New soundcards

Post by **CheapAlert** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 11:58 am

i can't take anyone's word for them. There's nothing better than my soundblaster live 5.1 that is noticable by ear. wtf 24bit eax3 hd wtf? must be prefabricated reverb crap to me.

what's the deal with these new sound cards post audigy anyway. all i read is hype from the companies, reviews, everyone, etc. I don't get it, maybe they're comparing it to a half-assed very noisy ac '97 or something.

Post by **Foo** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 12:09 pm

Basically?

The soundcard market has suffered from a total lack of innovation across like the last 10 years now. Seriously. Since 5.1 came into the mix the best they've done is add a few more speaker channels and a few more FX to the EAX system.

It's mostly creative's fault, as they've got a complete stranglehold on the market and aren't driven to innovate... but then again the question of what is there left to do with sound?

Loads IMO.

If you're looking to replace the card, I was shopping around recently (never ended up buying) and this card looks like the fucking bomb: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/HiTeC.html

Post by **Scourge** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 3:23 pm

That's one of the reasons I haven't upgraded my sound card in over 3 years. Not enough improvement to warrrent my doing it. Mine sounds good enough and unless it's a major improvement, I'm not going to.

Post by **Foo** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 3:25 pm

Still on an old Live 5.1 here too.

I had a new mobo with 7.1 onboard sound, but the live still sounded better.

Post by **CheapAlert** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 4:09 pm

i'm on a live 5.1 too

i upgraded from an awe64 which i upgraded from an awe32 which i upgraded from a 16 which i upgraded from a pro which i upgraded from the first.

Post by **Grudge** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:05 pm

Some reviews claim that those new Creative cards are actually good. They're pretty expensive though.

Post by **+JuggerNaut+** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 9:17 pm

unless your'e actually doing some recording or fairly serious playback, i agree, the 5.1's do the job nicely.

Post by **Scarface** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 5:46 am

I have the audigy, had it for 3 years now, no need to upgrade yet. Creative needs to be alot more like it's name.

Post by **corpse** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 8:10 am

Ive asked before but am still unsure.

I have 5.1 with my onboard Asus motherboard. Is a soundcard from audigy going to be better with things like Q3 and Q4?

Post by **+JuggerNaut+** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 8:36 am

does freeing up CPU processes make things better? sure does.

Post by **corpse** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 9:04 am

How many will a soundcard free up....1?

Post by **+JuggerNaut+** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 3:19 pm

corpse wrote:How many will a soundcard free up....1?

lol yeah, i meant cycles. a few too many white russians last night

Post by **shadd_** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 3:38 pm

i tested my onboard sound(nf3-250, 5.1ss ac-97)against my audigy in farcry awhile back.

results were fairly big. spots where i was getting ~30fps were up into the 40's.

Post by **Tormentius** » Mon Dec 26, 2005 6:57 pm

Scarface wrote:I have the audigy, had it for 3 years now, no need to upgrade yet. Creative needs to be alot more like it's name.

The new X-Fi's are great but they're a little steep still.