sb live value vs. onboard

[BTSpope]

Im building a new system with a mainboard that has an onboard alc655 chip with spdif out. Will i notice any sound quality differences vs. my old sb live value card? Im just trying to decide whether or not i should continue using the sb card in the new setup

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

i'd say stick with the SB live. the ac97 won't touch the clairty of the emu10kx but most users won't notice the difference in general computer use.

 

[Soulkeeper]

yeah the sblive! rocks
the only onboard that give it a run for it's money would be the soundstorm stuff

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: AWhackWhiteBoy
i'd say stick with the SB live. the ac97 won't touch the clairty of the emu10kx but most users won't notice the difference in general computer use.

Sigh...soundblaster conforms to AC'97. AC'97 is the current audio standard that all sound circuits conform to. It is not a chip. It is not a product. It's a standard.

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

i call any generic sound controller ac97.

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: AWhackWhiteBoy
i call any generic sound controller ac97.

Okay then, I'm going to call an Audigy AC'97.

Makes about as much sense.

There's no such thing as a generic sound controller. It's a chipset of some kind. Maybe connexant, maybe realtek, might support EAX, might not. It's a chipset as much as an audigy is just with a different feature set in mind. It most certainly is not "an AC97. "

"My Audigy beats the crap outta your AC'97!"

That analogous to saying:

"My Radeon beats the crap outta your OpenGL!"

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

i've always called onboard audio just ac97, theres too many chip makers to keep track of whats what. theres so many companies making tons of these generic little chips that dubbing each one with a value is impossible for me. if its onboard, i call it ac97 because it probably doesn't merit anymore attention than that.

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: AWhackWhiteBoy
i've always called onboard audio just ac97, theres too many chip makers to keep track of whats what. theres so many companies making tons of these generic little chips that dubbing each one with a value is impossible for me. if its onboard, i call it ac97 because it probably doesn't merit anymore attention than that.

Do you call onboard video "direct3d" or do you just call it onboard video?
How about you just call onboard audio "onboard audio?"

This incorrect labeling that you're using comes from drivers which represented an audio chipset in device manager as "AC'97 audio codec" or something similar. This is analogous to an onboard video driver saying "Direct Draw video controller." While technically correct, it doesn't tell you much and using it to describe a chipset makes you look pretty...
incorrect.

 

[Brian48]

SBLive.

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

i call onboard video just onboard video because theres no generic standard(for the most part), people still have options. i'm not a gamer anyway,i stick with 2d. i really don't know much of anything about graphics.

most onboard video i've ever toyed with on desktops has been atrocious. i'm pretty arrogant when it comes with onboard stuff, i hate it. i consider it only 'backup'.

i've personally never use onboard video or audio accept on my laptop.

 

[MichaelD]

Hee-hee, funny little "discussion" going on here. AIWGuru is correct, though.

BTSpope, stick with the SBlive. If your mobo isn't an NForce2 board with the MCP-T, the SBlive is your better choice.

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: AWhackWhiteBoy
i call onboard video just onboard video because theres no generic standard(for the most part), people still have options.

So you're telling me you can buy a videocard or onboard video which doesn't support direct draw and thus will not work with windows?
Yeah, right.
I think you have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[Mem]

Will i notice any sound quality differences vs. my old sb live value card? Im just trying to decide whether or not i should continue using the sb card in the new setup

I would say try the onboard sound first to see if you`ll like it, only your ears will really tell if there`s a difference or not,onboard sound varies from poor to very good.

The SB live should sound better but then I`ve friends that can call the argument both ways,bottom line is your EARS will let you know .

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

Originally posted by: AIWGuru

So you're telling me you can buy a videocard or onboard video which doesn't support direct draw and thus will not work with windows?
Yeah, right.
I think you have no idea what you're talking about.

just ignore my statement:
"i'm not a gamer anyway,i stick with 2d. i really don't know much of anything about graphics."

and keep babbling.

 

[BTSpope]

thx for the input people...its amazing what an inocuous thread can develop into

 

[Nebor]

People call generic onboard sound AC97 because that's how Realtek and others market it. "5.1 Surround AC97 Sound!"

I'll continue to call generic sound AC97, because people know that I'm not referring to an Audigy when I say AC97. I might say Realtek AC97 though.

 

[MDE]

Wow, Nebor the voice of reason? WTH has the world come to?

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: MDE
Wow, Nebor the voice of reason? WTH has the world come to?

That's true, this is a departure from my usual roll as the voice inside your head.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: Nebor

Originally posted by: MDE
Wow, Nebor the voice of reason? WTH has the world come to?

That's true, this is a departure from my usual roll as the voice inside your head.

That's you? No wonder I'm so fvcked up...

 

[Budmantom]

Originally posted by: Brian48
SBLive.

 

[Kingofcomputer]

ALC655 is just the codec chip, SB Live (Value)'s DSP has built-in codec.

You need to compare the sound engine (from the motherboard's chipset) to the SB Live (Value)'s DSP.

What motherboard are you buying?

 

[AIWGuru]

Originally posted by: Kingofcomputer
ALC655 is just the codec chip, SB Live (Value)'s DSP has built-in codec.

You need to compare the sound engine (from the motherboard's chipset) to the SB Live (Value)'s DSP.

What motherboard are you buying?

Specifically, for audio quality, it would be better to compare the CODEC and it's implementation since the codec is a combined ADC and DAC which will determine the majority of the quality.