question missing audio jacks on new z890 motherboards.

[THE END]

Hi,

I am thinking about buying a new PC after 10 years. I am looking around and I noticed that all of the upcoming Z890 motherboards (especially flagship boards) from all companies like ASUS, MSI, ASRock, and Gigabyte have only one audio jack port for the speakers. It used to be five jacks for speakers, but now they are only including one port.

I have Creative Sound Blaster 7.1 speakers, and they have three colorful cables for connection to the motherboard. How will I be able to use those speakers with new motherboards? Sound cards are already obsolete in my country, and all the available ones are used 10-year-old discontinued models with no drivers for even Windows 10.

What changed? Why do motherboards have only one line out for sound? Is that one line out providing 7.1 sound to speakers, or what?

 

Asus Proart z890 board (which I intend to buy)  is designed for creators and even that boards only has one line out for audio. All of the audio ports were available in the previous z790 boards. All of a sudden they are missing and nobody is talking about it, and no news about it.

[Mindovermaster Global Moderator]

It's "the end" for you!

But, really, I have seen a decrease on 5.1 or 7.1 ports on motherboards.

Where do you live, anyway?

I think this is because most speakers nowadays run off USB 3/C/4 or even BlueTooth.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

Maybe something like this will help:

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/External-Computer-Playback-aluminum-material-default/dp/B08BYQBK41

[Ixion]

My Creator X870E still has three jacks albeit a very weak realtek audio card built in. As others have said with the advent of windows 10 and all audio being software rather than hardware encoded in the most part all soundcards became external USB devices as people increasingly relied on either audio over DP or HDMI or usb speakers. You may also find there's an optical out (spdif) which would offer you Dolby digital 5.1.

 

PCIe cards do still exist but they're as rare as hens teeth, the Asus Xonar range were highly regarded https://www.asus.com/uk/motherboards-components/sound-cards/gaming/xonar-se/ and soundblaster is still a thing with all the pitfalls that always had https://www.scan.co.uk/products/creative-labs-sound-blaster-z-se-71-surround-sound-pcie-x1-gaming-sound-card-116db-snr-3x-35mm-jack

The reality is that 3.5m jacks don't offer the best surround sound as compared to something like HDMI ARC the bandwidth is pitiful.

[THE END]

On 27/11/2024 at 12:39, Mindovermaster said:

It's "the end" for you!

But, really, I have seen a decrease on 5.1 or 7.1 ports on motherboards.

Where do you live, anyway?

I think this is because most speakers nowadays run off USB 3/C/4 or even BlueTooth.

i am in Pakistan.

 

I am just surprised that there is no news or discussion about audio jacks being reduced to only one port. Even last year's models had all of the ports. I have Creative 7.1 speakers, and it seems I will have to find a PCIe sound card in order to use them.

 

All the usb and bluetooth speakers sold here are from no-brand chinese companies and they have ###### quality audio.

[ShadeOfBlue]

The best way to start is to download the manual from the manufacturer's website. In this case, it explains how to get 7.1 audio.

You will need to plug in a headphone and mic jack to the header on the motherboard (like those provided on most cases). In 7.1 mode, those 2 jacks, plus the 2 on the back, all become outputs.

[THE END]

On 27/11/2024 at 15:17, ShadeOfBlue said:

The best way to start is to download the manual from the manufacturer's website. In this case, it explains how to get 7.1 audio.

You will need to plug in a headphone and mic jack to the header on the motherboard (like those provided on most cases). In 7.1 mode, those 2 jacks, plus the 2 on the back, all become outputs.

Where is this information from? I am not tech-savvy enough to modify the headers on the motherboard.

 

"The audio cable that came with my speakers is rather small and joined together, so I don't think I'll be able to use that cable for both front and back audio jacks at the same time. At this point, it seems easier for me to buy the sound card. I've already found an ASUS Xonar AE 7.1, which seems superior to all of the upcoming motherboards' sound cards.

 

What I'm more curious about is why there is no news or information or discussion about audio jacks being removed from the new motherboards?

[+Biscuits Brown MVC]

I day there isn't more news about it because there is just not enough general concern about it. The few out there that want 5.x or 7.x from their PC would have gone to a dedicated card to do it. No need for news. 'High Quality' audio was never a feature on motherboards. 

[ShadeOfBlue]

On 27/11/2024 at 05:52, THE END said:

Where is this information from? I am not tech-savvy enough to modify the headers on the motherboard.

https://www.asus.com/pk/supportonly/proart z890-creator wifi/helpdesk_manual/

I'm not sure if you will be building the PC yourself or having someone else build it for you. But, there is a single cable that goes from the audio jacks on the case to the motherboard (the manual shows where). If the case doesn't have audio jacks, you can buy something that has them and fits in a drive bay. Either way, plugging in the cable is just the normal thing you do when installing the motherboard. No modification necessary. If the cables on your speakers won't reach, I'm sure you can find cheap extension cables.

Then just switch the Realtek audio setting to 7.1 channel in Windows (assuming you are using Windows). In 7.1 channel mode you ignore the colors/labels on the jacks. Plug in your speakers as described in the picture I posted (from the manual).

Manufacturers feel they can do this now because the 3.5mm jacks aren't used quite as much anymore, and audio chips like the Realtek ones can reconfigure any jack to be anything (input or output of any kind) in software. And because most PCs have 2 jacks on the front of the case, that means you have 4 jacks total. And that's enough for 7.1 channel audio.

[THE END]

On 27/11/2024 at 19:10, ShadeOfBlue said:

https://www.asus.com/pk/supportonly/proart z890-creator wifi/helpdesk_manual/

I'm not sure if you will be building the PC yourself or having someone else build it for you. But, there is a single cable that goes from the audio jacks on the case to the motherboard (the manual shows where). If the case doesn't have audio jacks, you can buy something that has them and fits in a drive bay. Either way, plugging in the cable is just the normal thing you do when installing the motherboard. No modification necessary. If the cables on your speakers won't reach, I'm sure you can find cheap extension cables.

Then just switch the Realtek audio setting to 7.1 channel in Windows (assuming you are using Windows). In 7.1 channel mode you ignore the colors/labels on the jacks. Plug in your speakers as described in the picture I posted (from the manual).

Manufacturers feel they can do this now because the 3.5mm jacks aren't used quite as much anymore, and audio chips like the Realtek ones can reconfigure any jack to be anything (input or output of any kind) in software. And because most PCs have 2 jacks on the front of the case, that means you have 4 jacks total. And that's enough for 7.1 channel audio.

This is quite helpful. But then again, I am confused about something. Sometimes I plug in my headset and mic in the front jacks for web video meetings or calls. If I set up all of the jacks for my speakers, then how will I use my headset? Will I have to configure those settings again each time I use it, or will it be an automatic process?

[Mockingbird]

These Z890 motherboards have five audio jacks:

ASRock Z890 Lightning WiFi

ASUS TUF GAMING Z890-PLUS

These Z890 motherboards have three audio jacks:

ASRock Z890 Pro RS

ASRock Z890 Pro RS WiFi

ASRock Z890 Pro-A

ASRock Z890 Pro RS WiFi White

ASRock Z890 Pro-A WiFi

ASUS PRIME Z890M-PLUS WIFI

ASUS PRIME Z890-P WIFI

Gigabyte Z890M GAMING X 

GIGABYTE Z890 EAGLE WIFI7

GIGABYTE Z890 UD WIFI6E

MSI PRO Z890-S WIFI

MSI Z890 GAMING PLUS WIFI

MSI PRO Z890-A WIFI

MSI PRO Z890-P WIFI

 

Edited November 28, 2024 by Mockingbird

[+Eternal Tempest MVC]

On 27/11/2024 at 04:40, Ixion said:

My Creator X870E still has three jacks albeit a very weak realtek audio card built in. As others have said with the advent of windows 10 and all audio being software rather than hardware encoded in the most part all soundcards became external USB devices as people increasingly relied on either audio over DP or HDMI or usb speakers. You may also find there's an optical out (spdif) which would offer you Dolby digital 5.1.

 

PCIe cards do still exist but they're as rare as hens teeth, the Asus Xonar range were highly regarded https://www.asus.com/uk/motherboards-components/sound-cards/gaming/xonar-se/ and soundblaster is still a thing with all the pitfalls that always had https://www.scan.co.uk/products/creative-labs-sound-blaster-z-se-71-surround-sound-pcie-x1-gaming-sound-card-116db-snr-3x-35mm-jack

The reality is that 3.5m jacks don't offer the best surround sound as compared to something like HDMI ARC the bandwidth is pitiful.

 

Here’s a Xonar card with 7.1 - $70 US MSRP
https://www.asus.com/us/motherboards-components/sound-cards/gaming/xonar-ae/

Still only 3.5mm jacks (no hdmi)

I can't attest to current Creative Labs cards drive quality, but dealing with the drivers for creative lab card(s) in the past has been a headache.

 

[THE END]

On 28/11/2024 at 07:49, Eternal Tempest said:

 

Here’s a Xonar card with 7.1 - $70 US MSRP
https://www.asus.com/us/motherboards-components/sound-cards/gaming/xonar-ae/

Still only 3.5mm jacks (no hdmi)

I can't attest to current Creative Labs cards drive quality, but dealing with the drivers for creative lab card(s) in the past has been a headache.

 

I have already chosen the ASUS Xonar AE 7.1 as the primary sound card for my new build. But now I am curious about one thing. There seems to be no connector on the card to connect the front-facing case audio jack connectors for the mic and headphones. Will I still connect them to the motherboard instead of the sound card? Will that cause any kind of conflict if I switch between speakers and headphones/mic?

[Ixion]

On 28/11/2024 at 02:49, Eternal Tempest said:

 

Here’s a Xonar card with 7.1 - $70 US MSRP
https://www.asus.com/us/motherboards-components/sound-cards/gaming/xonar-ae/

Still only 3.5mm jacks (no hdmi)

I can't attest to current Creative Labs cards drive quality, but dealing with the drivers for creative lab card(s) in the past has been a headache.

 

The HDMI output would be on your Video card not your soundcard, there's a HD audio decoder built into modern Nvidia and AMD cards which deals with the audio layer without the need for any soundcard at all if you're using HDMI.

[+Eternal Tempest MVC]

On 28/11/2024 at 01:30, THE END said:

I have already chosen the ASUS Xonar AE 7.1 as the primary sound card for my new build. But now I am curious about one thing. There seems to be no connector on the card to connect the front-facing case audio jack connectors for the mic and headphones. Will I still connect them to the motherboard instead of the sound card? Will that cause any kind of conflict if I switch between speakers and headphones/mic?

If you go the Xonar AE / 3.5mm route, you can have speaker system hooked up via the Xonar card, and headphones plugged in.

You would just switch defaults via Windows.

If you have both speakers & headphones on the Xonar Card, It's best if you toggle with the sonic software.

[THE END]

Thanks a lot everyone. I am pretty much satisfied now and I have ordered the Asus Xonar AE 7.1 sound card. I will install the xonar card in my current old PC and see how it works now.

[Mockingbird]

At this point, it needs to be said that the OP's premise is wrong: there are Z890 motherboards with that feature.

Rather, the OP simply wants a motherboard that doesn't have that feature.

[Nom]

@THE END the reason you're seeing this problem, is because you're trying to use obsolete speakers. Multi channel audio doesn't use analogue jacks any more.

And so Motherboard makers are phasing out the jacks. There are older boards that also only have the single output jack.

Modern multi channel audio is carried over HDMI - this supports both compressed and uncompressed HD audio, carried digitally, over a single cable. The uncompressed LPCM audio is lossless. It can also be carried over Display Port, or via a USB "sound card".

The solution to your problem, is to pull analogue audio from the HDMI stream - you can use one of these https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005568486056.html or https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000713887775.html (this one UD851B can pass through 4K60 video) to grab the 7.1 channels of audio from the HDMI signal, and convert to to analogue audio - your speakers will connect directly to the Red and White RCA jacks with the right RCA>3.5mm cables. This method does not need drivers - it'll work with Windows 12 and it'll work with your NEXT upgrade too.

You can also use this device to connect other HDMI audio sources to your speakers - like Laptops, Playstations etc.

Or, alternatively you can use a USB Audio Device like this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002960919948.html - these don't need drivers - it'll work with Windows 12 and it'll work with your NEXT upgrade too. But this is less flexible than the HDMI option above - you can't use this USB Audio Device for a Nintendo for example - it's PC only.

The Soundcard method definitely DOES need drivers - you are guaranteed to run into this problem again in the future when you can't get your soundcard to work with new versions of Windows and/or new Motherboards. You won't be able to use your soundcard with a laptop or a mini PC next time you upgrade.

Edited November 30, 2024 by Nom
Added second HDMI decoder

[THE END]

On 29/11/2024 at 19:29, Mockingbird said:

At this point, it needs to be said that the OP's premise is wrong: there are Z890 motherboards with that feature.

Rather, the OP simply wants a motherboard that doesn't have that feature.

I want to build a high-end system with a motherboard that has lots of NVMe slots and at least two PCIe slots. All of the high-end flagship motherboards from Gigabyte, MSI, and ASUS have removed those audio jacks. These three brands are the only ones easily available in my region. All other brands are very rare to find and hence very expensive.

I already mentioned my preference is the ASUS ProArt Z890 motherboard, but it is lacking those ports (even the previous proart z790 had those audio jacks). I googled and found no news about it. I looked at other motherboards out of curiosity and found that all of the companies have removed audio jacks from most of their motherboards. I'm just curious about why this is happening and why there is no news or discussion about it. I do not follow hardware news as keenly, so I just wanted to see if someone here knows the answer.

[THE END]

On 30/11/2024 at 04:53, Nom said:

@THE END the reason you're seeing this problem, is because you're trying to use obsolete speakers. Multi channel audio doesn't use analogue jacks any more.

And so Motherboard makers are phasing out the jacks. There are older boards that also only have the single output jack.

Modern multi channel audio is carried over HDMI - this supports both compressed and uncompressed HD audio, carried digitally, over a single cable. The uncompressed LPCM audio is lossless. It can also be carried over Display Port, or via a USB "sound card".

The solution to your problem, is to pull analogue audio from the HDMI stream - you can use one of these https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005568486056.html or https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000713887775.html (this one UD851B can pass through 4K60 video) to grab the 7.1 channels of audio from the HDMI signal, and convert to to analogue audio - your speakers will connect directly to the Red and White RCA jacks with the right RCA>3.5mm cables. This method does not need drivers - it'll work with Windows 12 and it'll work with your NEXT upgrade too.

You can also use this device to connect other HDMI audio sources to your speakers - like Laptops, Playstations etc.

Or, alternatively you can use a USB Audio Device like this https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002960919948.html - these don't need drivers - it'll work with Windows 12 and it'll work with your NEXT upgrade too. But this is less flexible than the HDMI option above - you can't use this USB Audio Device for a Nintendo for example - it's PC only.

The Soundcard method definitely DOES need drivers - you are guaranteed to run into this problem again in the future when you can't get your soundcard to work with new versions of Windows and/or new Motherboards. You won't be able to use your soundcard with a laptop or a mini PC next time you upgrade.

Thank you. All this is new information for me. I will look into it, but for now, I have already bought the Asus Xonar AE 7.1 sound card and hopefully, it'll solve my problem for a few more years. In the future, I will look for modern speakers along with the new computer.