I bought this mobo and I am pretty unhappy with it. For starters only one IDE slot, and I was forced to get a quick fix USB DVD burner to get my one HDD in the slot. Ok so I bought a SATA HDD and that is sorta solved.
But the real issue is the fact that the onboard sound (SoundMAX) is garbage. I have a lowish muted sound. And what's worse is it routinely pops in and out, I guess to normal volume and quality. When it pops back to normal quality it about scares the krap out of me, and for like a few seconds I hear what the sound "should" be like.
This happens a lot playing oblivion. I can hear it pop in and out, and during the game it spikes loud and clear and then back to muted and low volume. I have downloaded all the latest drivers for all the parts of the board. Except the Nforce ones. But I have not solved the problem.
The thing is I hate to buy a sound card, I really don't care much about sound (as long as it works). For starters there is not much space in the case, I have a bracket cooler in there and my X1900XT needs space for airflow. And secondly the mobo costs enough that it should have working sound already.
As it stands I probably won't buy Asus boards anymore, this Soundmax issue is quite freakin annoying.
But the real issue is the fact that the onboard sound (SoundMAX) is garbage. I have a lowish muted sound. And what's worse is it routinely pops in and out, I guess to normal volume and quality. When it pops back to normal quality it about scares the krap out of me, and for like a few seconds I hear what the sound "should" be like.
This happens a lot playing oblivion. I can hear it pop in and out, and during the game it spikes loud and clear and then back to muted and low volume. I have downloaded all the latest drivers for all the parts of the board. Except the Nforce ones. But I have not solved the problem.
The thing is I hate to buy a sound card, I really don't care much about sound (as long as it works). For starters there is not much space in the case, I have a bracket cooler in there and my X1900XT needs space for airflow. And secondly the mobo costs enough that it should have working sound already.
As it stands I probably won't buy Asus boards anymore, this Soundmax issue is quite freakin annoying.