My PC Sounds Terrible

Liam Mondy

Estimable
Jun 26, 2015
1
0
4,510
So here's the deal. I'm a beginner PC gamer with almost no knowledge of PC's or sound in general. I had my gaming PC built 7 months ago and ever since it was built I've been struggling with terrible audio. Whenever I connect my headset to my PC, there quality is bad, there is a subtle crackle, my microphone cuts out every now and then. my mic also flips out every now and then, making loud popcorn sounds or just plain screeching. I know for sure it isnt my headset because ive tested it on other computers, and used other headsets with this PC. My PC does not have a sound card, so maybe the motherboard controls it? There is no room to add an internal sound card, so with a bit of research i thought maybe an external card could help. Can anybody tell me if this is my problem, will it help, and recommend me a cheap sound card?
 
Solution
So which headset do you have?

But yeah most onboard motherboard audio lacks quality and clarity, at least for the audio enthousiast. Any cheap but decent USB sound card will sound better than onboard, just get a real sound card box like the Creative X-Fi 5.1 or the Xonar U5/U7, and not one of those small "usb-stick" sound cards like the U3. Also make sure it has all the in/outputs you need (3.5mm mic in and 3.5mm stereo/headphone out for your headset).

maxtex

Estimable
Sep 13, 2014
5
0
4,520
So which headset do you have?

But yeah most onboard motherboard audio lacks quality and clarity, at least for the audio enthousiast. Any cheap but decent USB sound card will sound better than onboard, just get a real sound card box like the Creative X-Fi 5.1 or the Xonar U5/U7, and not one of those small "usb-stick" sound cards like the U3. Also make sure it has all the in/outputs you need (3.5mm mic in and 3.5mm stereo/headphone out for your headset).
 
Solution