ABIT NF7-S rev 2 Onboard Sound.. Any good?

NecropolisNecropolis Hawarden, Wales Icrontian
edited September 2003 in Hardware
Hi guys,

A mate of mine is picking up an NF7-S Rev.2 and he wants to know if the onboard sound is better or worse than an Audigy 2. We are talking sound quality here not the fact that people hate Creative cards ;). He will mainly use it for gaming and has a red hot set of speakers (well a £2000 stereo system to be exact, more money than sense this guy :rolleyes2)

Any thoughts?

Comments

  • KwitkoKwitko Sheriff of Banning (Retired) By the thing near the stuff Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    I was using an Audigy before I switched over to the onboard sound. As much as I dislike Creative's drivers I'm thinking about switching back. Playback can sometimes get a little choppy. As for sound quality, I'm going through my stereo into a pair of Boston Acoustics and I can't tell the difference between onboard and the Audigy.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    I don't have choppiness, and it sounds better than my old Gametheater XP and identical to my friend's Audigy 2.
  • NecropolisNecropolis Hawarden, Wales Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    TD_Isles said
    I was using an Audigy before I switched over to the onboard sound. As much as I dislike Creative's drivers I'm thinking about switching back. Playback can sometimes get a little choppy. As for sound quality, I'm going through my stereo into a pair of Boston Acoustics and I can't tell the difference between onboard and the Audigy.

    When you say that playback gets a little choppy, when is this? Playing games, MP3's or just when you system is under heavy load?
  • croc_croc_ New
    edited September 2003
    I'm thinking the audigy 2 will perform better due to less cpu usage. And the SNR and THQ on the audigy 2 as a bit better. But if you aren't using high quality speakers/headphones you won't notice the difference. Save 90 bucks and use the onboard :P
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    The Soundstorm doesn't use the processor cycles. It has its own DSP.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    About the CPU usage. The nForce2 audio and the Audigy2 are in a dead heat for CPU usage. I've seen it for myself (near-identical frame rates in 3dmark2003 with audigy and without, on an a7n8x-deluxe) and in other people's benchmarks.

    The onboard soundstorm audio's quality is just as good as the audigy2 if you tweak the soundstorm's graphics eq. I've done the experiment myself, and I can assure you they sound identical. It's not my speakers either- the speakers are THX certified Altec Lansing 4.1 units...

    The onboard audio is just fine.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    I have never experienced choppiness or any negative with my system. I am running an slightly older 500W RMS stereo power amp with a seperate pre-amp off my soundstorm. I have a TB Santa Cruz in my other box since I don't need to run it in this system. I recently sent a box with a Audigy out the door and it didn't sound any better. This set-up is only second to my Nakamechi CD playing through my same amp and my wife says she can't tell any difference.
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    This would be a great question for www.prosoundreview.com forums.
  • croc_croc_ New
    edited September 2003
    Thrax said
    The Soundstorm doesn't use the processor cycles. It has its own DSP.

    Oh, well I guess I got confused with a different onboard sound. But I know I am right about the SNR and THD. (not THQ, typosss)
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited September 2003
    The difference between the Creative Labs Audigy 2 & the NForce SoundStorm APU in audio playback is so negligable that you can hardly tell the difference (which there is hardly any).

    Does the NForce "SoundStorm" APU support EAX2?

    If it does, then I'd tell your friend to stick with SoundStorm APU and be happy with it (not to mention have a few more $$$ in the pocket).

    However, if it does NOT, then go out and purchase the Audigy 2. You did state that your friend wants to utilize his audio system for gaming, and in order to get the greatest & latest audio effects out of a software package, he needs to have hardware capable of supporting EAX-2 (Advanced HD) extensions.

    As for the Audigy 2, I'll attest that Creative's flagship product works considerably better than the Audigy 1/Live line of cards on my Intel-based WinXP systems. Creative's drivers have also improved, at least to the point where they don't crash the system anymore and all of the features they are written for actually work now.
  • ketoketo Occupied. Or is it preoccupied? Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    slightly off topic...I cannot for the life of me get a mic to work on NF7-S. I am not 100% sure whether I loaded Soundstorm drivers :banghead: duhhh but I do have a nForce Control panel for sound in my tray. I've diddled n fiddled all I know how but 2 different mics do not register..... any thoughts?

    As to sound quality, I have a set of Altec Lansing 5.1 and it's quite good, tho needs to be equalized as stated above.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    I have a working mic with:
    mic.jpg 260.2K
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