Need a nice gaming soundcard to go with Z-5500

CaxusCaxus
edited January 2009 in Hardware
I recently decided to take the plunge into 5.1 for my games and picked up a Logitech Z-5500 on sale at tiger direct. Now i feel like i want to upgrade my soundcard to get the most out of it. I have a few questions.

1) Will hooking it up with the optical audio connection be the best possible sound i can get out it or is the analog better?

2) How important is EAX with a 5.1 system for games?

Thanks.

Comments

  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    1) Optical is best.

    2) You won't get 5.1 on most new games without it.
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    The IC Marketplace sound card listing is huge. I've heard good things about the ASUS Xonar cards and Azuentech, but I don't know which one would be the best to recommend.
  • CaxusCaxus
    edited January 2009
    So it's a bit of a catch 22 since it seems like most of the Soundblaster cards don't come with digital outputs but all the rest don't support EAX.
  • CaxusCaxus
    edited January 2009
    Also, what do i need to look for to make sure i can use 5.1 with optical? My onboard sound has optical but doesn't recognize any signals except 2 channel.
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    Is this what you need? X-FI for your EAX business and optical digital out.
  • CaxusCaxus
    edited January 2009
    What exactly does EAX do that normal 5.1 doesn't?
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    EAX is what makes game sounds directional. It can interpret where the game wants a sound to come from and route it to the right speakers to give you a 3D sound environment. Regular 5.1 can't do that.
  • CaxusCaxus
    edited January 2009
    I work at a game developer and someone here was telling me that EAX is mostly for adding environmental effects, like echoes in caves, and for making games sound 3D when you're using a 2 speaker setup or headphones and that it's basically overkill if you have a 5.1 sound system. I know that in Bioshock I get 360 degree directional sound with my 5.1 setup without enabling EAX in the game's options. I'm not sure if that's because my sound card is automatically using EAX. It's a Realtek ALC883 onboard card that only has EAX 1 and 2 support.
  • CaxusCaxus
    edited January 2009
    This has my interest: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271001 but i'm not sure why so many of the reviews say it's not the best for gaming and that for games you'd be better with an X-Fi.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    Because it doesn't have EAX5.

    Keep in mind that many games won't give you 5.1 audio positioning unless your sound card supports EAX4 or better.
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