Buying a sound card

[rick475]

Hi,

I'm looking for a PCI-E sound card with a near 100$ budget. I'd like to get my hands on the sound card that offers the best gaming performance, best driver support and best stability/compatibility.

I had those 2 in mind :

Asus Xonar

Creative

And I wonder if it's really worth it to get one of those 2 instead

Asus Xonar expensive model

Creative expensive model

thanks for your help

 

[PurdueRy]

What speakers do you have and how are you connective them to your computer(analog or digital)?

 

[rick475]

I have 5 speakers + sub. I guess they are analog because it's an old altec lansing sound system. But I may change it eventually for something like that :

Logitech X-540

 

[Modelworks]

I would go with auzentech.
Great cards and great company if you need support.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16829156010

 

[shingletingle]

Originally posted by: rick475
I have 5 speakers + sub. I guess they are analog because it's an old altec lansing sound system. But I may change it eventually for something like that :

Logitech X-540

Why get a really good soundcard if you're just going to get cheap speakers? At least get the Logitech Z5500 if you're getting a decent soundcard.

 

[rick475]

My first goal is to get a sound card that will give me the "best gaming performance, best driver support and best stability/compatibility". The speakers aren't my priority right now, so let's not go off topic. Let's assume I'll get good speakers eventually.

 

[postmortemIA]

truth is there's no such thing as gaming card anymore. Almost all new games come with their own audio engine that does all the work in software.

X-Fi or sonar will produce best sound reproduction for normal gamer.

 

[shingletingle]

Originally posted by: rick475
My first goal is to get a sound card that will give me the "best gaming performance, best driver support and best stability/compatibility". The speakers aren't my priority right now, so let's not go off topic. Let's assume I'll get good speakers eventually.

Like the guy above me said, one soundcard does not give you better gaming performance over any other soundcard, including onboard audio. Get a soundcard because of its quality and features, not gaming performance.

 

[bloodugly]

Jeez, I'm still running an old-school soundblaster with KX drivers for ASIO recording. I feel old lol

 

[rick475]

Like the guy above me said, one soundcard does not give you better gaming performance over any other soundcard, including onboard audio. Get a soundcard because of its quality and features, not gaming performance.

Of course I don't expect to get better FPS, I just noticed that in certain games some sounds don't play because my current sound card is probably overwhelmed. Plus my current sound card has very old drivers (no more update available).

...And I tried to play with the sound settings regarding the hardware acceleration.

So that's what I meant by gaming performance.

 

[postmortemIA]

Originally posted by: rick475

Like the guy above me said, one soundcard does not give you better gaming performance over any other soundcard, including onboard audio. Get a soundcard because of its quality and features, not gaming performance.

Of course I don't expect to get better FPS, I just noticed that in certain games some sounds don't play because my current sound card is probably overwhelmed. Plus my current sound card has very old drivers (no more update available).

...And I tried to play with the sound settings regarding the hardware acceleration.

So that's what I meant by gaming performance.

if there's hardware acceleration then great, game supports DirectSound3D or even better, EAX. For such games, Creative cards would play well. Onboard audio would suck, The problem is, there are no new games that do this. However, there's a lot of existing games with EAX support

Here's creative page for EAX support in Vista:
http://connect.creativelabs.co...ts/Games/AllItems.aspx
Here's list of games that support EAX: (click on EAX games list)
http://www.soundblaster.com/technology/

 

[Jumpem]

That do what, EAX? What sound API do games use these days? Is there any reason not to use onboard sound, other than saving a few cpu cycles?

 

[postmortemIA]

software audio - see Crysis, TF2, etc. Even last Total War game (Emipire) does not have EAX, unlike previous two ( TW Rome and Medieval II: TW)

 

[Brakner]

Originally posted by: shingletingle

Originally posted by: rick475
I have 5 speakers + sub. I guess they are analog because it's an old altec lansing sound system. But I may change it eventually for something like that :

Logitech X-540

Why get a really good soundcard if you're just going to get cheap speakers? At least get the Logitech Z5500 if you're getting a decent soundcard.

Because even with my X-530's I noticed a huge difference when I upgraded to an Auzentech Forte from a Audigy 4. It was like night and day, Bass is way clearer and stronger, the poistional is incredible in games like Fallout 3. No breaks in the sound with rapid fire and Assault rifle in Mass Effect ( all weapons sound incredible )

Best $100 buck I have spent in years.

 

[will889]

I am currently using and xfi extreme music from a Dell pull and it's about 20% better than onboard realtek for most games. Does well enough in analog as not to have to use and amp with some cans.

 

[gizbug]

Auzentech Prelude 7.1

 

[Tlan]

does the zuzentech prelude 7.1 perform better than an x-fi xtreme gamer fatality card ?

 

[Phris]

I have the same question, but 90% of my use consists of music, generally hooked to an old (but awesome!) speaker system via 3.5-to-RCA cable. I have two sets of two speakers and also really nice headphones. Thoughts?

Low noise floor is nice.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: Phris
I have the same question, but 90% of my use consists of music, generally hooked to an old (but awesome!) speaker system via 3.5-to-RCA cable. I have two sets of two speakers and also really nice headphones. Thoughts?

Low noise floor is nice.

I wold recommend the
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16829120103 but it is really hard to find now. Shame because the chaintech av-710 is a great card. I don't think anything comes close without spending $50+ more.


The card is based on the Via envy chipset which is used in pro cards. The thing that made the chaintech card great was they put a DAC on their by wolfson, so in 2 channel mode it went through the wolfson DAC, a very nice sounding card.

There are cheap knockoffs now on places like ebay for $15 but not sure they have that wolfson dac or not. The chip is Envy24HT-S .
The ones on the cheap cards are the VT1723, seems to be a lower end of the same chip.

 

[terentenet]

I have both sound cards in my system. I have a Xonar D2/PM (PCI version) and one X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro. I use the Xonar for music and movies and the X-Fi for the rest.
There's a clear difference between the two. Gaming in Windows 7, the X-FI is clearly better and has better positional audio and the sound itself is more tailored for games (bass more boomy, recessed highs etc). There's no difference in FPS, but one thing I know for sure, Xonar with GX mode activated (for games) will give some headaches.
While listening to music and watching movies, the Xonar is in a whole different league. It has rich and natural bass, clear highs and you can hear the finest details. The music will sound 100% different from what you know it to sound like. You will hear instruments and notes that weren't there before.

So, get your sound card based on what you want the most. Xonar is very good (almost the best, beats the auzentech) in movies and music, X-Fi is the best for games.
As an all arounder, get the Auzentech. It games as good as an X-Fi and you have decent sound quality (better than regular X-Fi) in music and movies due to better opamps.
To really get the most out of these sound cards you will need a good speaker system. The Logitech Z-5500 will not cut it. You need to go the A/V receiver + standfloor or bookshelf speakers and a separate subwoofer to really have sound quality. It will cost some money, but once done it will last you for many years to come.

I had a Logitech Z-5500 system and it did indeed sounded good to me. Then I decided to build me a custom sound system. I ended up with:
Yamaha RX-V861 A/V Receiver
4 x Wharfedale Diamond 9.5 standfloors
Monitor Audio Bronze Series BRLCR center speaker
Monitor Audio RS-W12 subwoofer

This system is clearly superior to the Z-5500 and I highly recommend these components.

 

[rick475]

Originally posted by: terentenet
I have both sound cards in my system. I have a Xonar D2/PM (PCI version) and one X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro. I use the Xonar for music and movies and the X-Fi for the rest.
There's a clear difference between the two. Gaming in Windows 7, the X-FI is clearly better and has better positional audio and the sound itself is more tailored for games (bass more boomy, recessed highs etc). There's no difference in FPS, but one thing I know for sure, Xonar with GX mode activated (for games) will give some headaches.
While listening to music and watching movies, the Xonar is in a whole different league. It has rich and natural bass, clear highs and you can hear the finest details. The music will sound 100% different from what you know it to sound like. You will hear instruments and notes that weren't there before.

So, get your sound card based on what you want the most. Xonar is very good (almost the best, beats the auzentech) in movies and music, X-Fi is the best for games.
As an all arounder, get the Auzentech. It games as good as an X-Fi and you have decent sound quality (better than regular X-Fi) in music and movies due to better opamps.
To really get the most out of these sound cards you will need a good speaker system. The Logitech Z-5500 will not cut it. You need to go the A/V receiver + standfloor or bookshelf speakers and a separate subwoofer to really have sound quality. It will cost some money, but once done it will last you for many years to come.

I had a Logitech Z-5500 system and it did indeed sounded good to me. Then I decided to build me a custom sound system. I ended up with:
Yamaha RX-V861 A/V Receiver
4 x Wharfedale Diamond 9.5 standfloors
Monitor Audio Bronze Series BRLCR center speaker
Monitor Audio RS-W12 subwoofer

This system is clearly superior to the Z-5500 and I highly recommend these components.

Thanks a lot, that was the feedback I was looking for

 

[Jumpem]

Any reason to replace a PCI X-Fi with something PCI-E? Or is my three year old card good enough to put in a new box?