Best sound card for gaming

[mrgoblin]

Sennheiser hd 580 and Soundblaster Audigy 2 with eax is like having hacks in counterstrike.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Mem
Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS is the best gaming card period.

I have this card but can't get the bloody center speaker or front speakers to work on my Logitech Z640s. Which plug goes where? There is a green, yellow and a black but the outputs on the sound card are not marked, the connectors on the speakers are not marked nor is any of this covered in the materials that came with either the speakers or the sound card. Why the F can't they make this simple? I found out after much searching which outputs on the sound card go to which speakers but haven't had any luck finding out which of the speaker wires do what.

 

[Brian48]

Look in your documentation. The ZS comes with a color coded decal that you are suppose to apply on the output interface so you can see what goes where.

 

[bcterps]

Originally posted by: Nebor
The DACs on board an Audigy 2 are equivalant to what you'll find in a $1000 reciever....

Any links/reviews/tests to back that up?

 

[CJP]

I've got an Audigy (1) card and I notice in some games they list EAX 1 to 4. If I keep my drivers up to date on my Audigy will it support all the versions of EAX?

 

[Brian48]

Originally posted by: benchiu

Originally posted by: Nebor
The DACs on board an Audigy 2 are equivalant to what you'll find in a $1000 reciever....

Any links/reviews/tests to back that up?

Well, I don't know anything about $1000 receivers, but I do know something about the Cirrus Logic CS4382 and it is indeed a very excellent DAC. Much more so than any found on any consumer-level sound card.


http://www.cirrus.com/en/products/pro/detail/P282.html

http://www.cirrus.com/en/press/releases/P236.html

http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/creativeaudigy2/index.html

From the above link:

The Crystal trade mark which belongs to Cirrus Logic is used for a wide range of converters - from cheap AC'97 codecs for $10 sound cards to luxurious and pricey DACs designed for Hi-End and professional equipment. Nonetheless, the CS4382 DAC used here is not a cheap solution. It's 5-6 times dearer than DACs used in ordinary sound cards (according to the price data from the manufacturers' sites), and the converters are just a stair lower and have characteristics a little bit inferior to those of much more expensive top stereo Crystal DACs. Although the 4382 is a chip of the last year line, the current model 4383 has nothing new except the support for muting of rear channels.

 

[Mem]

I've got an Audigy (1) card and I notice in some games they list EAX 1 to 4. If I keep my drivers up to date on my Audigy will it support all the versions of EAX?

Yes it does.

 

[BFG10K]

Audigy2 ZS.

 

[Nebor]

Connections for your speakers should go orange, green, black, from the left side of the card.

 

[Brille]

You Creative ..... !

Have you ever heard of a chip called Vortex2 aka AU8830 ?
EAX
EAX is nothing compared to A3D 2.0 and 3.0

What does Creative know about quality? They have no time thinking about that... they are to occupied with taking over other sound chip companys with superior technologi and dumping it so that no one can see that their old SB card they have been selling for the last 10 years really sucks.

If you want read more about this, google for "Aureal Creative"
(This november/december Creative also bought Sensaura 3D... go Crative... soon there is nothing left to choose than their crappy cards.)

 

[Conky]

Heck, I have no doubt that the Audigy2 is a fine card but I am still running a SBLive! card and have no issues. Why fix what ain't broke? I just cant bring myself to spend $50-100 for a part I'm not sure I need or will even be able to tell the difference with.

 

[Elcs]

Is the digital port on the Audigy 2/ZS optical like the one on my NF7-S or is it the other one?

If I want to use the digital outputs for my Soundstorm, the kit is going to cost me around £35. An A2 ZS would cost around £90 or an OEM Audigy2 would cost around £60 if they are both the right type.

EDIT: My rig is used for MP3's and games only so...

 

[PliotronX]

Originally posted by: Brille
You Creative ..... !

Have you ever heard of a chip called Vortex2 aka AU8830 ?
EAX
EAX is nothing compared to A3D 2.0 and 3.0

What does Creative know about quality? They have no time thinking about that... they are to occupied with taking over other sound chip companys with superior technologi and dumping it so that no one can see that their old SB card they have been selling for the last 10 years really sucks.

If you want read more about this, google for "Aureal Creative"
(This november/december Creative also bought Sensaura 3D... go Crative... soon there is nothing left to choose than their crappy cards.)

The Vortex2 is old hat, the drivers are older than Windows XP RTM. It's time to let go man. I agree that Creative has gotten away with anticompetitive behavior for over a decade, but for gaming it can't be denied that Audigy series are the best standalone gaming sound cards available. I'm hoping Nvidia steps up to the plate, but it doesn't look that way, Creative wouldn't dare attempt buying Nvidia though.

Age aside, with my Monster MX300, I remember only playing a couple titles with A3D 2.0 and was not impressed. It was buggier than EAX ever was (that's why support for it was removed in Quake 3 after PR 1.25 IIRC), and EAX:HD borrows some characteristics from A3D 2.0 without becoming bug-ridden. I never played a game with A3D 3.0 so I can't form an opinion on that, but just after 3.0 was finalized and Aureal was working on the implementation for their chipsets, they were bought out. That was just before (or after?) the release of Windows 2000 so the driver support was severely lacking, only beta drivers available that half-worked. Microsoft finished a set of drivers but didn't support much in the way of features for Windows XP.

The Audigy 2 has noticeable better analog output as well as somewhat limited digital capabilities which the Vortex2 only dreams about. Just let it go, and hope Nvidia comes up with a player

 

[pukemon]

If you got an nVidia MCP-T SoundStorm onboard, why not use it? Otherwise, yeah like everyone else says the Audigy2 is the way to go. I have an Audigy2 ZS, not sure what's different from the original Audigy2 is, but it's good enough for me. Using some Creative Inspire 5.1 speakers.

 

[Mem]

I must say the onboard sound on my DFI NF2 Ultra Infinity does sound good even in analogue mode,I`ve not even bothered using my old Audigy card.

There is a green, yellow and a black but the outputs on the sound card are not marked, the connectors on the speakers are not marked nor is any of this covered in the materials that came with either the speakers or the sound card. Why the F can't they make this simple?

JulesMaximus,


Black is for rear speakers,yellow for sub and centre,green is line out for front speakers.

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: Crazyfool
Heck, I have no doubt that the Audigy2 is a fine card but I am still running a SBLive! card and have no issues. Why fix what ain't broke? I just cant bring myself to spend $50-100 for a part I'm not sure I need or will even be able to tell the difference with.

You'll hear a difference I recently upgraded from a SB Live! 5.1 to an Audigy 2 ZS and am still in shock, definitely a great card.

 

[Gagabiji]

Originally posted by: BFG10K
Audigy2 ZS.

 

[The Sauce]

Does the Audigy2 ZS have a connector for front case inputs? That's the main reason that I am sticking with mobo sound up to now.

 

[The Sauce]

Damn...killed another thread.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Hercules offered some good competition for a while, I still love my Game Theater XP...

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: Snatchface
Does the Audigy2 ZS have a connector for front case inputs? That's the main reason that I am sticking with mobo sound up to now.

The Platinum version has an i/o panel that goes in a 5 1/4" drivebay; the Platinum Pro's is stand-alone. Both come with a remote control. Scope out the product pictures on newegg's site for specifics.

 

[The Sauce]

Damn you all, I just bought one. Never even thought about it before reading this thread.

 

[caz67]

Audigy 2ZS no doubt!!

 

[bdjohnson]

Turle Beach Santa Cruz has great sound quality and is only $50.

 

[Conky]

Looked at the Audigy2 ZS over at Newegg. $88 was the lowest priced one! For a soundcard. That is just too much for a soundcard.

Next thing I know you guys will be trying to talk me into buying $90 keyboards. LOL