Yakitawa

Have you tried getting the latest driver from TP-Links website? EDIT: You can download latest here: http://www.tp-link.com/en/download/TL-WN781ND_V2.html#Driver

Thank you for the response Squall! I did not look further into the Dragonfly because I decided to try the StarTech Audio Adapter... Just an update to my problem and if anyone else goes through the same trouble: The StarTech Adapter works perfectly! Sound is clear, distinctive and crispy. It can play significantly louder than my onboard audio. It has three different EQ modes: Bass, Direct and Treble. The difference between the EQ settings are modest but noticable. Microphone works perfectly too with a bit more noise than the onboard solution. However, I believe it is because it is being amplified, as it is also a lot louder. The unit almost works out of the box. StarTechs audio driver is needed for the unit to recognize inputs without having to replug things after windows startup (Windows 10)... To be more clear... Plug in your stuff and it works, but if you restart Windows without the driver, you have to replug your stuff. Subjectively, I'd say this is better than the onboard sound card and objectively it is one of the cheapest solution I could find on the market in my country. Some bad stuff: I think there is a dedicated amp which kicks in when the volume dial reaches a certain point(Very high volume. It hurts my ears when playing at this volume) - After this point there is audible noise and the headphones gives a loud and annoying "kicking noise" when starting to play music.

Argh! Thanks for giving it a try A shout out to the rest of the community.... Anybody out there with the knowledge to help me? Thanks!

That would be my optimal solution, but I have not found any working adapters.. I've tried no-name, homemade, cheap(Like the one in your link) and premium(Sennheiser for about 20$). And I have also tried it on 3 different computers and an iPad(The iPad was actually most stable). Right now I use the Sennheiser option, but it is not flawless... As mentioned before, the microphone drops out from time to time, and I've got the impression that I am not the only one with this kind of problem - There just doesn't seem to be a valid solution for this problem.That's why I want a USB soundcard

Thee is no microphone input... Only combo-jack As far as I am concerned the problem with a combo-jack is the microphone part... It's located on the tip of the jack(should appearantly be harder to achieve contact) and there are either problems with isolating the two different signals or the onboard soundcard is somehow(I don't think it is true) not getting enough power according to some folks. The combo-jack is designed to utilize headphone jacks as default when 3 polar jacksticks are used, so in order to use a microphone, I would still need a 4 polar jackstick to have the soundcard recognize the microphone. And a 4 polar jackstick practically serves the same conditions as any analogue "headset-splitters" out there. But really... It only has to be about the same quality as an Realtek ALC887

I guess I was wrong

Sorry, I don't think there exists any mini-itx motherboards with more than one PCI lane. You might have to opt-out the sound card or perhaps go for micro-atx.

For GTA V you would maybe need more than that... You can use these benchmarks to estimate what is "best": http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/high_end_gpus.html For reference - I am using a 960m for GTA V, and it only barely does the job at absolute lowest settings and a low resolution.

That will certainly work for CS:GO. I had same "crisis" a year ago. I went with an ASUS S301 for about $1.000. It has an 4200U and it can run CS:GO smoothly on lower settings. I use it for programming related with my study and all other tasks except gaming. I don't know much about the performance of Core M graphics... You can read about HD 5300 (M-5Y70) here: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-5300.125576.0.html All other M processors and their different graphics unit(if any) should be available on the site too If the laptop doesn't have to be light and small, you can save a lot by going 15,6". EDIT : HD 5500 should be able to play CS:GO pretty well!: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-5500.125586.0.html

Thanks for a quick response! Schiit Fulla has an acceptable price, but it is headphone only and I need the DAC to accept microphone as well. I'll take a look at the other Schiit products though! FiiO looks gorgeous and have very nice reviews, but it doesn't accept microphone. About "driving" my headphones... They don't have any extraordinary impedence(I recall it's merely 30 ohm), så I'm not too worried about that in the given price range Perhaps I've been a little vague with the term "DAC"... What I really need is a sound card with seperate microphone and headphone jacks and using either SPDIF or USB as interface. Thanks for the response! Why should I avoid FiiO? I have only heard good about them.

Updated once again! TL;DR has been added to the bottom! Hello everyone! I own a pair of Sennheiser HD 598 and an Antlion 4.0 microphone which has given me much joy, rainbows and happiness for some time now on my desktop PC - onboard audio! This has been very satisfying, and I would say that I probably don't need anything that is better (This is just to inform you of my current standard and expectation of quality I want from my audio setup). So what's the problem...? I have exchanged my desktop for a laptop, Lenovo Y50, and to my big surprise: There was only one analogue audio port -> A combined headphone and microphone port! I have been through hell trying different splitters, software and "tips'n'tricks" with the purpose of making the combo-port behave properly. I hate it. I disgust it. I give up. So... Now I am in the search of a suitable DAC/soundcard that can love and be loved in return by the company of me and my setup. So far I came up with two options which have almost the same price: Asus Xonar U3: Bitrate: 16 bit Sample: 48hz Is a vendor/manufactuer/etc. that I trust and have never had a problem with. StarTech USB Stereo Audio Adapter bla.bla...: Bitrate: 24 bit Sample: 96hz (Almost) never heard of.... Is actually a bit cheaper. I'm not a total newbie in the field of audio, but I really want to know what you guys are thinking: Are any of these choices sensible? I was not able to find reviews for the StartTech option, and the Xonar U3 reviews were a bit disappointing. Other suggestions would be nice too: I might go as high as 100 USD for a DAC if the extra money makes a difference. Note: I live in Europe and I am not very good at soldering -> DIY from America/Canada might not be an option. Also, if you know how to "really fix" a combo-port, I would love to hear it -> The problem is, that the microphone frequently drops out and I have to re-plug them everytime I restart the PC. Thanks! EDIT : Sorry! I should probably also tell, that my audio is important for my music experience. I like a flat signature. It could be fun to have the option of EQ for boomy explosions in movies and games, but it is not a must. TL;DR : Cans: HD 598 Mic: Antlion 4.0 Suggest a USB and/or SPDIF soundcard that has seperate headphone and microphone jacks If it is better than onboard(Realtek ALC887), then I'll take it!