EM interfering with soundcard

I currently have a number of issues with my computer. The ultimate cause of it all is the fact that my A8N-SLI chipset fan died a while back, and my graphics card prevents me from installing a heatsink (actually, I had one on there already, but I removed it when I got this new, bigger graphics card).

So my motherboard chipset is currently not being cooled by anything directly like it should be. However, I have a window AC unit at about a foot above ground level in my room, and I have this blowing into my open computer case. Further, I have a small fan blowing this AC'ed air into the case at a much higher speed. This has lead to a massive cooldown in the case (~10-12 C), which is exactly what I want/need.

Unfortunately, this has brought forth another problem. I now have insane static in my speakers and/or headphones. I first verified that it was my fan causing the problem, and it most definitely is. The window unit also causes some static, but this is rarer (and random, as far as I can tell) and a problem I can live with for now. With the fan on, there are constant, strong static pops and such coming through my speakers. I tried moving the fan farther away from the computer, but the static remained even to the point where the fan was no longer doing its job of cooling the motherboard.

After some tests with a couple different headsets and my speakers, I believe I have determined that my soundcard itself is the victim, here. No matter what is plugged into it, the static is there. So apparently, the fan is interfering with the soundcard in some way.

I did some research online, starting with electromagnetism. I didn't know what that was, exactly, but I think I do now. I also learned about frequency, wavelengths, etc., so I guess I got my nice little lesson in physics. From what I've been reading, I believe that the fan's motor is generating EM interference, which is then picked up, amplified, and then rebroadcast by one or more components of my computer. Ultimately, this leads to the soundcard being victimized by this interference.

Some other things I have noted during testing, that may or may not be of use:
The volume of the static pops directly correlates to the volume setting of the speakers themselves (not the software-side settings).
When I play sounds (of any kind; music, games, etc.) the static increases drastically, and immediately slows again when I stop playing any sounds.

While this problem is incredibly annoying, I have actually learned quite a lot about a number of things (how the fan motor generates EMI, and how this is probably causing my issues, etc.) If anyone can further enlighten me on this issue, please do. And of course, I would be most grateful if anyone had any idea how to solve this (temporary) problem. I plan to get a new mobo, cpu, and ram soon, which will remove the need for the fan and thus the cause of the static, but for a while I am stuck with no sound, unless I can find a way to prevent the interference from affecting my soundcard.

 

I should have also said that what I am looking for is pretty much any kind of solution to this problem. A way to prevent the fan from generating the EMI, a way to shield the soundcard from this, whatever. Also, I was mulling over the problem a little more, and something just occurred to me. It is my understanding that EMI is picked up and rebroadcast by amplifiers. To my knowledge, my soundcard has such an amplifier onboard (it is a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS). Perhaps when any sound is being played, the amplifier is active, and it then does its job of increasing the static immensely. This last point might not be helpful in solving the problem, but it is at least interesting. Anyone know if I'm right?

 

Well, I haven't solved this problem, exactly, and since I never got a reply, perhaps it is a very difficult one. However, for posterity's sake, I wanted to say that I was able to borrow some nice USB headphones from a friend, and those are working perfectly. My speakers are spewing out static, but the USB headphones are unaffected. So apparently it's a problem with the soundcard.

Anyway, I am able to have sound again for that reason, and I've got a new motherboard, CPU, and ram coming in tomorrow, so I won't have the chipset with no cooling to worry about anymore.