Question of opinion.

dirtdirt KC
edited December 2004 in Hardware
'Tis the season for buying things I either don't need or simply can't afford. I'm in the market for a nice sound card. Given, I know absolutly jack about sound cards I thought I would open a forum for debate on manufacturers or anything else that might make me more informed. Thanks for any input on the subject.

Comments

  • madmatmadmat
    edited November 2004
    What sound solution does your PC currently have? If it's the SoundStorm onboard setup offered by the nForce2 motherboards my advice is to spend your money elsewhere, if it's just software ac'97 audio and you want a hardware solution about the only true hardware soundcards are made by Creative, the Audigy 2ZS series of cards offer 7.1 surround, hardware DSP (digital signal processing) and sound really good. The VIA Envy 24 based soundcards offer great sound but offload all the DSP chores to the CPU which means lower framerates in games.
    If you get the Audigy2ZS cards do a custom install and just install the surround mixer, playcenter, recorder and drivers. All the extra garbage is just that, garbage. The taskbar, splash screen and other assorted items it normally installs just waste memory and CPU cycles.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    The downside to the Audigy's technological superiority is its drivers which have been nothing but trouble for a huge volume of users for the last 5 years.
  • madmatmadmat
    edited November 2004
    The latest drivers for the Audigy Platinum I had were pretty trouble free and actually gave me much better sound, that said I never tried my card with a VIA chipset either.
  • RWBRWB Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    I just use my onboard sound, AC'97 I think, but it is 6 channal surround, and I have absolutly no issues with it, sounds great to me. I see no reason at all to buy a sound card.
  • floppybootstompfloppybootstomp Greenwich New
    edited November 2004
    Sweetest sounding card I ever used was a Philips 5.1. Knocked spots off any Creative card I'd ever used. But, I must admit, I've never used an Audigy, I had the one before those - plain ol Soundblaster 5.1?

    Currently using NF2 SoundForce, sounds good to me.

    It seems many here are assuming this guy has onboard sound, perhaps he doesn't.

    Perhaps other functions are required, a breakout box for instance?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    It's just too bad the Philips Accoustic Edge is so damn outdated. If the VIA Envy24 cards picked up hardware processing.. Woo boy. :eek:

    I'm annoyed that the best technology is chained to the worst drivers.
  • KingFishKingFish
    edited November 2004
    I love my audigy but I do hate the driver issues I've had with it.
  • dirtdirt KC
    edited November 2004
    It seems many here are assuming this guy has onboard sound, perhaps he doesn't.

    I honestly don't know what onboard sound is. The sound that I have now is SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio. My major intrest is clearity of sound. I'm getting alot of interferance from my mouse, windows, and others. :confused:
  • floppybootstompfloppybootstomp Greenwich New
    edited November 2004
    dirt: Onboard sound means sound chip integrated with motherboard.

    It looks as though that's what you have.

    If you're having issues with it, updating your motherboard drivers (board, LAN, sound) may sort out your problems. Check the board manufacturer's site for updates.

    What motherboard are you using?
  • dirtdirt KC
    edited December 2004
    floppybootstomp wrote:
    If you're having issues with it, updating your motherboard drivers (board, LAN, sound) may sort out your problems. Check the board manufacturer's site for updates.

    What motherboard are you using?
    I don't know what model my motherboard is and don't know where I can find out . I was thinking I could just use device manager but thats not proving to make it obvious.
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