Replacing sound card NP 8660 [broken headphone jack]

Ive come running back to notebookreview to resolve some more issues

Back story:
My laptop was chosen for the "party music" computer and im assuming from the damage someone stepped on the audio out cable coming from the front of the notebook. The audio jack on the cable from the speakers was bent at a 45 angle and the jack in the notebook was "loose" and looked bent.

No sound from the speakers or any headphones plugged into the headphone jack, but there is sound from the hdmi port so i can still watch movies =]

I slightly took the notebook apart to have a peek and it looks like the what was expected the audio jack was bent and "ripped" out of the card it was on, i made a sad attempt at a fix using needle nose pliers trying to push it back in but no luck.

I some what know what im doing, ive replaced the simple stuff, ram and HDD.
i know how to trouble shoot the software if that was actually the problem not hardware but the software is working fine.

tl;dr
Im wondering how hard it is to replace the sound card, and how much a new one would be (newegg links would be awesome 8]) I do have a computer mechanix place down the road, ive heard good things from a fellow computer savvy friend (not just a geek squad wannabe) so maybe they could do the dirty work

any comments or ideas are appreciated

 

I don't think you will find it on newegg.

Maybe a good place to start would be to contact the place you bought the notebook from and see if they can point you in the right direction for parts.

 

i purchased it in 2008 from xoticpc.com, ill send them an email

 

The feet of the audio jack probably snapped off the board. Contact XoticPC and see how much the repair biill is.

Alternatively, it might be cheaper to buy an USB/expresscard sound card or a uDAC. Thats if you dont mind the inconvenience of having it externally. They will sound better than the internal audio card.

Sound Blaster X-Fi Notebook | Creative Labs Online Store
NuForce Icon uDAC-2

 

the external might be a quicker fix too, seeing as how im a spur of the moment kind of guy i may invest in one of these, the better audio sounds is a plus too. its not really a big deal as it is basically a desktop now with my 1.5tb external needing to plugged in all the time because its shared on the network. thanks for the links

edit is the uDAC that much better? the Sound Blaster X-Fi looks like the perfect fix, quick and easy but if the quality is that much better i may think twice

 

Ive never tried the x-fi but from what ive heard its just software based upmixing, compared to the desktop version which is hardware based.

The uDAC should be overall better. Its just plug and play and it will show up as a Digital Out. If you need EAX effects and such then the Xfi is probably for you.

Btw theres another version of the uDAC2 which has analog RCA and COAX spdif out incase you want to hook it up to speakers or a system.

NuForce Icon uDAC-2

 

i would like the xfi due to it would take up less space, compact ect but the uDAC2 would be nice if i do make the move on a new surround sound system in the future and the fact its just plug and play. short term the xfi would get it done, i guess the next question would be if the uDAC2 would have lasting power or is the third model coming out in say a month with _____

ill have to sleep on it im 50/50 right now, thanks for you help

 

If the uDAC2 looks too pricey, I'm currently using the USB Sound Blaster X-Fi Surround 5.1, because I also damaged my headphone jack.

You can at times find one for as low as $40 if you look around.

If you need a compact device, I can also vouch for the Creative X-Fi GO.