[Broken9754]

I have a zotac ad10u that I've been using for a while for xbmc. The problem is, I get subtle but noticeable audio interference from the thing. From what I'm reading, it's a grounding issue. Others with that model and similar issues have suggested cutting the grounding pin, which is uncharted territory for me and not something I'm not really willing to do. Rather, I wanted to look into the mac mini, which I would then boot camp and run windows on since it's the only OS I'm really familiar with and I'm tired of messing with this thing and just want it to work. (I'd go with mac mini hoping that quality would be higher than similar PCs, in order to avoid a similar problem to what I'm having.)

I notice the mac mini has the same three pronged plug though. Since my amp does not, am I doomed forever to a world of ground loops (and as such am I about to waste a buttload of money by trying the mac mini)? I get perfect sound through my ps3, but I've put so much work into xbmc and have it set up to do some very cool things and would hate to give it up. Any advice is welcomed!

EDIT: I don't know if it matters, but just to describe the symptoms better, it's a fairly high pitched sound that varies in intensity. It gets worse when I increase the volume or jiggle the hdmi cord (MUCH worse if I touch the HDMI cord to the case). It is worse with PC activity so I thought it was bad hard drive shielding at first, but it's a solid state drive, so it shouldn't spin up, so I don't know if that would interfere. Maybe the fan? Also, if I have the HTPC on, the sound bleeds through to other inputs. If the HTPC is off, all other inputs sound fine.

[hazeh]

I've got an AD10 and don't have (or can't notice!) any strange audio noises, maybe send it back and get another?

Before you run out and spend a load of money, if you're not fussed about audio over HDMI you could consider a USB soundcard?
One of my HTPCs only has 3.5mm connections and doesn't support audio over displayport, I bought a http://www.turtlebeach.com/product-detai...icro-ii/31 which works perfectly for optical passthrough to my receiver.

[a11599]

Sounds like ground loop. Do you have cable TV? That is usually the source of the buzz. Try disconnecting the coaxial cable. If that helps, try to insert a CATV ground isolator into the coaxial cable.

[Broken9754]

Thanks for the help! After discussing with Zotac, it was improper grounding of the fan within the machine itself, resulting in a ground loop. I ended up keeping the zotac to run XBMC in the wife's workout room (she can't hear the buzz anyway, haha!). I ended up buying the mac mini for my main setup though, and the buzz is gone (and I can run pcsx2 now too!)