the manufacturers pages
- if you still have the same problem then test with an other audio card

What version of windows do you have? -do you have the original installation media?
What is the make and model of your computer or is it self built?

mobo = Motherboard
GPU = Graphics Processing Unit
CPU = "processor"
...and here is a picture that I found with the help of mu best friend, google, it shows the difference between motherboard models.

 

[Tmagic650]

m-ATX usually means micro-ATX... The one in the picture right next to the ATX board

 

[SethK]

It's pre-installed so I don't think it's possible to do a clean install with a cd/dvd and to format the hard drives. My step mom picked the parts and Dell built it. It's windows vista 64 bit Dell XPS 420.

All the drivers are up to date. So yeah seems like the last option is to buy a new audio card.

Also, what im concerned is that there is 3 segments on the audio card that you linked me to. The PCI slot shows that only a card with 2 segments can fit in. Like there's 2 tiny spaces between the insertion part and the PCI slot shows that only a audio card with 1 space between the insertion part can fit in. Would that card that you linked me to still fit in? I just want to make sure.

 

[SethK]

Anyways, thanks for the support guys. It's been a great help. Ordering a new audio card very soon.