Onboard Sound Issue

Last December I bought (rather than built) my first PC: an Ibuypower Intel i9-9900KF on an MSI MPG Z390 Gaming Edge mobo. In April, the sound suddenly stopped working on the mobo’s line-out socket—it still works fine through the monitor’s aux-out connector or optical-out on the mobo. I’ve exhaustively troubleshooted the problem—even swapped out the mobo for an identical replacement—and the problem persists. Do you have any ideas? And a suggestion for a soundcard? This is the first build I haven't used one.

–Bill Many

THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: This can happen when the default output device is changed, but the Doc reckons you’ll have already tried that (“Settings > System > Sound,” click “Sound Control Panel” to verify what playback devices are listed— typically your mobo’s aux-out will be listed as “Speakers” and should be enabled and the default device; select it and click “Properties” for more options).

As you’re not impressed with the onboard sound anyway, rather than continue wasting energy on troubleshooting you should trade up to a dedicated soundcard. Assuming you’re unable to plunder a card from one of your previous builds, then the Sound Blaster Z PCIe ($105, www.newegg.com) is proven technology with a raft of good customer reviews behind it. It’s optimized for gamers too. If that’s too rich, then the Sound Blaster Audigy RX 7.1 PCIe model ($69.99, www.newegg.com) is a good budget alternative.