A motherboard provides a lot of ports and slots for input and output. One of the most crucial I/O that it handles is the audio of the system. Motherboards provide multiple ports at their rear which are responsible for handling everything related to audio whether you talk about speaker output, microphone input, or whatever. In this article, we will discuss everything related to motherboard audio ports.
What is the function of the Audio Port on a Motherboard?
Motherboard audio ports handle a lot of things. We have discussed them in detail below.
Connecting Audio Devices: The major function of a motherboard audio port is to connect audio devices with the system. You can connect a speaker, a headphone, a surround system, etc. with your system using the motherboard audio ports.
Output Audio Signals: Output means that your system is producing a sound and now you need to have an audio output device that can play that sound. Some of the audio ports on the motherboard are used to output audio signals.
Input Audio Signals: Like output, a system often needs to take an audio signal from your audio equipment, i.e. a microphone. That is why the motherboard provides audio input ports at the rear so that audio signals can be provided to the system.
Supports Various Formats: There are many standards for audio ports and the most common ones are 3.5mm, 6.35mm, TOSLink, and copper S/PDIF. Most audio devices use a 3.5mm audio jack but at times, you often have to use the others.
Audio Processing: You might have seen audio processing options in your operating system. Now, how does a motherboard handle audio processing? The audio processing is not related to the motherboard’s rear audio ports; instead, the main audio chipset of the motherboard handles all that processing such as sound equalization, virtual surround, and many other popular customizations.
Multi-channel Audio Support: Many motherboards provide only three audio jacks at the rear which cannot be used to couple surround systems but if your motherboard offers five or six audio jacks, this means you can connect even a 7.1 surround sound system with the motherboard.
What are the Types of Motherboard Audio Ports
There are many types of audio ports a motherboard can offer. We have discussed these audio ports in detail below.
3.5mm Audio Jacks
The most popular audio port standard that you can find in 2024 is the 3.5 mm port. This audio jack is the industry standard for most ports and that is why most motherboards only provide 3.5 mm audio jacks at the rear.
Optical S/PDIF Port
The optical S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) port is a high-end port that is only found in high-end motherboards. As obvious by the name, this port uses optical fiber cable for data transmission and that is why it is the finest audio port one can ever use. The connectors of the optical S/PDIF port are called TOSLink (Toshiba Link).
Coaxial S/PDIF Port
The Coaxial S/PDIF port was the standard before the optical S/PDIF port and it used copper connections instead. The copper cable used RCA or BNC connectors for connection.
6.35mm Audio Jacks
6.35mm, also known as 1/4″ audio jacks are more common for professional audio equipment in studios. They are easier to work with due to their large size and are much more durable as well. Thus, they can be used with thicker and longer cables for ease of use. Other than that, they do not provide any sound-quality advantage over the 3.5 mm audio jacks.
What Do the Colors of Motherboard Audio Ports Mean?
Now, let us share the details about the motherboard audio port colors.
A high-end motherboard provides up to six 3.5 mm audio jacks. The color coding of the jacks provides the necessary details about the port functionality.
Blue Audio Port: The Blue Audio port is used for Line In. This means you can connect other 3rd party audio devices to provide input using this port.
Lime Audio Port: The Lime Audio port is used as an Audio Out or Front Speakers in case of a surround sound setup.
Pink Audio Port: The Pink Audio port is used for the Mic In, i.e. you can connect your microphones with this port.
Orange Audio Port: The Orange Audio port is used for a Central Subwoofer in a 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound system.
Black Audio Port: The Black Audio port is used for rear speakers in a multi-channel sound system.
Gray Audio Port: The Gray Audio Port is used for side speakers in a 7.1 surround sound system.
What Does it Mean If all the Audio Ports on a Motherboard are Black?
The aesthetic sense of motherboards has hugely changed in the past few years. Nowadays, most motherboards provide a black or white color theme for impressive looks. Interestingly, the manufacturers sometimes do not use color coding to distinguish the 3.5 mm jacks at the rear I/O of the motherboard, which leads to confusion for many.
If you have a motherboard with all-black 3.5 mm audio jacks, you can check the manual of the motherboard for details of the audio ports. Moreover, sometimes there is a text on the side of each port describing its functionality.
