Asus? Creative? Help me find my way through this mess

[soulicro]

Hey all, first post here =]

I'm looking for a new soundcard to go with my new rig. This used to be easy, you'd just go Creative and not think twice about it.

Not so much the case these days. My needs are simple - I want incredible sound for games, music, and movies - gaming being my primary concern.

I'm pretty sure EAX is dead, and my current soundcard only supports up to EAX2 anyway, so (and please do correct me if I'm wrong on this one) I dont think EAX should be a consideration anymore.

I will be using Windows 7 64bit, I will hook the card up to Logitech's Z5500, and budget is not really a concern. I wont be mixing or making any music at all, and I wont be using headphones really.

Help?

[SKYMTL]

The question these days is usually whether you even need a sound card or not. I'm not an autiophile by any stretch of the imagination but I know what I like and what I don't. However, I have never really found a need for a dedicated sound card, especially with some mobos sporting great little audio chips.

It also depends on how you want your system set up. I'd personally go with the Auzentech X-Fi Prelude.

[Varroa]

+1 for the prelude. I have the same setup as you and the same speakers and I love my prelude! It is the best of both worlds in terms of music/movies and games.

[mo' power]

You can't go wrong with Auzentech. I'm using a different model, but I got mine on the cheap. I'd recommend that card as well.

[soulicro]

Thanks for all the replies! Auzentech is not available in my country, I could theoretically get it from the US but is it that worth it? I'm currently looking at the Asus D2X.. but the Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatality Pro edition is also widely available around here.

The list of soundcard vendors available in my country are as follows:
Aim, Asus, Audiotrak, Behringer, CMedia, Creative, Dynamode, Echo, Edirol, Genius, HIS, M-Audio, Maxxtro, Sedna, ST Lab, Sweex, Tascam, and Zalman. Hope this does any good.

Any thoughts?

[Varroa]

Go with an Asus then, they aren't as good as Auzentech for gaming but they are better than Creative for music/movies.

[Slik]

Originally Posted by soulicro

Thanks for all the replies! Auzentech is not available in my country, I could theoretically get it from the US but is it that worth it? I'm currently looking at the Asus D2X.. but the Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatality Pro edition is also widely available around here.

The list of soundcard vendors available in my country are as follows:
Aim, Asus, Audiotrak, Behringer, CMedia, Creative, Dynamode, Echo, Edirol, Genius, HIS, M-Audio, Maxxtro, Sedna, ST Lab, Sweex, Tascam, and Zalman. Hope this does any good.

Any thoughts?

Please believe me when I suggest the Prelude or XFI Titanium Fatality. I have tried several cards and the Prelude or XFI will kill any other sound card out there when used for gaming. Trust me,for gaming go for one of those two cards. The Prelude is not PCI e and is in some ways,the better choice if you don't want your sound card too close to your video card.In my opinion,yiu get better air flow and less heat

[lowfat]

Originally Posted by Slik

Please believe me when I suggest the Prelude or XFI Titanium Fatality. I have tried several cards and the Prelude or XFI will kill any other sound card out there when used for gaming. Trust me,for gaming go for one of those two cards. The Prelude is not PCI e and is in some ways,the better choice if you don't want your sound card too close to your video card.In my opinion,yiu get better air flow and less heat

This is your opinion. EAX is a dying standard. Most new games use OpenAL now. Channel seperation on the Asus D2X is very good. In terms of sound quality it does also edge out on Prelude, and smashes the X-Fi Titanium. I have owned all three of these cards plus many others in the past few years, so this is first hand experience.

For a multichannel card I would suggest the D2X over any other.

[odis172]

+1 D2X d2, or dx being alternatives you may want to check out.