I recently rebuilt my system with a new X99 MB, 5820k CPU, and 2600mhz Memory. My MOTU Microbook II cuts in and out and seems to behave as if you pulled the USB cable out and put it back in just randomly. Then I switched it out with my old NI Audio Kontrol 1 and it also has issues. Then my Novation keyboard turns off and on randomly in the middle of working. I tried all USB slots and all settings off and on in the bios one at a time. USB is foobarred it seems.
So, I did some investigating on newegg by looking at the reviews for other X99 motherboards and saw quite a few, even different brands, had some complaints about USB issues.
I wonder how many of you here own an X99 motherboard and use an external sound interface. Any issues? Anyone own it and no issues?
I am on the fence on returning the whole thing, but I fear I might just spend a weekend disassembling, reassembling, and then two weeks of install licensing hell, and end up where I started.
X99 motherboards and USB Sound Interfaces
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- KVRist
- 360 posts since 12 Mar, 2005
Looks like the X series get a tradition. The X79 series also had massive USB problems.
That was because at that time USB3 was still pretty new and the specifications weren't even final yet if I remember correctly.
This time that shouldn't be an excuse since X99 is still USB3 (and 2 ports of USB2).
I never had a good experience with USB3 and audio/midi controllers and the USB2 ports are slowly getting extinct.
Most X99 boards don't even have 'unhubbed' USB ports (I think there is one) and that is probably one of the sources of the USB problems.
What you can do is check your manual and read up on how the USB ports are assigned. With a bit of luck there is an unhubbed internal USB2 connector.
If so connect your front panel USB connector to that and try your devices on that USB port.
I don't own an X99 system yet mainly because my experiences with X79 and USB. I want to wait till the second if not third revision.
Reading those stories about USB, I am happy I did.
That was because at that time USB3 was still pretty new and the specifications weren't even final yet if I remember correctly.
This time that shouldn't be an excuse since X99 is still USB3 (and 2 ports of USB2).
I never had a good experience with USB3 and audio/midi controllers and the USB2 ports are slowly getting extinct.
Most X99 boards don't even have 'unhubbed' USB ports (I think there is one) and that is probably one of the sources of the USB problems.
What you can do is check your manual and read up on how the USB ports are assigned. With a bit of luck there is an unhubbed internal USB2 connector.
If so connect your front panel USB connector to that and try your devices on that USB port.
I don't own an X99 system yet mainly because my experiences with X79 and USB. I want to wait till the second if not third revision.
Reading those stories about USB, I am happy I did.
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 218 posts since 15 Jan, 2011
Are there any alternatives to using an external USB 2.0 sound interface?
I hear there are PCIe cards, but looking at them they seem to A) be over $500 B) I don't see any 1/4" jacks in them C) some seem to have some separate device over ethernet or wireless sold separately? The whole thing confuses me.
I don't need anything super fancy. I only have 1 mic and occasionally like to plug in my guitar.
I hear there are PCIe cards, but looking at them they seem to A) be over $500 B) I don't see any 1/4" jacks in them C) some seem to have some separate device over ethernet or wireless sold separately? The whole thing confuses me.
I don't need anything super fancy. I only have 1 mic and occasionally like to plug in my guitar.
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- KVRian
- 1021 posts since 3 Oct, 2011 from Christchurch, New Zealand
what about trying a pciE usb card (preferably a usb2 one) - they're cheap enough (unlike pciE audio i/fs). Certainly worth a try....
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- KVRist
- Topic Starter
- 218 posts since 15 Jan, 2011
Not a bad idea at all. I'll stop by the local Frys and see if they have any. USB 2.0 seems hard to find now, but worth a shot.jdnz wrote:what about trying a pciE usb card (preferably a usb2 one) - they're cheap enough (unlike pciE audio i/fs). Certainly worth a try....
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- KVRian
- 1021 posts since 3 Oct, 2011 from Christchurch, New Zealand
most of the USB2 cards are PCI (there were a few pciE usb2 cards like the st-lab u321 - but they seem to be out of stock everywhere). If your board has 'legacy' PCI slots you could try a PCI usb2 card (I know the pci ports are on pcie/pci bridge chips now, which was supposed to possibly cause issues, but I've got an old pci maya44 in the pci slot of my h87 board and it seems happy)brekehan wrote:Not a bad idea at all. I'll stop by the local Frys and see if they have any. USB 2.0 seems hard to find now, but worth a shot.jdnz wrote:what about trying a pciE usb card (preferably a usb2 one) - they're cheap enough (unlike pciE audio i/fs). Certainly worth a try....
actually given the low cost you could probably grab BOTH a pciE usb3 and a pci USB2 and see which works (upside being you will never, ever ever run out of usb ports
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- KVRist
- 360 posts since 12 Mar, 2005
The ESI Julia XTe cards are pretty good value.brekehan wrote:Are there any alternatives to using an external USB 2.0 sound interface?
I hear there are PCIe cards, but looking at them they seem to A) be over $500 B) I don't see any 1/4" jacks in them C) some seem to have some separate device over ethernet or wireless sold separately? The whole thing confuses me.
I don't need anything super fancy. I only have 1 mic and occasionally like to plug in my guitar.
You can swap the unbalanced RCA with balanced 1/4 jack by just flipping the board. Pretty neat solution tbh.
