SB and other sound cards quick modding guide

[Solaris17]

Ok guys now i know you may be expecting something big but B4 we start i want you to ask yourself how complicated Soundcard modding is..its not really so i wouldnt expect miracles with this thread just away that you can take any old sound card or even a new one and make the lifespan grow as well as your audio quality ;)

Ok so first I'll tell you a story as this is usually important...while i was chilling out after i got my 9600 i was playing music with the side of the case off. I did this because i didnt have enough wires to power all my fans because i did a quick connect job so i left it off to prevent ovr heating...Well i was listening to music talking to w1zz and tweaking the card when all of a sudden i notied something....my music started to skip and jitter it never went to a diff part of the song it would just slow down stop for a sec or speed up...so this concerned me. I obviously wasnt getting good audio quality..i thought it may be a power issue or something so i adjusted my wires and started the rig back up..it worked perfect...now i decided to concentrate all my time into modding the bios and OC'ing so my comp was pretty idle after about an hour it id it again..this time with everything closed i knew a program wasnt doing it...and i knew i had enough power...so i bent down to look at the card...i knew when a grafx card got to hot it artifacted i wondered if the same principle was the same for sound cards as silly as it sounds...well like many of you i have a low budget sound card..its does amazing in games and also comes with no HS so i touched it..it burnt my fingure almost immediately...i had a problem.i wasnt sure if it was the reason my sound was skipping but i knew at that hot it wasnt going to help the life span any so i devised a simple mod...i needed to cool my sound card...

Ok so i had an old 3dfx banshee card lying around with an aluminium HS it was small and square and looking at my card seen below it looked like it would fit....

so it was time to get
http://img.techpowerup.org/080410/CREATIVE_BLACK.jpg
(lolo bad pun but still :P)

http://img.techpowerup.org/080410/creative orig.jpg

I needed to test fit as tehir is all sorts of capacitors and random squiggly things around the SC "core" so i looked at how even it would be and if it came in contact with anything..

http://img.techpowerup.org/080410/finished sound card.jpg

Nope we were good so now it was time to figure out how i was going to do it...you see i have thermal paste not thermal epoxy so this was difficuly i could ghetto rig it with rubber pands but i decided against the idea...so i thought of something..they use Epoxy on NB's and old school grafx cards...well i didnt have thermal epoxy..but i had something that would work and wouldnt melt under high temps..and also may provide conductivity...super glue.

My plan was to dot some glue on the very edges of the SC and run a strip of TIM diagonal in the center of the chip

http://img.techpowerup.org/080410/how it will be done 2.jpg

this would make it so the coolest parts of the chip held the HS on while providing some heat transfer while the center of the chip had actual TIM to provide the best transfer..

http://img.techpowerup.org/080410/how to place glue.jpg

Now to put the HS on and let it sit..this will allow the glue to cure and seat itself permanently on the core...and hopefully the HS will pull alot of the heat away ...This will most deffinetely prolong the life of these extremely hot no HS sound cards but what about sound quality?

Finished work.
http://img.techpowerup.org/080410/test fit.jpg

The next step was to install the card relatively simple. same slot and all the card was in and i booted my system. I watched the card for awhile making sure it didt get so hot the HS fell off it didnt..so i than touched it the HS was a little warm...it means its hot..but it also means its getting bleed away so i consider it a good thing.

Next step was to play some music..b4 this i turned up my speakers opened never winter nights and of course made sure i had ever sound setting possible enabled as to stress the card..than i loaded a huge battle scene were i knew these sounds would come into play...i uped the difficulty level making it harder for me to breeze through..i wanted the card to get hot...so i played for about an hour and no stuttering thats good because i heard it in games to...so i quickly left the game and gave the card no time to breath. i booted media player and loaded a play list..then i went to wallmart to buy food with the girl and left it playing...then...i came home...my computer was still playing music my HS still on the card..i was gone an hour and ~45min...and lo and behold...the card was still bleeding heat this time a little hotter but i could still hold my fingure their..something i could not do b4...and my media player wasnt skipping!!!! I Win...the mod actually improved the longevity and the sound quality!!! i couldnt bealive it!!! so to get more sound quality i went here (some list for you guys)

Creative sound card modded drivers (http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=57089)
After i showed jimmy so i could imporve my experioance..it totally upped my options cmss2 eax got way better KH range options a must have for creative owners..

than just an idea for you if youd like to get MORE sound quality check out here.

Recapping how to (http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=38660)

thnx Trodas...He's recapping an old grafx card. But the same holds true for soundcards..alot of people actually did it with the X Fi series of creative cards to get ride of "speaker buzz"

TOOLS FOR X-FI USERS:
http://www.tech-forums.net/pc/f10/hotrodding-x-fi-150386/
http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=soundblaster&message.id=87066
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=182354

This mod holds true for any old sound card Creative or no even new ones with or without a HS change the Tim or add a HS take your fingure and touch the chip you decide ;) but i know youll be pleased because if your like me and cant afford a new one..you have just

1.) Prolonged lifespan
2.) Prevented sound quality degradation
3.) cured bad sound quality.

tell me what you think!
Thank you and good luck!!!

member to check out my modding an NF4 to SLI mod i wrote yesterday!!! link in meh siggy
also check out rebuilding a copper head im on a roll!

[das müffin mann]

NICE WORK, that is a pretty awesome and simple mod, good work as always:toast:

[Solaris17]

thnx man its cool how the simplest things can make such a big diff and remember this isnt limited to just creative cards :)

[MKmods]

Another excellent thread, thanks.

I get heatsinks at Petras (great deal if you dont have any laying around)
http://www.petrastechshop.com/pedime.html

they come in several sizes. Also to attach I use AS epoxy
http://www.petrastechshop.com/arsiad7grpan.html

I remember reading somewhere if you mix 10% AS5 to the epoxy it will make the heatsink removeable (although I havent tried it, im too chicken)

[Solaris17]

Another excellent thread, thanks.

I get heatsinks at Petras (great deal if you dont have any laying around)
http://www.petrastechshop.com/pedime.html

they come in several sizes. Also to attach I use AS epoxy
http://www.petrastechshop.com/aralad5grpan.html

I remember reading somewhere if you mix 10% AS5 to the epoxy it will make the heatsink removeable (although I havent tried it, im too chicken)

cool tnx man!!! great stuff :)

[WhiteLotus]

such a simple idea - yet works so well! nice one!

[Solaris17]

thanks man and it really does i was quite pleased better sound and now i know i wont need to buy a new SC in a month :)

[btarunr]

So you apply an adhesive at the corners of a square chip and apply pressure on the metal heatsink so the adhesive could spread uniformly with TIM at the center? But don't you think it could cause vacuums or air bubbles that could act as insulators? I think the CA0106 is better off exposed, or the heatsink attached in a method similar to attaching heatsinks to video-cards' memory chips, using adhesive conductive pads but that's just me. If you're able to eradicate all air gaps, it would work.

There's another issue, of the CA0106 causing faint high-pitched noise during operation (not from the speakers, but a noise similar to the whistling sounds made by some overclocked RAM modules). Aside there's also interference caused due to the metal plate (which acts as an antenna to the interference) sounds scary but I'm highlighting these because they're NORMAL, users of your mod shouldn't worry.

[Solaris17]

no i didnt spread the glue...i dotted the sides so it would hold the HS on its like a gell so it doesnt spread much then like this

http://img.techpowerup.org/080410/example.jpg


and then i checked b4 i let it sit the glue had moved a little but it wasn't interfering at all

as for the high pitched wine and stuff i never experienced that bu thanks for the heads up.

[DanishDevil]

Nice work!

Wait so recapping my X-Fi will get rid of that buzzing sound? SWEET!

Oh and uh...:slap: for the banner pun.

[Solaris17]

Nice work!

Wait so recapping my X-Fi will get rid of that buzzing sound? SWEET!

Oh and uh...:slap: for the banner pun.

lol thnx i thought it was a nice touch.

[DanishDevil]

Hey if I were to resolder my X-Fi, which caps would I use?

I gotta grab me some heatsinks for mine :)

[btarunr]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2252/2403056279_d64dd58ae7.jpg

^That looks like a lot of glue to me.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3244/2403056391_437c9eb779.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2274/2403884496_9e19abbf02.jpg

When you add that much adhesive and try to stick the metal sink, that drop expands that way, could cause spills, could mix with the TIM, could form air-gaps that act as insulators.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2268/2403056443_7049b78269_m.jpg

^I'd say make the TIM application as thin and less as that, the actual die (chip) inside that ceramic IC is about that big. Pin 0 of the IC is marked by a fairly large circular cavity at one corner. Use the size of that cavity as a reference and add the smallest sqeeze of Gorilla glue, two tiny drops should hold the sink super-firm.

[Solaris17]

From what iv heard you only usually need to do the big and med ones or just the big ones its all you but the small ones you usually dont have to worry about it :)

[Solaris17]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2252/2403056279_d64dd58ae7.jpg

^That looks like a lot of glue to me.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3244/2403056391_437c9eb779.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2274/2403884496_9e19abbf02.jpg

When you add that much adhesive and try to stick the metal sink, that drop expands that way, could cause spills, could mix with the TIM, could form air-gaps that act as insulators.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2268/2403056443_7049b78269_m.jpg

^I'd say make the TIM application as thin and less as that, the actual die (chip) inside that ceramic IC is about that big. Pin 0 of the IC is marked by a fairly large circular cavity at one corner. Use the size of that cavity as a reference and add the smallest sqeeze of Gorilla glue, two tiny drops should hold the sink super-firm.

i agree but i assure you i made absolutely sure their wasnt to much glue i understand its a bad insulator and dry or bubbly spots are bad i got it covered bta :)

[DanishDevil]

You have a link to a someone who did a guide to it or something?

Maybe I should just sick it up and buy an Auzentech X-Fi Prelude.

You can't replace caps with solid-state ones can you?

[Solaris17]

here are a couple links for you x-fi users

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=182354

here is an amazing article written by tordas that has everything you need what caps etc..so id ask one of these 2 guys :) hope that helps :)

http://forums.creative.com/creativelabs/board/message?board.id=soundblaster&message.id=87066

(also im sure WeStSiDePLaYa knows how this is done he said he did it ;) )


i dont see why you wouldnt be able to use solid state their legs are way smaller though so it may be harder

[DanishDevil]

Sweet thanks man.

[Solaris17]

thanks man oops i edited it i forgot one of the links the one by tordas it should be their now have fun :)

[pagalms]

Another great job! :toast:
What about replacing op-amps?
I'm planning to do it with my card someday :)

edit: Check out -> link (http://www.tech-forums.net/pc/f10/hotrodding-x-fi-150386/)

[Solaris17]

on everything iv read pertaining to x-fi recapping they always replace the op-amps :)


thnx dude im gonna ad that to my OP :)

[intel igent]

solaris youre on a mission lately!

great guide and mod :rockout:

ya make me want to mod my audigy2zs :shadedshu :D

:toast:

[DanishDevil]

OOH maybe I should mod my Audigy 2 ZS so it will actually sell! :D

[MKmods]

OOH maybe I should mod my Audigy 2 ZS so it will actually sell! :D
mod it to a AuzenTech Auzen X-Fi Prelude and il buy it:laugh:

[DanishDevil]

Erm...I might be able to get it to Meridian standards...:D

[Solaris17]

lol you guys amaze me :)

thnx for all your support if you havent already take a look at my NF4 SLI mod id really like opinions as im wicked proud of that one and am dying for opinions :)

[erocker]

Nice Sol! I have the same sound card! Just stuck two old vga ram sinks on it in your honor!:toast:

[Solaris17]

lolo thnx man glad its inspiring!!! im honored you did it!!! :D

[erocker]

The ramsink isn't big enough for the main chip, but I figure it's better than the sticker they put on it.;)

[imperialreign]

TBH, I'd recommend slapping a HS on any Creative chipset at this point.

Other thoughts: get some small copper ramsinks, apply they to the DAC and the OPAMPs on the card. They'll help slightly with blocking EMI, and reduce temps of the chips during intensive gaming (especially of note if you own an X-Fi card).


On the re-cap, I've been talking with trodas here and there, he's fairly close to getting his re-cap project on a Fatal1ty done . . . and from what I've seen so far, is probably the best and most thought out re-cap project so far. With his permission, I plan on posting that info in the XSS thread upon it's completion (I also intend on re-capping my card and replacing the OPAMPs as well).


Asides - nice to know people are still doing what they can to keep their old SB cards kicking!! :toast:

[GameSinewPCs]

Why not just use thermal adhesive?

[btarunr]

The ramsink isn't big enough for the main chip, but I figure it's better than the sticker they put on it.;)

Trust me, that's enough. The base of that RAM-sink is about the size (in fact larger) than of the die of the chipset and will suffice.

[thebeephaha]

here are a couple links for you x-fi users

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=182354

here is an amazing article written by tordas that has everything you need what caps etc..so id ask one of these 2 guys :) hope that helps :)

Um HOLY CRAP... That dude turned my X-Meridian into a monster!

http://aycu06.webshots.com/image/48685/2002046736663137263_rs.jpg

I wish I had uber soldering skills... When I modded my mobo's Supreme FX riser card to move 4 or 5 caps to the other side to not hit my video card, it took me like an hour to do...

[philbrown23]

another ghetto mod by solaris!!! FTW!!! we are gonna have to call you the ghetto mod master!

[btarunr]

another ghetto mod by solaris!!! FTW!!! we are gonna have to call you the ghetto mod master!

or Modzilla Firebucks

[DanishDevil]

TBH, I'd recommend slapping a HS on any Creative chipset at this point.

Other thoughts: get some small copper ramsinks, apply they to the DAC and the OPAMPs on the card. They'll help slightly with blocking EMI, and reduce temps of the chips during intensive gaming (especially of note if you own an X-Fi card).


On the re-cap, I've been talking with trodas here and there, he's fairly close to getting his re-cap project on a Fatal1ty done . . . and from what I've seen so far, is probably the best and most thought out re-cap project so far. With his permission, I plan on posting that info in the XSS thread upon it's completion (I also intend on re-capping my card and replacing the OPAMPs as well).


Asides - nice to know people are still doing what they can to keep their old SB cards kicking!! :toast:

Would you post a link of that here? I've got an X-Fi Fatal1ty, and I want to take care of the hissing noise and get some better sound quality out of it to match my Logitech Digital 5.1 set :D

[Solaris17]

glad you guys like it!! thnk you so much for the replys :)

[Solaris17]

well i didnt have thermal epoxy..but i had something that would work and wouldnt melt under high temps..and also may provide conductivity...super glue.


Why not just use thermal adhesive?

tay?

[imperialreign]

Would you post a link of that here? I've got an X-Fi Fatal1ty, and I want to take care of the hissing noise and get some better sound quality out of it to match my Logitech Digital 5.1 set :D

neither trodas nor I have completed the re-cap yet; trodas is quite close to having it wrapped up, it's taking a while as he's actually testing and replacing things correctly (i.e. not using audio capacitors for the power filter capacitors). I've been planning other projects in the mean time, I intend to do a custom EMI shield for the card, replace the OPAMPs (and possibly the DAC), and possibly a heat spreader for the capacitors. All mods will be posted to the XSS as they're done, and anyone else with a mod wanting it listed - post it up in the XSS thread and I'll prob include it into post #1 and give you credit for it.