Looking for recommendations for audio-friendly motherboards

[ricecrispies]

I have a computer with a terrible ground loop problem that puts bus noise in my inputs. I have ruled out my audio interfaces as the root of the problem, so the most likely candidate is the motherboard, an ASRock 980DE3/U3S3. I have done my best to resolve the problem with only limited success. I can quieten the noise a bit, but I can't get rid of it completely.

So I'm looking for recommendations for motherboards or, even better, motherboard manufacturers, that are reliable for audio work.

Having said that, I'm not 100% sure that it's the motherboard and not the power supply which is to blame. Since at some point I am going to want to get a more powerful graphics card, replacing the power supply a bit earlier than planned wouldn't be money wasted. So if you think that maybe it could be the power supply causing my noise problem, some recommendations for audio-friendly power supplies would be useful too.

[Tone Deft]

I'm not 100% sure that it's the motherboard and not the power supply which is to blame.

it's not the motherboard. audio is a stupid simple slow signal compared that what's going on inside a computer. if any computer was that wonky A LOT more would go wrong with your motherboard than just audio signals. motherboards simply do not use audio like this, they do not handle analog audio, they do everything digitally.

what is this motherboard anyway? is it some off-brand you don't trust? does it have any reviews where its audio quality is questioned?

[zsazsa]

First thing to look at would be the grounding of your computer and other gear to check whether you have ground loops somewhere.

I generally have problems with connected gear when it connected with unbalanced connections and USB.