Which soundcard should i choose Videologic Sonic Vortex 2, A3D II, PCI or some SoundBlaster(compatability issues?)?

[r0d3nt]

I am soon to buy my new computer and i need a soundcard for it( of course...).
So which card should i get?
This will probably be the configuration:
Diskdrive 3,5" 1,44MB ,SONY
Videologic Sonic Vortex 2, A3D II, PCI
Miditower LÅ-04 Athl. ATX
SDRAM 128MB PC-133
AMD Athlon K7 900MHz Socket A
DVD Asus DVD-E608
Subwoofer Creative DTT2200 Digital 5.1
BED Nätverkskort D-link
MK Microstar ATX K7TPro2 Socket A
HD IBM Deskstar 75GXP 30GB

Are there any compatability issues between the motherboard and the soundcard?
Any tips what soundcard i should choose?

 

[Viper GTS]

What's wrong with a SB Live? I love mine, & haven't had a single problem with it.

Best part is you can pick up a Live! Value for ~$50.

Viper GTS

 

[Mem]

I`ll have to agree with Viper GTS on this ,my own MSI K7T PRO with SBlive 1024 value as been rock stable.

 

[r0d3nt]

Nothing wrong with it , I just heard a3d is sooo superior to eax in games.
Yes , I know about the performance hit when using it.

 

[sandorski]

And you heard right. When using a Vortex2 soundcard, just be sure to use Aureals ver 2048 refernce drivers, use a PCI slot that doesn't share IRQ's(consult mobo manual), don't use Win2k, and disable SB16/PRO DOS emulation.

If you can find an Aureal SQ2500, that would be the best Vortex2 soundcard and should be cheap. I know I'll be hanging on to mine until it stops working!

 

[r0d3nt]

Okay , thank you!
Does the Vortex 2 have good sound , and how is it compared to a SB 1024 or something?
How is a3d in games?
Have you had any problems with yours?


I can't type....

 

[Wingznut]

I recently picked up a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card. After owning a SBLive! (which has to be the most overrated piece of hardware) and a MX300, I can safely say that the Santa Cruz kicks their @ss.

Santa Cruz website
GA-Hardware's review
Cnet's review
3dAudioImmersion's review
Sharky's review

 

[Soccerman]

"Does the Vortex 2 have good sound , and how is it compared to a SB 1024 or something?"

yes the Vortex 2 is the best (still) for games.. it's A3D API is far superior to EAX.

however, because Aureal doesn't exist anymore (creative owns what's left of them) as a company, therefor, I would suggest a Philips soundcard. it's had 2 reviews, they both got good scores, however I don't trust them that well, I'd have to wait for 3d Soundsurge to release their review before I considered buying it.

 

[gregulator]

dont forget about philips new soundcard.. i hear its gonna be some pretty good competition

 

[slpaulson]

I am also looking at the new phillips sound card. It looks like it is gonna kick some ass. Too bad it doesn't support a3d or eax.

 

[kiwimary]

I have the sq2500 vortex2 sound card in my system. I had a sound blaster live value before and I must say that the vortex2 is much better in terms of positioning with 4 speakers (which is very useful in gaming). I find that the sound quality between the 2 cards are about equal, but they bring out different sounds. soundblaster brings out the higher pitchs beautifully, while I had to play around with the equalizer to bring that out on the vortex2. The mid and lower tones are much stronger in the vortex2.

 

[NoreagaCNN]

Get an SBLive Platinum or Gamer, i have a Platinum and my girlfriend has one too. SBLives kick ass, hehe.

Peace,
Nore

PS: You can mostly find SBLive Values or MP3+ for cheap around $60-70

 

[RagingGuardian]

I have to agree with wingznuts. The Santa Cruz is an excellent card. I had an Live X-Gamer and had to get rid of it because of hardware conflicts. The Live is a really good card but it is way overated. Besides the Cruz and the SQ2500 put's it to shame. Just be warned that the drivers for both these cards in Win2K aren't really good. This is the area where the Live takes the lead.

 

[r0d3nt]

Okay , thank you all for your replys.
The site I am ordering my comouter from doesn not have the Turtle Beach Santa Crus card but it has
Sonic Vortex 2, A3D II, PCI, Optic digital ut. retail
and
Ljudkort Videologic Sonic Fury. retail, 18-bit A/D, 20-bit D/A 4Ch-Rec, 6Ch-Play.
If i bought one of those , would it be much worse than the Turtle Beach?
And which one should i choose?
The Sonic Fury supports DirectSound, DS3D, EAX 1.0, EAX 2.0, I3DL2 and A3D 1.0 (by translating to DS3D calls, works with most but not all titles),
and the Sonic Vortex 2 has Aureal A3D 1.0 and 2.0
Microsoft DirectSound, DirectSound3D, DirectInput, DirectMusic.

Also , how are the speakers?