Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck.

blibbax · Jan 25, 2009, 02:34 PM

Hi all, I'm looking into getting myself a dedicated soundcard, partly because of the obvious benefits and partly because my inetgrated solution is so bad.

I don't really have a specific budget but I don't have money to burn either, so I'd like to know, what is the best bang for buck soundcard?

I play games and want to be able to keep the card for a long time. PCI-Ex1 would be most convenient, but I could probably manage a PCI if that's a big issue.

Please feel free to give any relevant advise, but if you mention a specific product a link to a UK retailer would be really useful.

Thanks in advance.

RIV@NVX · Jan 25, 2009, 02:45 PM

X-Fi Titanium (non-Fatality) or Xonar DX. I would personally go for Xonar. They are both around $100. You can't get much cheaper than that, because the cheapest cards are worse than onboard.

Is onboard not good enough for you?

PC_Inquisitor · Jan 25, 2009, 03:07 PM

I own an old Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro and I use Vista... And well... don't buy a creative because the drivers on vista are a piece of sh*t... crashes and problems... On Xp is lovely, but not in vista

blibbax · Jan 25, 2009, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RIV@NVX

X-Fi Titanium (non-Fatality) or Xonar DX. I would personally go for Xonar. They are both around $100. You can't get much cheaper than that, because the cheapest cards are worse than onboard.

Is onboard not good enough for you?

The onboard is really, really bad. Quality can sometimes suddenyl become so bad that sound is almost incomprehensible, and even at the best of times it's hardly impressive. It's been the same for as long as I've had this motherboard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PC_Inquisitor

I own an old Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro and I use Vista... And well... don't buy a creative because the drivers on vista are a piece of sh*t... crashes and problems... On Xp is lovely, but not in vista

Thanks for the tip.

Reasonably priced soundcards seem to be almost exclusivley creative. Are even the newer ones that bad with Vista? When I said I didn't have money to burn, take a look at my system specs. An Asus Donar DX at £70 would be the second most expensive component, and I won the GPU at DH!

Makes me wonder if it might be more cost effective the replace the old motherboard, but I don't know how much longer LGA775 will be staying with me.

Robert McClelland · Jan 25, 2009, 04:02 PM

Hehe I know what u mean I have Intell 845 mother board p 4 2.4 it still works fine

after almost 6years lol. Beside if you do stick with creative thats why I'm here

tune up there messey drivers

lepel · Jan 25, 2009, 05:37 PM

You might indeed as well buy a new motherboard for your next pc (or this one if youre upgrading). The newer motherboards have pretty good integrated sound on them which should satisfy most users.

blibbax · Jan 25, 2009, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lepel

You might indeed as well buy a new motherboard for your next pc (or this one if youre upgrading). The newer motherboards have pretty good integrated sound on them which should satisfy most users.

This is true, but my next PC will most likely not be LGA775, and I cannot afford to buy a new processor as well, so this would be a bad time for a motherboard upgrade.

I'm looking at cards like this: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI-Express - OEM - Ebuyer and the problems I'm seeing are:
-No hardware acceleration: How big is the FPS hit?
-64 bit issues: Am I going to need to replace this when I move to 64bit?
-A history of compatibility issues: Will Windows 7 like this?
-OEM: Should I be worried?

Basically, can I get away with being a tad stingy here?

Syndicate2083 · Jan 27, 2009, 02:42 PM

I would not recommend getting the extreme audio, its really just a rebranded Audigy SE. Get one of the higher x-fi's if your going to go with em. Auzentech has decent stuff too.

blibbax · Jan 27, 2009, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syndicate2083

I would not recommend getting the extreme audio, its really just a rebranded Audigy SE. Get one of the higher x-fi's if your going to go with em. Auzentech has decent stuff too.

Auzentech aren't appearing on any of my regular online shopping haunts - any pointers? (UK)

SeraphicSorcerer · Jan 27, 2009, 04:51 PM

I have to say that Pax's drivers or whatever Are really good. and they made my card much better in Vista, I really want to get the titanium for the PCIex interface. Thanks for Making these drivers better Pax.

Syndicate2083 · Jan 27, 2009, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blibbax

Auzentech aren't appearing on any of my regular online shopping haunts - any pointers? (UK)

This should help:

Auzentech, Inc. Sound Cards. Audio You Can Believe In. World First soundcards for Music, HTPC, and Gaming.

OmegaRED · Jan 27, 2009, 05:27 PM

I picked up an X-Fi Titanium Fatality and found it to be awesome so far. X-fi sound quality is known to be excellent and it's always been the drivers which drag them down...I've done a few driver updates and haven't had a single issue yet. Great card and I reckon it's readily available in the UK. It's also PCI-X and fit right above my 260GTX so I can still do SLI.

blibbax · Jan 28, 2009, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syndicate2083

This should help:

Auzentech, Inc. Sound Cards. Audio You Can Believe In. World First soundcards for Music, HTPC, and Gaming.

Of the UK sites listed there, only one stocks Auzentech cards, and the cheapest is £80.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OmegaRED

I picked up an X-Fi Titanium Fatality and found it to be awesome so far. X-fi sound quality is known to be excellent and it's always been the drivers which drag them down...I've done a few driver updates and haven't had a single issue yet. Great card and I reckon it's readily available in the UK. It's also PCI-X and fit right above my 260GTX so I can still do SLI.

That's a great card, but normally I budget those sums of money for a processor or motherboard. Is it really worth it for a sound card? If not, I might just tolerate my iffy onboard until I upgrade my motherboard in a year or so to get a Phenom 2 / Athlon X4 / Core i7 8** / Wolfdale or whatever is sensible at the time.

Syndicate2083 · Jan 28, 2009, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blibbax

Of the UK sites listed there, only one stocks Auzentech cards, and the cheapest is £80.

That's a great card, but normally I budget those sums of money for a processor or motherboard. Is it really worth it for a sound card? If not, I might just tolerate my iffy onboard until I upgrade my motherboard in a year or so to get a Phenom 2 / Athlon X4 / Core i7 8** / Wolfdale or whatever is sensible at the time.

Well that is really going to depend on what you can live with.

Currently, as i am having some problems with my coupler cable from my x-fi to the external control panel on the platinum series i am using on board. My on board supports dolby and dts, so for me its not a big deal, the sound is still excellent using the codecs and my onkyo system.

If it bothers you that much, I would say go for a card, but don't low ball it to much, make sure the specs of it match what it is that you want. If you don't want or need a DD or DTS capable card, dont look for it.

Though I warn you, low balling a sound card can be a bad idea if the sound quality is something you are really looking for. As others have mentioned most modern boards onboard sound is actually pretty good. If you can wait for a new board to test the waters of it's on board, go for it. At least you wont regret a SC purchase that could have been avoided right?

RIV@NVX · Jan 28, 2009, 01:16 PM

X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCIe is not rebranded Audigy SE, it's Creative's attempt to create UAA compatible card. AFAIK, I'm not certainly sure. And it's not so bad at all. Whether it's worth the money, you have to decide. I would go for Xonar, even it's much more expensive.

OmegaRED · Jan 28, 2009, 01:21 PM

It's kind of simple really...the money you should spend on the sound card is directly proportional to the quality of your sound system; you may not even notice the increased sound quality otherwise.

I would only recommend an X-fi or Xonar if you've got either a 5.1 sound system or good headphones (either professional quality stereo or high end 5.1 headphones).

~~scurvy~~ · Jan 28, 2009, 01:32 PM

If ur mostly playing games go for X-fi Titanium (vanilla). Hands down.

Shaga · Jan 28, 2009, 02:04 PM

I suggest on getting your hands on X-Fi Xtreme Gamer.

It has an excellent sound quality, pax drivers rock. Win7 loves this. Eax 5 and advanced hd are nice thing to have also. I don't see any real reason to put extra money on going for pcie(titanium).

I use this in pair with my hq stereo headphones and a/v receiver(via multichannel for gaming and optical for movies & music) combined with 5.1 speaker system.

blibbax · Jan 28, 2009, 02:30 PM

I'm leaning toward Omega. My sound system's not great, I use relativley low end Sennhieser headphones. I'll tolerate what I have until I have a new motherboard, I know that onboard sound can be more than good enough.

Shaga · Jan 28, 2009, 02:58 PM

My Xtreme Gamer was 59 euros and of course you can hear difference with low end sennheiser headphones also when it comes to game sounds.

OmegaRED · Jan 28, 2009, 03:52 PM

The Xtreme Gamer is actually not too bad a budget X-fi card. It would be a large improvement over onboard sound.

blibbax · Jan 28, 2009, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OmegaRED

The Xtreme Gamer is actually not too bad a budget X-fi card. It would be a large improvement over onboard sound.

And at £60, so it should be. Sorry, but that's more than it's worth to me. I'll wait.

Syndicate2083 · Jan 28, 2009, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RIV@NVX

X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCIe is not rebranded Audigy SE, it's Creative's attempt to create UAA compatible card. AFAIK, I'm not certainly sure. And it's not so bad at all. Whether it's worth the money, you have to decide. I would go for Xonar, even it's much more expensive.

Ack! Thanks for the catch, didn't see the PCIe in the linky there.

In any event, if you feel you can wait, I think most onboard systems now would mostly meet your requirements.

mobomofo · Feb 2, 2009, 09:09 PM

How about an Audigy 2ZS? I just got one off of Ebay for $7.50 plus shipping. Now that;s what I call "Budget"!

~~scurvy~~ · Feb 3, 2009, 03:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobomofo

How about an Audigy 2ZS? I just got one off of Ebay for $7.50 plus shipping. Now that;s what I call "Budget"!

that has horrible Vista support with Creative drivers.

To the OP get the x-fi titanium PCI-E. I have it and its simply awesome.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16829102024

blibbax · Feb 3, 2009, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scurvy

that has horrible Vista support with Creative drivers.

To the OP get the x-fi titanium PCI-E. I have it and its simply awesome.

Newegg.com - Creative 70SB088000004 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Express 1x Interface PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium - Sound Cards

As I've said, the price is simply more than it's worth for me. Thanks for the advise anyhow though, and if I do find myself wanting to blow that kind of money on sound in a few years time I'll be back for an advise update.

Jan 25, 2009, 02:34 PM	#1
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 531 Rep Power: 20 System Specs	Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. Hi all, I'm looking into getting myself a dedicated soundcard, partly because of the obvious benefits and partly because my inetgrated solution is so bad. I don't really have a specific budget but I don't have money to burn either, so I'd like to know, what is the best bang for buck soundcard? I play games and want to be able to keep the card for a long time. PCI-Ex1 would be most convenient, but I could probably manage a PCI if that's a big issue. Please feel free to give any relevant advise, but if you mention a specific product a link to a UK retailer would be really useful. Thanks in advance. __________________

Jan 25, 2009, 02:45 PM	#2
RIV@NVX Freedom is a feature. Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Croatia, Rijeka Posts: 4,480 Rep Power: 53 System Specs	Re: Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. X-Fi Titanium (non-Fatality) or Xonar DX. I would personally go for Xonar. They are both around $100. You can't get much cheaper than that, because the cheapest cards are worse than onboard. Is onboard not good enough for you? __________________ -- Vedran

Jan 25, 2009, 03:07 PM	#3
PC_Inquisitor DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Mexico City Posts: 90 Rep Power: 29	Re: Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. I own an old Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro and I use Vista... And well... don't buy a creative because the drivers on vista are a piece of sh*t... crashes and problems... On Xp is lovely, but not in vista

Jan 25, 2009, 04:02 PM	#5
Robert McClelland PAX Tweaker, PAX Expert. Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Some Where in Ohio Posts: 6,348 Rep Power: 103 System Specs	Re: Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. Hehe I know what u mean I have Intell 845 mother board p 4 2.4 it still works fine after almost 6years lol. Beside if you do stick with creative thats why I'm here tune up there messey drivers __________________ "XTREME AUDIO IS CRAP!" "There no support for it. It's crapist card on face of the earth it should be throw into the sun"

Jan 25, 2009, 05:37 PM	#6
lepel DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Belgium Posts: 453 Rep Power: 18 System Specs	Re: Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. You might indeed as well buy a new motherboard for your next pc (or this one if youre upgrading). The newer motherboards have pretty good integrated sound on them which should satisfy most users.

Jan 27, 2009, 02:42 PM	#8
Syndicate2083 DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: West Warwick, RI Posts: 218 Rep Power: 9 System Specs	Re: Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. I would not recommend getting the extreme audio, its really just a rebranded Audigy SE. Get one of the higher x-fi's if your going to go with em. Auzentech has decent stuff too. __________________ -Crash the silence for the sake of memory. Intrinsic Realities, APC-MGE EAS Team, Veteran-USN. If anyone needs help with APC products or has questions, feel free to PM me!

Jan 27, 2009, 04:51 PM	#10
SeraphicSorcerer Driverheaven's Sorcerer Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Ocala, FL Posts: 1,136 Rep Power: 74 System Specs	Re: Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. I have to say that Pax's drivers or whatever Are really good. and they made my card much better in Vista, I really want to get the titanium for the PCIex interface. Thanks for Making these drivers better Pax. __________________

Jan 27, 2009, 05:27 PM	#12
OmegaRED In Fedor We Trust Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Ottawa , Canada Posts: 4,788 Rep Power: 85 System Specs	Re: Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. I picked up an X-Fi Titanium Fatality and found it to be awesome so far. X-fi sound quality is known to be excellent and it's always been the drivers which drag them down...I've done a few driver updates and haven't had a single issue yet. Great card and I reckon it's readily available in the UK. It's also PCI-X and fit right above my 260GTX so I can still do SLI. __________________

Jan 28, 2009, 01:16 PM	#15
RIV@NVX Freedom is a feature. Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Croatia, Rijeka Posts: 4,480 Rep Power: 53 System Specs	Re: Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCIe is not rebranded Audigy SE, it's Creative's attempt to create UAA compatible card. AFAIK, I'm not certainly sure. And it's not so bad at all. Whether it's worth the money, you have to decide. I would go for Xonar, even it's much more expensive. __________________ -- Vedran

Jan 28, 2009, 01:21 PM	#16
OmegaRED In Fedor We Trust Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Ottawa , Canada Posts: 4,788 Rep Power: 85 System Specs	Re: Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. It's kind of simple really...the money you should spend on the sound card is directly proportional to the quality of your sound system; you may not even notice the increased sound quality otherwise. I would only recommend an X-fi or Xonar if you've got either a 5.1 sound system or good headphones (either professional quality stereo or high end 5.1 headphones). __________________

Jan 28, 2009, 01:32 PM	#17
~~scurvy~~ So Cutesy Wootsy Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 241 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. If ur mostly playing games go for X-fi Titanium (vanilla). Hands down.

Jan 28, 2009, 02:04 PM	#18
Shaga Cyber Agent Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Nordic Region Posts: 330 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. I suggest on getting your hands on X-Fi Xtreme Gamer. It has an excellent sound quality, pax drivers rock. Win7 loves this. Eax 5 and advanced hd are nice thing to have also. I don't see any real reason to put extra money on going for pcie(titanium). I use this in pair with my hq stereo headphones and a/v receiver(via multichannel for gaming and optical for movies & music) combined with 5.1 speaker system. __________________ Server: Currently Offline

Jan 28, 2009, 02:30 PM	#19
blibbax What does this do? Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 531 Rep Power: 20 System Specs	Re: Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. I'm leaning toward Omega. My sound system's not great, I use relativley low end Sennhieser headphones. I'll tolerate what I have until I have a new motherboard, I know that onboard sound can be more than good enough. __________________

Jan 28, 2009, 02:58 PM	#20
Shaga Cyber Agent Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Nordic Region Posts: 330 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Re: Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. My Xtreme Gamer was 59 euros and of course you can hear difference with low end sennheiser headphones also when it comes to game sounds. __________________ Server: Currently Offline

Jan 28, 2009, 03:52 PM	#21
OmegaRED In Fedor We Trust Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Ottawa , Canada Posts: 4,788 Rep Power: 85 System Specs	Re: Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. The Xtreme Gamer is actually not too bad a budget X-fi card. It would be a large improvement over onboard sound. __________________

Feb 2, 2009, 09:09 PM	#24
mobomofo DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 40 Rep Power: 9	Re: Sound Card Purchase Advise: Bangs for Buck. How about an Audigy 2ZS? I just got one off of Ebay for $7.50 plus shipping. Now that;s what I call "Budget"!

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