Lately I've been noticing an annoying problem regarding audio on my PC. When I'm idling a weird barely audible static sounding crackle comes through my headphones. This becomes more audible when I do things like quickly scroll down pages. The crackle becomes a low whine when I start playing games and it gets higher in pitch as the games become more taxing. I've tried multiple headphones so I know it is entirely because of my PC. Any advice on troubleshooting this would be appreciated.
You should also check that the headphones are plugged into the correct audio output - sometimes motherboards have multiples on the back. Do you have front facing inputs also? Try moving from the back to the front, or vice versa, to see if it's the plug or the connection. Also, check to see if your audio drivers are up to date.
First of all, thank you all for the advice. I've been away from my computers for the past few days, so I couldn't respond, but I appreciate the help nonetheless. Regarding the first two posts I have no idea how to test if it is electrical interference, and I ran my graphics card fan at 100% without any interference. I'd prefer not to have to open up my computer, and I don't think it could be any other fan.
@TheAdmin: I switched to the back and the static disappeared. However, the back audio jacks only support surround sound so I couldn't figure out how to run stereo. Any advice on how to fix the front problem or get stereo working on the back jacks would be appreciated. Thanks again for the help.
I've never done this and I just came up with this solution off the top of my head, but you might try opening up the case, finding the cable that runs to the jack on the front of the PC, and snap a ferrite choke core onto the cable near the plug. Also, try routing it away from the motherboard as much as you possibly can. Lastly, you should be able to get stereo out of one of the rear jacks (the green one), but if your computer has some kind of audio configuration software on it you might have to dig through that a little bit.
The easiest way to check for internal PC audio cable interference is to plug your cables into the rear audio ports of your PC.
Ferrite chokes are specific for a particular use. If you try that solution, make sure to get one designed for internal PC noise suppression.
Another thought. If the headphone cable is starting to weaken at some point internal to the insulation it can cause static. Try working your way up and down the cable listening for a failure.
Getting a cheap sound card might solve your problem. Just another option. For $10 it might save you several more hours of work and even improve your performance.
@TheAdmin: I switched to the back and the static disappeared. However, the back audio jacks only support surround sound so I couldn't figure out how to run stereo. Any advice on how to fix the front problem or get stereo working on the back jacks would be appreciated. Thanks again for the help.
I've never done this and I just came up with this solution off the top of my head, but you might try opening up the case, finding the cable that runs to the jack on the front of the PC, and snap a ferrite choke core onto the cable near the plug. Also, try routing it away from the motherboard as much as you possibly can. Lastly, you should be able to get stereo out of one of the rear jacks (the green one), but if your computer has some kind of audio configuration software on it you might have to dig through that a little bit.
Ferrite chokes are specific for a particular use. If you try that solution, make sure to get one designed for internal PC noise suppression.
Another thought. If the headphone cable is starting to weaken at some point internal to the insulation it can cause static. Try working your way up and down the cable listening for a failure.