Originally posted by: Mac
...but not for gaming. An on-board solution usually has zero-to-useless sound API support. Meaning it's worthless for gaming.
I'm not going to disagree with the stand-alone sound card market becoming obsolete, because the majority of the pc buying public don't need anything other then on-board sound, but if someone wants quality sound (For a PC), or good gaming performance, a card solution is the only solution, and as on-board sound improves, so should out-board sound, if they really want to keep from becoming extinct.
This is exactly what Creative wants you to believe. But the facts don't bear this out. Read through any of the gaming sites who have started testing on-board sound (Anandtech even has some), particularly nForce2 mobos and the newer VIA mobos, and you will find that the performance hit is negligible, even on those "processor-intensive" games. And if they are honest, they will also admit to being surprised that the sound is much better than they expected...equivalent to the original Audigy board, even.
Here's the scenario...someone in charge of inventory and accounts payable at Newegg notices there sure are a bunch of Audigy2 stacking up on the shelves waiting for all those "POWER USERS" (deep echoing voice with lightning and thunder sound effects) to purchase. The only problem is that the intelligent "POWER USERS" (same lighting and sound effects) are buying new mobos, such as the nForce2 boards so they can run faster cpu's, bus speeds, you name it, and by the way, also have great onboard sound. Duh... So Newegg contacts Creative and says, 'Hey, we got a problem here...we need to return some of the Audigy2 boards because we can't sell as many as we ordered and we don't want to pay for equipment we can't sell. Well, Creative has a problem because they also have a bunch of those pesky Audigy2 boards filling their shelves and more hitting the docks every day (refrain from The Who's
Tommy "There's more at the door...there's more at the door"). In a moment of brilliance, Creative's marketing department decides..."Let's offer a rebate!!! If they can't convince enough people to drop $112, maybe if we promise to give 'em $30 back, they might just part with the cash...then those buyers have to follow our rules for getting their money back...we can wait as long as want to pay those who actually send in the rebate correctly (we get to decide that, too!) and we can convince Newegg to keep the cards...hey, I'm liking this idea. Print up the rebate form and post it on the web".
I will stand by my comments that unless you have special requirements or an older mobo, this is a tough sell. If it weren't, do you think that Creative would be already offering the $30 rebate through Newegg after the board has already been discounted to $112. Don't get me wrong, I am not slamming SB cards, it's just that a standalone card at $82 just doesn't make alot of sense. The one comment that did make sense was posted earlier in the thread regarding the Hercules Theater XP with the break out box...these are handy. I have an Audigy Platinum EX that I picked up for $100 last year, similar concept. The sound on both of these cards are more that adequate, but their value came as a result of the added connectivity. The Hercules Theatre can be picked up for around $85, no waiting for a rebate...that is a steal.
Aside from the "power users", the rest of the mindless masses usually don't even know what type of sound card they have and don't care. They use whatever came in their PC and will stick with it until they replace the computer and when that happens, it will be onboard sound. As a side note, it would be interesting to find out how many Soundblaster 16, AWE32 and AWE64 are still in use.
The purpose of this rant is simply to say, "
Marvie, relax, take a deep breath and hold onto your wallet. You bought a great mobo with terrific sound. Keep that money in your pocket or use it to buy a faster video card or CPU..."