Turtle Beach Santa Cruz $6 after PM & MIR

[VSOP]

Yep its a 5.1 card

 

[ghackmann]

If you're using the analog outputs, I think so anyway. If you went ahead and invested in the digital adapter from Epox, I'd stick with the nForce2. The unfortunately thing about the nForce2 is that the quality of analog output can vary greatly from one motherboard manufacturer to another. On some, it's great, on others, it sux and really gives a false impression of what the nForce2 is capable of. I think the Epox is the middle of the road.

Actually, I built a computer for my brother using an EP-8RDA+ motherboard, and the analog sound quality is pretty bad. It's not as bad as most integrated sound cards (*shudder*), but there's obvious distortion at the low end. It's true though that it varies widely across brands; I've built other PCs with Abit nForce2 boards (both MCP and non-MCP) which have very clean audio.

I paid $100 for my Santa Cruz when it first came out, and it's still working great. $6 is an absolute steal.

 

[lsman]

pm today without problem.

 

[Brian48]

Damn. Went to another CC today. Got shot down again. At least this time, the CSR wasn't BS'ng me, nor was she stupid. Told me flat out that if the PM went below a certain point, they (their store anyway) won't do it. Essentially the manager's call and they've already gotten too many inqueries about. Said she didn't blame me for trying though. She'd do it herself if she was in my position.

Anyway, went down to CompUSA and picked up two of them for $39.95. They'll make great gifts during Christmas.

 

[Foghorn]

The best part about these cards is no CL shovelware to muck things up!

 

[MaDHaVoK]

I picked the Santa Cruz at Cicuit City in Amherst yesterday.... They didn't adverise a rebate so I had no problem doing the pricematch... I'm gonna print the rebate off the web and give it a shot...

Anyway right now I have a SoundBlaster Live 5.1 in my computer.....

Do you guys think the Santa Cruz is better than the SoundBlaster Live 5.1?

 

[Vic]

Originally posted by: MaDHaVoK
Do you guys think the Santa Cruz is better than the SoundBlaster Live 5.1?

yes

 

[richchud]

You won't believe this!!!

I was shot down all over the place on Sunday. Went back to one of the stores yesterday to do a PM for Battlefield 1942 and decided to try the Santa Cruz PM again since there were different people working at the counter. Anyway, asked the person to PM both BF 1942 and the TBSC. The person was training someone at the time so was explaining the whole PM procedure to the trainee. Didn't call the store and didn't call any manager. Don't know if the trainer was a manager though. The whole PM was painless but the trainer didn't give me the rebate form which was fine since I can printout from the website. Walked back to the car happy and checked the receipt. Turns out that the trainer swapped prices on the PM. BF 1942 was PMed at the 39.99 price (CompUSA TBSC price) and the TBSC was PMed at the 19.99 price (CompUSA BF 1942 price)!!! So, my BF 1942 came out to be 38.99 and the TBSC came out to be 13.99!!! I plan on returning BF 1942 and repurchasing with the correct PM.

 

[Slickone]

Originally posted by: nasttcar

I explained that the rebate was on the CC website and it would not have mattered anyway.

Please don't do this.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: Slickone

Originally posted by: nasttcar

I explained that the rebate was on the CC website and it would not have mattered anyway.

Please don't do this.

Doh!

Bought it yesterday(42.79 incl tax) and filing the rebate form today. I did this at customer service. she did not want to pricematch because she said it was a different card. I showed her the model number on the compusa ad and she went ahead and did it. She didn't mention the cc MIR, but she did take it when it came out of the register. Oh, well..I'll print my own copy.

 

[LuNoTiCK]

Damn, I really need this card. I don't have any circuit city's near me though. Can anyone show me the link to the compusa price?


Edit: Nevermind, I found it at the compusa site.

 

[DeezWho]

can u just print out the page from the compusa website showing the card and the price and take it to CC ?

 

[ww4397]

If I install this card in my 8RDA+, will I have any problems later when I update my nforce2 drivers? The nforce2 driver package is "all inclusive." Will it realize that my onboard sound has been turned off and skip the sound driver install?

Thanks.

 

[LuNoTiCK]

If anyone bought theirs and didn't like it, I'd be happy to take it off your hands for you. Or if anyone wants to pick up another for me that would also be appreciated.

 

[ghackmann]

Originally posted by: ww4397
If I install this card in my 8RDA+, will I have any problems later when I update my nforce2 drivers? The nforce2 driver package is "all inclusive." Will it realize that my onboard sound has been turned off and skip the sound driver install?

Thanks.

You shouldn't even need to disable your on-board card: go to Sounds and Audio Devices in Control Panel and set your Santa Cruz to the default card, and they'll happily co-exist. The only known problem is that you may have to disable your Santa Cruz's game port in Device Manager, since it might conflict with the on-board one.

But if you do want to disable your on-board sound anyway, yes, it should just work. The nForce driver pack might copy newer drivers to your hard drive, but it won't be able to actually run them.

(Note: I've never tried mixing an nForce2 and a Santa Cruz specifically, but I've done this with all combinations of sound cards and motherboards. YMMV.)

 

[ww4397]

Originally posted by: ghackmann

Originally posted by: ww4397
If I install this card in my 8RDA+, will I have any problems later when I update my nforce2 drivers? The nforce2 driver package is "all inclusive." Will it realize that my onboard sound has been turned off and skip the sound driver install?

Thanks.

You shouldn't even need to disable your on-board card: go to Sounds and Audio Devices in Control Panel and set your Santa Cruz to the default card, and they'll happily co-exist. The only known problem is that you may have to disable your Santa Cruz's game port in Device Manager, since it might conflict with the on-board one...

Thanks for the reply ghackmann.

So if I set the TBSC as Default in Control Panel, will that *effectively* shut down the onboard sound or will it still function? Or, can they both be used simultaneously? I'm a little confused.

 

[JoeS]

Thanks Merlion - Purchased one (3 left) for 35.99+2.52tax=$38.51. Brought in CompUSA flyer, cs at register had a problem with part numbers (?), called manager. I told him there are only 2 versions of the Turtle Beach Santa Cruz, retail and OEM. He had to go to rear of store to 'confirm'. When he returned he ok'ed the price match. When ringing up the sale, cs had to phone mamager again. Results - pm or rebate; not both. I took the pm. I just printed rebate form online (thanks Ionizer86 for the link) and will mail it to CC. This is a good price for a TBSC even without the rebate. I recently purchased one (OEM) from NewEgg (Great place to buy!) for $57.00.

 

[pizon]

Shot down, due to Mfg Part #: TB120-3400-04 compusa, Mfg Part #: TB120-3400-03 at circuit city. I will try another store on my way home.

 

[tarsakh]

CUSA one is listed as...

Santa Cruz 6-Speaker PCI Sound Card
Manufacturer: Voyetra Turtle Beach
Mfg Part #: TB120-3400-04
Product Number: 278953


while the CC one is listed as...

Turtle Beach 5.1-Channel Audio Sound Card
Brand/Model: TBS SANTACRUZCCS
Mfg Part #: TB120-3400-03


worried about having difficulty getting the PM due to different Mfg Part #'s(04 compared to 03) as well as the name of it being different(6-speaker compared to 5.1 channel). I don't have access to a compusa flier, nor a printer atm. can i just call up CC 800# and tell the person on the phone the url to the CUSA's price and have them adjust it while i'm putting in an order? or do i complete the order, then call and have them hopefully change it afterwards on the phone?

 

[ghackmann]

Originally posted by: ww4397

Originally posted by: ghackmann

Originally posted by: ww4397
If I install this card in my 8RDA+, will I have any problems later when I update my nforce2 drivers? The nforce2 driver package is "all inclusive." Will it realize that my onboard sound has been turned off and skip the sound driver install?

Thanks.

You shouldn't even need to disable your on-board card: go to Sounds and Audio Devices in Control Panel and set your Santa Cruz to the default card, and they'll happily co-exist. The only known problem is that you may have to disable your Santa Cruz's game port in Device Manager, since it might conflict with the on-board one...

Thanks for the reply ghackmann.

So if I set the TBSC as Default in Control Panel, will that *effectively* shut down the onboard sound or will it still function? Or, can they both be used simultaneously? I'm a little confused.

For the most part, it effectively disables your onboard sound, since 99% of all programs just send sound to the device set as Default. Some programs (mainly audio players and audio editors) let you override the default and pick which device to output to. There's not much practical you can do with that, but if you're really hell-bent on it, you could run different programs on different cards simulaneously.

That said, there's not much of a reason to actually disable your onboard sound card, either.

 

[Vic]

I have discovered that there is a difference between the card at CUSA and the one at CC.

The CUSA card comes with the install disc that has the latest drivers

That really is it. No other differences and you can download the latest drivers from turtlebeach.com

 

[MOONKEY]

Originally posted by: Vic
I have discovered that there is a difference between the card at CUSA and the one at CC.

The CUSA card comes with the install disc that has the latest drivers

That really is it. No other differences and you can download the latest drivers from turtlebeach.com

Thank you, it is time to update drivers.

 

[DeezWho]

weird ... I just got one at CC in burlington, MA and it is the model #TB120-3400-04 which is the same as the CUSA one...

Also, I didnt have any problems with the CS person ... just showed her the printout of the CUSA circular and I also had a printout of CUSA.com page showing model # which was the same for me (although I didnt need it as she did the PM without any questions) ...

After she gave me receipt I turned to leave (assuming Id get the MIR off website) and she called me back over and was like "Hold on a sec, it's printing a rebate for you" so I played dumb and said "oh ok..." and went back and ended up with both the PM and the MIR from the CSA ...


PS ... is there any reason why the box is so bloody large? I thought they were selling me an empty box by mistake at first cus the thing is so light yet a huge box ... opened it up and it's just a giant molded plastic container with the sounc card taking up 1/3 of the box space...

 

[ww4397]

Originally posted by: DeezWho


PS ... is there any reason why the box is so bloody large?...

Yes, the Marketing Department at TB thinks (knows?) that they sell more that way!

 

[kehi]

The CSR was a bit nasty when the CC rebate printed up, but following their own rules is not "pulling a fast one,"

I wish the CSR's or the sales reps would fall for this around me. Those sombitches always give the "same price after rebates song and dance bs". In my neck of the woods you would be better off just going to Comp and saving the time and aggrivation. BTW: DID I MENTION I HATE CC :|