Sound Card Advice

[DerekOldschool]

I'm considering buying a soundcard, but I want to know if it's really worth it - and if it is worth it, what are some good sound card options for my Cyclops rig.

I'm currently using the Karajan modual (on my DFI motherboard) without any problems, but I'm wondering if getting a dedicated sound card will take some of the load off the motherboard/CPU. Or will having another device using another IRQ cancel out any benefits gained in that department?

Does a soundcard make a big difference in gaming? I'm not doing audio editing or studio work.

Like I said, I'm still only considering a sound card and need some more input on the matter.

[cdn_Madrach]

If I'm not mistakin your sound module (Karajan) is pretty good and much better than onboard. I have used mostly onboard sound up until about 1 1/2 years ago when I got my X-Fi and sound quality doesen't even compare Especially gaming!!! The surround channels allow you to pinpoint what direction footsteps are coming from and which direction gunfire is coming from. A perfect example of the benifits of this while gaming is that if someone was sneeking up on you and they made a sound like switching weapons/reloading or walked too quickly you would notice this and turn and fire in the direction of the noise and get the kill almost every time You should be able to get a small boost in fps also but not a huge one whereas you already have a dedicated card. Hope that helps some

Dedicated sound is just plain better than stock sound. It doesn't matter how "good" your onboard is. Once you've used dedicated, there's no going back.

[Supergrover]

Well I am going to piggyback on this thread.

Looking for a new soundcard myself my old Audagy is well old and EOL.
So what I am in the market for is something for gaming mostly I listen to music on my computer but if I want to really listen I use the house stereo, so it would be headphones or 2.1 setup.
IDK about creative there software sucks balls, unless there has been a major improvement with the x-fi's.
So whats out there for a guy like me budget is $100 +/-

EDIT:
What about this one?
http://www.us.ncix.com/products/inde...acture=Sondigo

[cdn_Madrach]

Originally Posted by Supergrover

Well I am going to piggyback on this thread.

Looking for a new soundcard myself my old Audagy is well old and EOL.
So what I am in the market for is something for gaming mostly I listen to music on my computer but if I want to really listen I use the house stereo, so it would be headphones or 2.1 setup.
IDK about creative there software sucks balls, unless there has been a major improvement with the x-fi's.
So whats out there for a guy like me budget is $100 +/-

EDIT:
What about this one?
http://www.us.ncix.com/products/inde...acture=Sondigo

I've never really had a problem with creative's software and you don't have to install all of it just the parts you want. I've seen the extreme music xfi on ncix for $89 a few times. I really like my platinum edition and you can upconvert music to dvd quality on the fly

[Supergrover]

What about this it's on sale right now
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...3&promoid=1030

[BALISTX]

Originally Posted by Supergrover

What about this it's on sale right now
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...3&promoid=1030

That's a decent card from what I read, it's the same as the Xtreme Music without the fancy stuff. I just ordered one

[lcdguy]

Well, i guess i'm going to be the black sheep in the lot and not recommmend a creative card. Gaming aside you would be better off getting something from auzentech. Now while somthing like the x-meridian is probably out of your budget (around 160 bucks) the good ole x-mystique or x-plosion (when on sale) would defintely fall in the under $100 budget. The advantage of these cards is that while they may only support eax 2, they can rencode the input into a dd or DTS bitstream. This is espcially nice if you have a reciever or digital speakers that has a toslink fiber optic connection. I have owned both the x-mystique and x-meridian. Another thing that i don't think the creatives can do is my xmeridian can out put a multichannel signal at 192khz/24bit.

And if none of this sways you the drivers for the auzentech cards are easy and quick to install.

Just my 2 cents.

[Babrbarossa]

but for $40?

[Supergrover]

Originally Posted by Babrbarossa

but for $40?

I ordered one up, it wasn't my first choice but for 40 WTH
If it doesnt cut it the wife can have it or better yet the niece can use it.