Sound card and mobo question

[nvarras7]

Will the output of the usb soundcard be available through the mobo jacks or only the jack on the soundcard?

 

[nukemaster]

Without some kind of software magic(I am sure streaming to more than one card can be done since it is all software now days), USB cards just output on the device it self.

What are you looking to do?

 

[nvarras7]

I just want to not have to unplug my headphones everytime I want to listen to my speakers. I want to upgrade the sound of my computer but don't want to lose the convenience of two jacks that shut off my speakers when i plug the headphones in.... Thanks

 

[nukemaster]

Many internal cards can still use the front audio jacks on your computer. Some also allow you to swap from headphones to speakers in software.

Are you on a notebook by any chance? If on a desktop getting a normal sound card may give you the upgrade you want without loosing features.

 

[mickypheonix]

Hi nvarras7
Get a 3.5mm audio splitter like this and you can have both working at the same time

plug the male end into your green audio 3.5mm socket
then the headphones into one female and the green speaker cable into the other

 

[nukemaster]

Those work on most systems, but some onboard cards will actually drop voltage when both are connected(so far they have both been ALC892).

I think some designs toss a resistor(lets say 100ohm as a standard) inline with the output to reduce possible noise on long cables or if you are running a y cable to 2 sets of speakers.

On 10k ohm speaker inputs this extra 100ohms does almost nothing, but on 16-32 ohm headphones it causes a voltage drop. It is a basic voltage divider.

Just a fair warning, with any luck you will never have this issue.