Problems listening to Warren Zevon while flying

[TEShaw]

Listening to CD while IN GAME straight from Win Media Player makes low frame-rate in game.

Would ripping tunes to Hard Drive not conk my frame-rate so much?

Oh, no. I hear Zevon playing 'Knocking on Heaven's Door.'

No, I won't cry this time!

regards, teshaw

[Skuzzy]

Playing a CD/MP3/WAV (streaming audio) uses up a lot of CPU cycles, and if you are using an onboard sound chip, it uses even more.  The end result is less CPU for the game, hence lower frame rates.

[rob53]

It's all those lawyers, guns, and money.........

Rob

[llama]

I sometimes listen to MP3s while flying in AH. There was no significant slowdown on my old computer (A P4 at 3GHZ with a dedicated soundcard). I haven't tried on my new computer, but I would expect there to be no significant slowdown for it either.

-Llama

[Skuzzy]

A dedicated sound card makes a world of difference.  Onboard sound chips have no hardware to aid in sound playback.

[Denholm]

I know if I tried to listen to music while flying my frame rates would be in the dump. I don't have the processor to run a game and a music playlist from some other program.

[Gooss]

What's an adequate sound card to replace onboard sound?

HONK!
Gooss

[Skuzzy]

Almost anything is better than an onboard sound chip in terms of reducing the load on the CPU.  Check the "Hardware and Software" forums for what people are using today.

[Max]

What's an adequate sound card to replace onboard sound?

HONK!
Gooss

You can buy a Sound Blaster Audigy card for about $30 at Newegg. Make sure you have a PCI slot to park it in.

[Denholm]

I can agree with that. I have one and the sound quality is great.

[llama]

Agreed. The old soundcard was a Sound Blaster Audigy  LS, which will set you back all of $10 on ebay.

-Llama

[Rich46yo]

Whos this remind you of right off the bat? In the game that is?

Well, he went down to dinner in his Sunday best
Excitable boy, they all said
And he rubbed the pot roast all over his chest
Excitable boy, they all said

He took in the four a.m. show at the Clark
Excitable boy, they all said
And he bit the usherette's leg in the dark
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he's just an excitable boy

He took little Suzie to the Junior Prom
Excitable boy, they all said
And he raped her and killed her, then he took her home
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he's just an excitable boy
After ten long years they let him out of the home
Excitable boy, they all said
And he dug up her grave and built a cage with her bones
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he's just an excitable boy

[Gooss]

Thanks, Max and all.

I bought two Audigy SE sound cards from newegg for $30 each.  Your recommendations were helpful.  The packaging helped too.  Creative is marketing this card as the ideal upgrade from onboard audio.  So, I put one in my computer and one in my kids' homework-iTunes computer.

I'm hearing stuff on AH I never heard before.  I never heard the high-speed pass sound before.  Now I'm ducking.  Actually I think it's helping.  In a 1v2 or 3, I'm rolling when I hear a bad guy coming in.  I think it's keeping me alive a little longer. 

I haven't noticed an improvement in frame rate, but I'm getting 40-60 and have no complaints.

If Skuzzy is still monitoring this thread, I'd like his opinion on using the custom sounds.  I quit using custom sounds because he said it was a possible drain on the CPU especially with onboard sound.  Now that I have a sound card, will custom sounds still possibly bog down my computer?  Are custom sounds really any kind of improvement?

HONK!
Gooss

[drdeathx]

Play classical music it makes a difference.

[Auger]

Gooss, custom sounds improve some aspects of game play.  Having more realistic engine and gun sounds really helps with immersion, which I think enhances the experience, even if it doesn't make me fly better.  Where it really helps is on the ground.  With my engine off I can usually tell the type of GV coming my way when they are still a few thousand yards out.  And I can always tell when a C47 is trying to sneak in low when defending the town.

Give one or two of the sound packs a try.  Just make sure to make a backup copy of the originals in case you need to put them back.