Turtle Beach Santa Cruz PCI Sound Card - RETAIL BOX @ Amazon $49.99 - $5 off code = $44.99 shipped FREE!

[Murpheeee]

Dang....it's back up to $75

 

[k1114]

Originally posted by: c627627
Also, if you overclock, going with quality mobo sound would give you one less PCI card to worry about.

Not at all, onboard audio chips also share bandwidth on the pci bus and are subjected to the clock frequency of it. On many motherboards the fsb cab only go so far before you have to disable the onboard sound to continue. The TBSC seems to handle running out of spec well though.

 

[MowSow]

Both sites have higher prices now ! I guess there all have a new system that raises the price when a lot of poeple are ordering the same item ! bummer !

 

[c627627]

Thanks k1114, I didn't know that. So overclocking doesn't enter into it.

Still, in all the sound card threads I've read, unless you have special needs/connectors,
there were a lot more people saying stuff in favor of shifting $50 to a high quality mobo sound purchase.

 

[corinthos]

Maybe since yesterday was the last day for free shipping in time for Christmas delivery they raised the price back up after that...

 

[corinthos]

It's BACK @ $49.99 w/ FREE Shipping! Get out your coupons!

 

[audscott]

Here's what I get: Price: $73.75 s&h fee $15.75.

Where do you get the $49.99 & free shipping?

Must be clean living (and lots of drugs)

Ooops....now I see...sorry.

 

[foggy]

How much of a difference would this card have over my Dell 4550 built in sound in the motherboard?

I mean, I consider the sound pretty good already, although I would like it more if I actually had a sound card capable of front and rear outputs as I have Logitech 560 speakers.

 

[c627627]

That's like saying "How much of a difference would this tire have over my Mazda Protege?"
You know, who knows what kind of a tire you have so most people wouldn't have a clue what kind of a sound chip you have.
Hit Google (web & newsgroups) for an attempt to find out about old mobo sound quality.
Really, only newer expensive (probably separately bought) mobos can compete with sound cards like this.

 

[k1114]

I say this is a good deal if you have decent speakers, if not honestly its not worth it. A lot of people say the TBSC sucks because they cant tell a diffrence in sound due to this.

Just thought i'd throw this in.

 

[k1114]

Originally posted by: c627627
OK so once you get past the drivers and connectors, what do you look for in a sound card?
Signal to Noise ratio's one thing, anything else?

signal to noise, thd % (although I dont think that its a big issue on quality cards), and what connections are onboard.

 

[dpid]

how much better is this over sound blaster live mp3+ 5.1? i'm just asking because so far, people have compared it to either sblive 5.1 or just the plain sblive. and yes, i use a good 4.1 system (logitech z560's)

-dp

 

[c627627]

I think driver problems or lack thereof would play a big role in your decision. I would wait a bit more to upgrade if you're looking at spending $50-$75.
In fact I'd say CPU or a Video card upgrade would be a way to go if you have computer $ burning a hole in your pocket.
Unless you have special audio needs, etc. etc.

 

[Apex]

Here's some pretty good info:

http://www.pcavtech.com/soundcards/compare/index.htm